What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the German Grand Prix.
RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.
Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.
What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:
Rate the 2019 German Grand Prix out of 10
- 10 (63%)
- 9 (26%)
- 8 (8%)
- 7 (2%)
- 6 (1%)
- 5 (0%)
- 4 (0%)
- 3 (0%)
- 2 (0%)
- 1 (0%)
Total Voters: 360
Loading ...1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’
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2019 German Grand Prix
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- Top ten pictures from the 2019 German Grand Prix
- Verstappen spins and wins Mercedes’ race
- Paddock Diary: German Grand Prix day four
- Kubica sets new record by ending eight-year wait for points
Debates and polls
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- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
- Is the FIA right to make ten seconds the new standard for penalties?
Jonathan (@jonny705)
28th July 2019, 16:05
11
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 16:16
This one definitely goes to 11 :)
Jan Schoonderbeek (@clearbrooke)
28th July 2019, 16:33
Amen, brother!
Bosco Moroz
28th July 2019, 20:39
Loudest cheer of the day was when Louis spun in T1. Crowd seemed to love Merc’s problems, Wow. Great fun seeing mixed up field. Vettel’s comeback and Max’s wild day, both deserving of their finish. Nice finish for Dani and Lance driving under immense pressure at the end with the fast cars looming. Who would have thought Kubica would be first to get a point for Williams, hats off to keeping the car pointed forward and staying in it.
NasiBoring (@nasiboring)
28th July 2019, 21:54
Not surprised. The german fans still remember the time when it was Mclaren/Mercedes bringing the fight to their beloved hero Schumacher. Which is obviously a nono
Invisiblekid (@invisiblekid)
28th July 2019, 22:44
Yeah that really got me. Merc have this big celebration in their home race, and no-one in the crowd gave a flying bleep. I mean Germans, (though many Dutch fans too granted) cheering a German manufacture whe they crash. Ouch.
Me
28th July 2019, 16:06
The worst driver of the race finished close to last, and the best one first. So mostly fair 8
Kyle (@hammerheadgb)
28th July 2019, 16:06
Disappointed at the lack of an 11 option!
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 16:06
10/10. One of the easiest 10/10s ever for me.
Dmitry (@)
28th July 2019, 16:06
The Old Fox Bernie was right – let’s sprinkle them tracks:D
10/10
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 16:17
Yeah, I can get behind sprinklers on tarmac runoffs. The only way tarmac can be made acceptable.
Dmitry (@)
28th July 2019, 17:03
@phylyp i would add them inside drivers cockpits also.)))
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 17:05
@robo – let’s face it. Post crash, the driver’s own facial sprinklers often turn on. ;)
Dmitry (@)
28th July 2019, 17:11
@phylyp – they call it “BooHoo Mode”))) No need for button on the steering wheel.
Chaitanya
28th July 2019, 16:07
10 out of 10. What a topsy turvy race.
Ben Needham (@ben-n)
28th July 2019, 16:07
That was frankly insane. I watched the entire race with the biggest grin. Loved every second.
Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
28th July 2019, 16:18
Same feeling, definitely a classic.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th July 2019, 16:44
that drs though.
I’m happy that my perfect score on the predictions championship unravelled.
Todfod (@todfod)
28th July 2019, 17:19
Agree completely. There wasn’t a dull moment in the entire race. The only setback for me was that all the drivers that could have challenged Max for the win in the closing stages crashed out. So the last 12 laps or so, it seemed like Max was certainly taking the win.
Gave the race a 9. Definitely the most entertaining race of the season even though the quality of racing wasn’t as high as the British or Austrian Gps.
BasCB (@bascb)
29th July 2019, 18:53
I agree with you there @todfod. Certainly a highly enjoyable race with enough action to keep us watching.
But it could have been better had Hamilton and Bottas been fighting Leclerc and Vettel and all of them had been having a go at Max.
The biggest positive of this race was for me that we got to see highs of the likes of Kvyat, Albon, Sainz and even Stroll (I guess a for Russel even just finishing in the horribly handling Williams could be seen as such too) to show us that the future of F1 is already full of great drivers.
Scottie (@scottie)
29th July 2019, 0:34
Yep, indeed an insane race.
Part of me thinks it was perhaps too much of a lottery? Turn 16 is really what made it that little bit more insane, which tells me we should bring the barriers closer or just put the grass back in the runoffs, particularly where speeds are below 200kph.
Need to be penalising those off-track scares or running too wide over the kerb moments.
Jere (@jerejj)
28th July 2019, 16:07
An absolute cracker. One of those days when almost anyone could win.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 16:07
Also, please don’t let Hockenheim go! I swear, if we lose Hockenheim and have Barcelona instead for 2020, I will cry.
zomtec (@zomtec)
28th July 2019, 16:09
Although it was the rain and run-off in the last corner which created the drama.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 16:15
@zomtec I’d take a bone-dry Hockenheim over 80% of the circuits today.
zomtec (@zomtec)
28th July 2019, 16:25
Though many complain about the new Hockenheim.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
28th July 2019, 16:08
Absolutely incredible. 10 absolute classic!
John H (@john-h)
28th July 2019, 16:09
I predict this will be the highest ever F1F/RF rating.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
28th July 2019, 16:14
Doubt it will beat the Brazil 2008 rating which to me is still the very best ever race
John H (@john-h)
28th July 2019, 16:15
Top race is Brazil 2012: 9.45.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 16:16
@jelle-van-der-meer I think Brazil 2012 (my personal GOAT) has the highest rating of all time.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 16:18
@mashiat – to me too Brazil 2012 has a slight edge, partly due to the WDC drama that was also playing out.
Hugh (@hugh11)
28th July 2019, 16:40
Hulkenberg plays a pivotal role in all the best races. I can tin foil hat this enough to make him crashing a good thing somehow.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 17:07
@hugh11 – can’t deny that. A pity he can’t be his own good luck charm.
Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
28th July 2019, 16:19
I think you are right because the average won’t be reduced by the effect of poor voting due to championship-deciding outcome.
John H (@john-h)
28th July 2019, 19:36
Very good point @stefanauss.
Kyle (@hammerheadgb)
29th July 2019, 12:18
Currently (at 11:15 UTC 29/7, 319 votes so far) the visible average is 9.39, although there is a percentage point missing from the total so it will be slightly higher than that.
It’s gonna be close!
Kyle (@hammerheadgb)
29th July 2019, 12:19
If the missing percentage point tracks the 99-point average we would reach 9.48 which is a new record.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
28th July 2019, 16:09
I mean, wow. For a while I thought that all the things that are wrong with F1 was hurting this race – the Safety Car before the start, the VSC and SC influence on pitting (Leclerc’s advantage, Hamilton only losing three spots after actually crashing), but then it all came alive. And wow, how. Absolute 10/10
Everything happened. All the drivers excelled. This was impossible, 5 pitstops per driver?!?! Anybody who crashed was completely absolved.
And now, imagine, just for a second, the Red Bull being a fast car in the second half of the season….
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 16:09
Interestingly, Verstappen is just 23 points behind Bottas. In a car that is, on balance, the 3rd best over the season. Brilliant. I haven’t seen underdog performances like this since Alonso in 2012.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
28th July 2019, 17:50
22, he earned 26 points today.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 18:31
@matthijs – a good race like this, and I totally forgot that a point for FLAP even existed :)
Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
28th July 2019, 16:09
This is 11.
JohnBt
28th July 2019, 16:10
10!!!! upon 10!!!!!
John H (@john-h)
28th July 2019, 19:37
Sausage as a breakwater.
glynh (@glynh)
28th July 2019, 16:11
10, the best race in ages. All the drivers showing they could make the difference in challenging conditions and spectacular overtakes and incidents throughput.
Verstappen drove brilliantly, I don’t think Vettel could have a much better redemption drive, top drivers crashed out and rookies were showing what they could do.
Will Bryan (@willbryan)
28th July 2019, 16:12
Wow, what a race. Easiest 10 for a long time. Best race of the hybrid era surely. unpredictable with shocking twists and turns and some amazing racing, this is exactly what F1 needs!
John R.
28th July 2019, 16:12
I don’t know what I just watched, this was crazy. 10/10 even though I didn’t like the result haha.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 16:15
I’ll be surprised if Hulkenberg hasn’t hung himself yet. Another podium sniff, another bottle.
Gabriel (@naylamp)
28th July 2019, 16:18
let’s hope no. but yeah, if everyone thinks VET cracks under pressure… then what about the hulk?
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th July 2019, 16:31
Maaan, breaking news: HAM cracked under NO PRESSURE.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 16:18
@mashiat – I’ll be blunt. He’s a choker. He’s been at it since Brazil 2012 that I can recall.
Nerrticus (@nerrticus)
28th July 2019, 16:34
That’s the only slight bummer of today’s epic…that underdog bubble of hope I had for the Hulk cracking the podium one day finally popped. I just don’t think he has it in him sadly
Otherwise though it was an absolute thriller…easy 10!
Todfod (@todfod)
28th July 2019, 17:24
@nerrticus
Man.. When I saw him in P2, I had my fingers crossed that he would finally break the podium jinx.
I hate to admit it… But he just can’t handle the pressure when in front.
glynh (@glynh)
28th July 2019, 18:06
He did crash at the front but so did Bottas, Leclerc and Hamilton so not bad company.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
28th July 2019, 21:31
@mashiat I’m gutted for the Hulk, but at this point it’s not a coincidence any more, it’s a pattern. Every time he has a shot at a podium he makes a rare mistake. I know conditions were nearly impossible today, and many others made mistakes too but it just happens every time. Really hope he gets that breakthrough sometime but it’s not looking likely anytime soon.
Alex (@arobbo)
28th July 2019, 16:15
Austria 2019: Race of the Season!
Germany 2019: Hold my beer.
10/10. Best race since the Hybrid era began.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
28th July 2019, 17:51
Good one!
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
28th July 2019, 16:15
A race I’d have no problem watching again and again. Just add water…
Blaize Falconberger (@)
28th July 2019, 16:15
Crazy stuff – what a great race. Hope all you Mercedes conspiracy theorists are busy eating your words along with the bell-ends who claim that F1 is boring…
DAllein (@)
28th July 2019, 16:16
Those giving 10 are hypocrites!
It was not a race, but just a lottery with lots of dummy-heads in the cars.
6
DAllein (@)
28th July 2019, 16:17
Races must be races, not lotteries.
Alex
28th July 2019, 16:21
But the best driver on the grid won with the second best driver in second place.
zomtec (@zomtec)
28th July 2019, 16:22
I do partly agree when I look at Stroll going from zero to (almost) hero, just by pitting at the right time. Then again, he kept it between the white lines which Leclerc, Hamilton, Bottas and ffs the Hulk didn’t do.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 18:50
@dallein In that case, I expect you to give extremely high scores to boring races, since it was as far from a lottery as possible. France must be your favorite race of the season so far then, as unpredictability is for the unintelligent and non-purists.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
28th July 2019, 16:18
@dallein let me drink your tears
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 16:19
Yeah, #44 was also a dummy, pranging his car, whining to quit.
Psi (@psi)
28th July 2019, 16:20
You mean 16, right?
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th July 2019, 16:29
HAM went from hero to ZERO! Cracked under no pressure! Ahahahahaaaaa!
Humb S (@humb)
28th July 2019, 17:11
*also LOST control.
Todfod (@todfod)
28th July 2019, 17:27
@mg1982
Great to see Vettel fans finally have a moment of happiness after seasons of unending disappointment and depression.
Invisiblekid (@invisiblekid)
28th July 2019, 22:49
Erm, simply driving was pressure.
Oh wait, it’s you…..NM.
Dave
28th July 2019, 16:31
Have to agree, it was entertaining but not really a race.
Bosco Moroz
28th July 2019, 21:02
Are you nuts, rain makes up most of the best races, it takes the edge off the superior advantages of the fastest cars and puts the race squarely in the drivers hands. Driving in the rain is the ultimate test of a race driver. The stadium is as technical a section as exists in F1. Sprinkle in some wet and voila, instant masterpiece. Watching masters work in these conditions is a treat. Today was racing at it’s best, knowing if you go a few inches off line in T1, it will be bad. Just ask a very lucky Louis and not so lucky Valtari. Vettel said that was where he made his time as everyone else was conservative, so he pushed. Just a fabulous race in another horribly boring championship year.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
28th July 2019, 17:54
@dallein It wasn’t a lottery. If Leclerc, Hamilton, Bottas and Gasly didn’t mess up today we would have had an ordinary podium, perhaps even an ordinary top 6. It was all self inflicted so no lottery.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
29th July 2019, 1:50
Yes, we understood, dallein, all races are bad unless mercedes wins for you, this race was great cause everything happened, literally.
There definitely are mercedes and hamilton fans around, but they generally voted high too, they’ve been objective!
Cap SF (@dudebv)
28th July 2019, 16:17
Only rain can make this happen.
Psi (@psi)
28th July 2019, 16:20
And incredible drives
Vinay
28th July 2019, 16:20
what a snoozefest ;) Seriously, still catching my breath.
Ioannis (@ioannisk)
28th July 2019, 16:21
One has to wonder what if more races during the season were this way.
Pretty common for the 80’s, with no necessary need for extreme weather conditions.
I still remember Ivan Capelli in that Leyton March overtaking Prost in a McLaren back in 1988 in Suzuka.
David BR (@david-br)
28th July 2019, 16:21
Brilliant race. Verstappen not only driving superbly but taking the initiative over tyres and winning the race. Vettel too, Leclerc doing nothing to disprove the idea that wet weather is his weak spot. Hamilton? You have to go back to China 2007 to see such a catastrophic race from him in these conditions.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
28th July 2019, 16:27
@david-br was gonna comment this. Never seen a race of two halves quite like this. Hamilton was, frankly, perfect for half the race. People will forget, but shouldn’t, that he actually crashed out of the race. Only that a SC happened at the same time stopped him from falling wayyyy further than fifth. And then he threw it away, again, twice.
Don’t get me wrong, best driver of the field, still, also still best wet driver, but a shocking race.
David BR (@david-br)
28th July 2019, 16:36
Mercedes (Hamilton?) made the wrong tyre choice when they should have stuck with inters, which Verstappen himself corrected. Even so, it was a rare and costly Lewis mistake. Maybe we can put it down to the flu :)
Humb S (@humb)
28th July 2019, 18:17
I agree. Here on my couch I had to rely on team’s data, but was clear inters was the best option. I think they assumed VER problems was due to mediums generating less heat than softs. Anyway, that’s part now, but it was their race to lose. And they did.
Gabriel (@naylamp)
28th July 2019, 16:22
hopefully this is the beginning of the turnaround for VET
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th July 2019, 16:26
Aaaaaahhhhh… with what car?! Ferrari is the 3rd best car in race trim.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 17:09
@mg1982 – I’m with @naylamp . Maybe the Ferrari is not a WCC contender, but I’d be happy to see Vettel get his mojo back at the same venue he seemingly lost it.
Viper-au (@viper-au)
28th July 2019, 16:24
Too much luck and not enough skill. Lots of laps behind the safety car. The entertaining part was trying to predict how cars would finish based on varying performance and strategy, but in terms of quality it isn’t worthy of a 10. I gave it a 7.
John H (@john-h)
28th July 2019, 16:29
I disagree. Racing point made an inspired tyre change earlier than the rest of the field. With regards the other drivers, they all could have won but they binned it. Vettel and Verstappen simply drove better today by keeping it on the road. Kvyat also had a great drive and didn’t crash. Gasly showed again how far he is behind Max. Hulk bottled it.
This was far from random.
Viper-au (@viper-au)
28th July 2019, 16:40
Hamilton‘s and Bottas’ incidents involved catching just a sliver of water and that was enough to ruin their races. Others were successful by stopping on the exact right lap due to the rain holding off. That is complete random chance. This was more a case of people being gifted a high points finish rather than earning it. There were a few exceptions, Vertsappen notably, but on the whole this was more chaos than skill.
Humb S (@humb)
28th July 2019, 16:55
VER spun. At the right place and time.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 17:11
I’d partly agree. There was a part of the race – around midway – where it seemed to be a lottery, down to luck. But in the final third of the race, it seemed to fructify down to smart calls, careful racing. And in that respect, I can’t fault the finishing positions. Teams and drivers who were over enthusiastic about pushing hard and swapping to slicks paid for it.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th July 2019, 16:24
10.
To see a falling star in the daylight sky made my day. HAM+Mercedes…. ahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa! He cracked under no pressure! Ahahahahaaaaaa! Karma hit them hard. About time. HAM’s greatness in wet conditions suddenly took a hard hit. Also, thanks to the renowed German correctness, finally HAM’s antics behind the SC surfaced.
On the other hand, VET was impeccable in the most chaotic race for quite some time.
Todfod (@todfod)
28th July 2019, 17:33
@mg1982
Wonder if you found it equally hilarious when Vettel binned it last year under “no pressure at all” circumstances.
Vettel didn’t really drive impeccably. He was slow for the entire mid portion of the race and was scraping around P9 and P10 with the Toro Rossos and Sauber. He came alive after the last safety car when the entire field was bunched together and he had a car to overtake everyone in front with ease.
Hardly impeccable.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th July 2019, 18:54
@todfod I agree, Vettel was extremely poor this race. He wasn’t even able to keep up with Raikkonen in the wet, and only got 2nd due to the pace of the car in the dry, and the retirements in front of him such as Leclerc, Hamilton, Bottas, Hulkenberg, etc. The only thing was that he didn’t make a major mistake, for which he deserves kudos, but so do so many other drivers, so nothing special really.
Phil
28th July 2019, 19:28
@Mashiat and @Todfod I don’t know if you were deaf but he had issues with his car. And 20th->2nd is an outstanding result!
But hey, haters gonna be haters anyway! Critisise more and he’ll might win the championship… :)
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th July 2019, 19:30
He started last and finished 2nd in the 3rd best car. HAM started 1st and finished 11th in the best car. It wasn’t a recovery to remember, but saying VET was poor is obviously a big exaggeration.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th July 2019, 19:28
By impeccable I meant he had an error free race, not that he was blindly fast. Otherwise, I would have used another word to describe his performance. After all, he had the 3rd fastest car on the grid. Once LEC managed to get behind (HAM, BOT and) VER, he couldn’t reduce that 6-7sec gap anymore. So, it wasn’t really a VET-thing, Ferrari was indeed the 2nd (Austria) or 3rd fastest car in race trim in the last 4 races. Also, Ferrari doesn’t look like the best car in the wet by any means too. So, given the slam he got since 2017 that he’s not good in dry, in wet, his wheel to wheel racecraft being poor too (all of them exaggerations in my opinion), coupled with the weather conditions in the race… I think his race was impeccable. Most likely many expected to see him bin it again, go off-track, crash into some other driver etc. None of these happened.
Todfod (@todfod)
31st July 2019, 8:12
@mg1982
You keep saying he had the 3rd fastest car on the grid…which just isn’t true. Ferrari were quickest this weekend up until their qualfyung debacle. Vettels car was also setup for raceday only.. Which means he should have been the fastest car on track on Sunday. Yet.. He spent most of his race trying to get by Kimi Raikonnen.
He was a safe pair of hands on Sunday.. But that’s mostly because he was racing with a safe pace while the others were pushing and making mistakes. I barely find anything commendable about his performance. If it wasn’t for the safety car.. He would probably have finished behind some of the midfield runners.
PKMNF1 (@alfir3dz1)
28th July 2019, 16:24
Perfect 10. The surprising moments was the torpedo(Kvyat) was back on the podium.
Oni (@oni)
28th July 2019, 16:28
My rating criteria: how satisfying the race was to watch during the entire duration. This one was consistently very very good, therefore 10.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
28th July 2019, 16:28
What a race! Truly incredible!
Scalextric (@scalextric)
28th July 2019, 16:28
Lots of fun. The winner had a terrible start and a 360 spin, so too much luck involved for a 10 in my book.
I bet Mercedes never wear flat caps again.
Humb S (@humb)
28th July 2019, 16:58
Psi (@psi)
28th July 2019, 16:29
People who voted 1, 2, or 3, are clearly driver fans, not racing fans. There is no way for a viewer to not enjoy that. Even, my dog skipped a walk to the park to not miss a second of it.
Dave
28th July 2019, 16:36
I found it entertaining, but I didn’t think it was a very good race. Not much of the slowly evolving picture that we get in most races.
Niki101 (@niki101)
28th July 2019, 16:30
What an amazing race and such a great podium for F1.
10+
The power of dreams!
Dutchguy (@justarandomdutchguy)
28th July 2019, 16:42
This was brilliant. utter carnage.
Great work from Kvyat and Stroll, but TBH, the entire top 5(/6) kind of deserved driver of the day. Good result for Vettel and a very stealthy race form Sainz. Albon drove really well, but that collision with Gasly was questionable.
This is the 3rd very good race in a row.
And what the hell was Hamilton doing?!? completely uncharacteristic
Patrick (@anunaki)
28th July 2019, 16:43
10
We were screaming of excitement lots of times
Marinated Monolith (@)
28th July 2019, 16:44
I am humbly reminded why I fell in love with F1 in the first place.
The amount of drama packed in 64 laps and 2 hours is just utterly, utterly unimaginable.
Stoked for Kvyat for not binning it and be rewarded with not just a frickin’ podium, but also the birth of his kid (although technically that was from last night).
Seriously though, both Toro Rosso drivers were fantastic. Even Verstappen had one scary moment with that 360 spin but Kvyat and Albon just kept their head down and do what needed to be done.
Stroll did good as well although part of me cynically thought that he’s too slow of a driver to make any mistake.
And fantastic as usual from Verstappen, pretty much the only driver that managed to stay consistent throughout the entire race.
CarWars (@maxv)
28th July 2019, 16:46
Didn’t dare go to the toilet, when i did i missed some action. 10.
Drama, good skills and drivers with less skill failing. Was rooting for Bottas to get back in the championship but he got a third of his left tire on the wet, gone, still all skill based.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
28th July 2019, 16:56
That’s what safety cars are for 😀
Imre (@f1mre)
28th July 2019, 18:01
Hamilton crashed under Safety Car.
MtlRacer (@mtlracer)
28th July 2019, 16:51
Instant classic, up there with Canada 2008!
Adam (@rocketpanda)
28th July 2019, 16:56
That was fantastic! Red Bull-Honda’s 2nd race win! Vettel 2nd from 20th! And Kvyat, 3rd, in a Toro Rosso-Honda! TWO Hondas on the podium!
Both Toro Rosso drivers were amazing considering Albon’s never driven an F1 car in the wet. Gasly’s got to be worried now as he’s been outdriven by not just his teammate and watched him win for the second time but both Toro Rosso’s and watched Kvyat – a man dropped by Red Bull and Toro Rosso grab a podium before him. Ouch. Red Bull must be thrilled with the podium full of their drivers – a current one, a dropped one, and 4-times champion. I wonder if McLaren wish they’d stuck it out with Honda. Either way Red Bull-Honda look more of a threat to Mercedes than Ferrari have all year.
I feel bad for Hulkenberg and Leclerc. Both of them looked so good at one point – but so far. Both Mercedes looked generally terrible.
CarWars (@maxv)
28th July 2019, 17:34
@rocketpanda
Two Honda’s on the podium, who would have thought and then for it to be without Gasly.
Ash (@kimitard)
28th July 2019, 17:01
One of the best races I have seen in the past few years. Easily a 10
Phil
28th July 2019, 17:02
BEST RACE IN 5 YEARS! You take away mercedes and it’s exciting af!
CarWars (@maxv)
28th July 2019, 17:35
Even with them, Merc just failed hard.
Josh (@canadianjosh)
28th July 2019, 17:18
Gave it an 8. Pirelli full wet tires and intermediates made the best in the world look anything but. Too many safety cars ,even know it spiced the race up, for the so called greatest drivers on the planet.
phil
28th July 2019, 19:32
I know what you mean. That last safety car as well as the one with Gasly I think were too many. Both cars were in gravel traps “AT THE SIDE” of the track… Shouldn’t be a safety car at all. Last few laps, someone went off with debris on the track. No safety car was seen then. lol where is F1’s logic???
Dave
28th July 2019, 19:47
The safety car is there partly to stop drivers hitting a tractor that’s removing a car, but mainly to protect marshals who have to come out onto the track. Sweeping up debris requires a much shorter clear window.
phil
28th July 2019, 20:18
There wasn’t any debris at all on track when bottas crashed as well as nico. VSC would have been enough.
nase
28th July 2019, 17:22
Let me just say that I will definitely rewatch this race and enjoy (almost) every minute of it!
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
28th July 2019, 17:31
We need that 11!
Francorchamps (@francorchamps17)
28th July 2019, 17:41
Far from a perfect race IMO. Overall I think the final result was more about luck than skill, sorry to bring some negatibity.
Josh (@canadianjosh)
28th July 2019, 17:53
I agree with you, I found Austria far more exciting than this crash fest. It was still exciting as it was hard to predict when the next crash/safety car was coming but not a 10 but that’s just my opinion. If you voted 10 or wanted an 11, than it meant you were fully entertained and that’s a good thing too.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
28th July 2019, 18:29
Has to be a 10! This felt like an episode from a mirror universe:-)
It’s the only F1 race where we can safely say that the driver of the day was the safety car river!
Dave
28th July 2019, 18:50
Crazy as Brazil 2012 in my opinion.
Samantha (@talcumpowder)
28th July 2019, 20:37
9.48 if my calculations are correct as I write. So far this year, we’ve possibly had both the best and worst races since Rate the Race began.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
28th July 2019, 21:01
Well I was reluctant but compared to what we have seen in recent years, I had to give this a 10.
Great drives by all of the first 4. Good to see Seb get it all right today after the disaster he had here 12 months ago.
isaac (@invincibleisaac)
28th July 2019, 21:52
10 for me. Probably the most exciting race of the hybrid era and personally I thought it was the best race since Brazil 2012 … this is why I was so glad we finally got a wet race! Incredible action, unpredictability and unexpected results … and all this action considering a large part of the race was run under SC/VSC (were there 4 phases of these throughout the race? 5 if you include the Safety Car start). From my knowledge only 5 drivers kept it clean throughout the entire race (that weren’t disqualified); Vettel, Kvyat, Sainz, Kubica and Russell … everyone else either had some kind of incident – whether it be a spin, crash, retirement or light contact. And Verstappen won on a 5 stop strategy … who else has won on so many pitstops? I know Button won on 6 in Canada, and did Senna win on a similar amount in the wet one year as well? Such a great race though.
isaac (@invincibleisaac)
28th July 2019, 21:58
* Make that only 4 drivers … Sainz’s error was not shown in the Channel 4 highlights I believe.
HUHHII (@huhhii)
28th July 2019, 22:29
@invincibleisaac Not even that many. Vettel went off in the final lap and Kvyat nearly snatched 2nd from him. Kubica spun on main straight under safety car. Russell had a big off in Turn 2, which allowed Kubica to pass him and score a point.
I think Kvyat is the only driver who stayed on track the whole race.
isaac (@invincibleisaac)
29th July 2019, 8:36
@huhhii Thanks for that insight! Didn’t see the entire action with it being highlights but remarkable that Kvyat was the only one to keep it clean throughout … that’s why he deserved a podium.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
29th July 2019, 1:34
As for senna you mentioned, donington 1993 comes to mind, changeable conditions if I recall, many stops.
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
28th July 2019, 22:12
What a turnaround. Possibly the most disappointing opening to a season I can remember, and now we’ve been served up with 3 instant classics on the bounce, and for completely different reasons showcased our sport at its best.
Austria was F1 at its most tense. Silverstone gave us F1 at its most spectacular. And today was F1 at its most bonkers. All we need now is a shock winner for the complete set. Don’t let us down, Hungary!
Esploratore (@esploratore)
29th July 2019, 1:33
Indeed, I agree, generally horrible races for most of 2019 and then super austria, super silverstone aside from fight for 1st place, mega germany!
David (@davidjwest)
28th July 2019, 22:37
9/10 for me, too many SCs and no real race for first place. But yeah, great race other than that.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th July 2019, 22:47
Rain, overtaking without DRS, front runners starting from the back, great drivers getting stuck in gravel, multiple pitstops…
This race had everything and a lot of it.
Jason Blankenship (@jblank)
28th July 2019, 23:33
I rate the race a 15!!!!!! Keep this place! Incredible race, Merc sucked and wrecked, unpredictability, rain, EVERY F1 race should have this level of unpredictability.
Chaz (@chaz)
29th July 2019, 1:17
What a corker!
Esploratore (@esploratore)
29th July 2019, 1:30
Absolutely, if you don’t give 10 to this race you will NEVER give a 10, no reason to hold back and rate it 9, it’s not gonna get any better in this formula.
There was absolutely insane action in the first 5-6 laps with lots of water on track, there was so much unpredictability later, also due to changeable condition, I’d have never bet on hamilton going out and damaging the front wing, nor on mercedes taking so long that it feels he lost 50 sec with that mistake, undecided if going back to inters or not, bottas also went off while chasing perez, but even then he only looked capable of 3rd place, unbelievable, vettel coming from 20th to 2th, also crazy and he kept it clean all race and was incredibly fast to come back early in the race.
Verstappen, the driver who won, spun and was going so slowly a few turns after the spin that I thought he had a technical problem, as I hadn’t seen the replay of the spin yet and was already disappointed, and he also pitted 5 times, which only really happens in crazy wet races, think senna at donington 93 had possibly 6, but just to give an example.
So many overtakes obviously, after some SC restart we had something like 4 drivers all fighting for the same position, including midfield cars battling with top cars!
So many mistakes also, with a mclaren that went off twice, once retiring, hulkenberg also throwing away yet another chance of podium which kvyat got instead going off at the same place as hamilton, leclerc also throwing away a chance to win, cause this race was so unpredictable that you never know but he was definitely on track to win given how things continued.
It was also interesting, like any changing conditions race, as in to guess the right thing to do, at some point putting slicks on didn’t pay off, and that’s what ruined hamilton’s race, ferrari also had a great strategy with leclerc which allowed them to pit him during SC or VSC and jump from 4th to 2nd shortly before his crash, vettel’s strategy also was spot on, to go to the pits early on, dropping back to 11th and then coming back in the last laps with better tyres, he normally crashes but managed to do what bottas couldn’t, overtake the tier 2 cars behind verstappen.
Red bull’s strategy was also great, you could say medium tyres instead of soft caused verstappen’s spin but in the end he managed to continue and example when he was 10 sec ahead of the mercedes and a SC was brought up, that wasn’t gonna help him anyway, he had old inters, if they hadn’t pitted him he’d have had a harder time defending, instead they pitted him, he lost all gap which he’d have lost anyway and then managed to defend, even if eventually you had to do another stop for slicks.
I was also doubtful when they pitted him for slicks towards the end: damn, that’s giving up too many places, risky, but then it got confirmed as the right strategy the lap after, when like everyone also pitted for slicks.
I always said I’d give max 9 and keep the 10 for a wet race which is also crazy, well, here it is, and at the time of my comment, here’s the grid:
1 (0%)
2 (0%)
3 (0%)
4 (0%)
5 (0%)
6 (1%)
7 (2%)
8 (8%)
9 (25%)
10 (64%)
Total Voters: 285
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
29th July 2019, 9:13
It’s an 9 for me, which makes me one of those who voted it the lowest even though I found the race brilliant. Oops!
The truth is, for all this messy racing, there was a real lack of quality. I enjoyed watching this immensely, it was great, but in order to be a 10 there needs to be better driving. Heck, even the race winner spun at one point.
My highlight was Stroll pitting a lap before everyone and emerging IN THE LEAD. Now that was some quality decision making from Racing Point. Loved it.
All in all, a brilliant race.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
29th July 2019, 10:45
What has been the highest three race average in Rate the Race? Austria, Britain and Germany might go close!
Samantha (@talcumpowder)
30th July 2019, 8:12
The 3 race average is currently 8.96. The 3 race average of the 2012 Abu Dhabi, US and Brazilian Grand Prix was 9.025, so it’s not quite the record. I can’t find any other 3 race averages higher than the current one – the next highest that I can find is 2012 US-2013 Australian, which had an average of 8.640.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
31st July 2019, 11:52
Thanks @talcumpowder !
PJA (@pja)
3rd August 2019, 15:02
Yet again rain and changeable conditions delivered a great race.
Only watching highlights definitely affected my enjoyment of the race so I have to tried to adjust my rating to allow for this and I so I rated the race a 9.
I notice the majority of people have rated it a 10, and some comments say it was over 10, but my criteria for rating a race 10 is always to ask myself could this race have been better, I always manage to answer yes and so I have never rated a race 10.
While the German Grand Prix will go down as a classic one thing it lacked was a good even battle for the lead.
Mercedes were celebrating 125 years in motorsport and their 200th Grand Prix but they had a race to forget, their worst overall performance for quite a while.
It started off like it was going to be another win for Mercedes with Hamilton qualifying on pole and then leading a Mercedes 1-2 in the early stages, but it went wrong when he changed to slick tyres just as it was starting to rain again. This led to him going off track and hitting a barrier, which in turn meant he had to enter the pits incorrectly earning a penalty and also that his team were not ready for him leading to a lengthy stop.
With the way the race developed Hamilton still could have got a good result but they left the next change to dry to long and then Hamilton later had a spin which effectively ended his chances of any points, until the Alfa Romeos were penalised after the race.
While he never looked like winning the race Bottas had a good chance to cut Hamilton’s championship lead but he ended spinning just like Hamilton but ended up hitting the wall and retiring.
Ferrari had a nightmare qualifying, it looked like they had a genuine shot at pole but separate mechanical problems meant neither driver could even challenge.
It was a redemption drive for Vettel after what happened at this track last year, he started at the back of the grid and with the way the race panned out managed to earn himself a second place finish, he didn’t seem to be included in the highlights coverage much until it was dry late on so I assume it was an steady error free drive, which was the way to go in this race.
Hopefully this can be a turning point for Vettel and restore his confidence.
The changing conditions and safety cars meant the final finishing order was a bit of a lottery, as with any race like this a driver can easily go from zero to hero and back again within a short space of time.
While I don’t think timing or luck played a significant role in deciding the top two places I think that if some of the other drivers had pitted on a lap earlier or later or if one of the safety car periods had started on a slightly different lap then their result could have been quite different.
A good example for this is Stroll, he had had a bad race and at the back of the field when the track started drying late on, he had nothing to lose by being the first to change to slicks and it eventually meant he finished fourth and was close to getting a podium.