Quantcast

German GP: 300th podium for Williams


By Andrew Hooper
July 20 2014

The 2014 German GP would see Williams Martini driver Valtteri Bottas finish in a fantastic second place, giving the Williams team their 300th podium finish result. This result was somewhat marred by the fact that again team-mate Felipe Massa would be involved in a crash that would not see him finish the opening lap. The result would also see Williams Martini move into third in the Constructors Championship.

 
  German GP Race Review
 
Bottas
 

Qualifying for the 2014 German Grand Prix would see the Williams Martini drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa qualify in a fantastic second and third. The pole was secured by Rosberg but his margin over Valtteri was quite small. Behind Felipe was Magnussen, Ricciardo, Vettel, Alonso, Kvyat, Hulkenberg, and in tenth Perez. Championship challenger Hamilton suffered a major crash in qualifying and combined with a gear box change he will have to start from twentieth. Button and Raikkonen were eleventh and twelfth. With the top ten all starting on the super soft tyre there were questions as to how far the teams will be able to run them before they are forced to pit. Another unknown was the possibility of rain during the race.

Rosberg would move away from the grid with the field following except for Ericsson who was starting from the pit lane. Ericsson would have to take a ten second stop-and-go penalty after his team failed to follow a rule regarding sealing his car after qualifying. They would complete the parade lap for the sixty seven lap race and from up on the grid. The only drivers starting on the soft tyre weer Raikkonen, Grosjean, and Hamilton. After a short delay the lights would come on and then go off. It would be Rosberg leading and into the first corner we would see Felipe and Magnussen make contact and Felipe's car would roll over seeing Felipe's race end without completing a lap. The Safety car was deployed as Rosberg led followed by Valtteri. Replays showed that it was an unfortunate accident as Felipe had come back across with Magnussen right next to him seeing the pair make contact.

 
Bottas
 

Magnussen would pit taking on the soft tyre as the race was restarted. Hamilton was down in sixteenth while at the front Vettel was third followed by Alonso and Hulkenberg. Ricciardo was down in fourteenth having being forced to avoid the Felipe accident. On lap three Rosberg was leading by 1.7 seconds. Button was sixth and looking to pass Hulkenberg as Ricciardo moved up to twelfth. Ericsson would take his penalty while Vettel was looking to challenge Valtteri. Raikkonen was in ninth and Vergne tenth with five laps completed. It was announced that the Turn one accident was under investigation but no further action was warranted. Hamilton was up to twelfth running behind Ricciardo. Lap seven and Valtteri was now 4.4 seconds behind Rosberg with Vettel 1.0 seconds behind the Williams. Kvyat would try to pass Perez but as he went around the outside the pair would make contact seeing Kvyat spin. Kvyat would keep going but would pit on lap ten.


Lap ten and Rosberg was now leading by 6.2 seconds with Vettel also dropping back from Valtteri. Ricciardo would pass Raikkonen for eighth with Hamilton also looking to get past the Ferrari. Alonso would pit from fourth on lap thirteen dropping down to twelfth after having swapped to the soft tyre. Button would pit the next lap joined by Ricciardo and Vergne. Prior to pitting Ricciardo and Raikkonen had been passed by Hamilton as on lap fifteen Vettel, Hulkenberg, Perez, and Gutierrez would all pit. Vettel would come back out in front of Alonso but behind Raikkonen. Lap sixteen and Rosberg and Valtteri would both pit. Vettel and Alonso had squashed Raikkonen between them seeing Raikkonen's Ferrari get front wing damage. Hamilton was now in second as Sutil pitted on lap seventeen. Valtteri was now in third with Hamilton yet to pit. Lap eighteen and the order was Rosberg, Hamilton, Valtteri, Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Button, Magnussen, and Maldonado. But Maldonado would pit on lap nineteen as Valtteri reported a few drops of water on his visor but the team could see nothing on their radar.

 
Bottas
 

Lap twenty and Valtteri would pass Hamilton at the hairpin to return to second. He was 9.2 seconds behind the Mercedes as Raikkonen pitted from eighth on lap twenty one. Perez had moved up to eleventh at the hairpin while Raikkonen had dropped to be fourteenth now running on the option tyre. Rosberg would continue to extend his lead over Valtteri while Hamilton had dropped back from Valtteri, now 3.9 seconds. Alonso was challenging Vettel who was in fourth. Hamilton would pit on lap twenty seven taking on another set of soft tyres. He would return in eighth place while we would see Grosjean pull off the track at Turn two to retire. Hamilton would pass Ricciardo for seventh but when trying to get past Button for sixth Hamilton would hit the rear of Button's car seeing his front wing damaged. Hamilton would finally get past Button for sixth with Hulkenberg in front of him.

Button would pit on lap thirty two taking more soft tyres returning in ninth. Hamilton would continue to move forward passing Hulkenberg for fifth at the hairpin. Lap thirty four and Alonso would pit for his second time, returning in seventh. Vettel would pit on lap thirty five coming back out in sixth. Raikkonen would also pit happy to get rid of his super soft tyres. Alonso was able to pass Vettel as on lap thirty six Ricciardo would pit taking on the option tyre returning in eighth. Rosberg was now leading Valtteri by 15.3 seconds with Hamilton 15.7 seconds behind the Williams in third. Hulkenberg was running in fourth but he would be passed by both Alonso and Vettel dropping to sixth. Both Red Bull's were running on the option tyre as Rosberg said that his was really struggling with his left front. Hulkenberg would pit from sixth on lap forty while Valtteri would pit again on lap forty one taking on the soft tyre.

 
Bottas
 

Rosberg would pit the next lap while Valtteri was now running in third. Valtteri was now on the super soft tyre while Rosberg remained on the soft tyre. Hamilton would pit on lap forty three making a change to his front wing also taking on the option tyre. Ricciardo was looking to pass Button for sixth but Button would not make it easy. Valtteri was still in second but has Alonso and Vettel right behind him Hamilton was in fifth and setting lap times well over a second quicker than those in front. Vettel would pit on lap forty six taking on the soft tyre while on the other side of the track Kvyat's car would burst into flames ending his race. Ricciardo would pit on lap forty seven taking on the soft tyre, coming back out in eighth. Lap forty eight and Rosberg was leading by fifteen seconds with Alonso behind the Williams. Hamilton would get past Alonso making good use of his option tyres and starting to close the gap to Valtteri.

Sutil would spin his car when coming onto the main straight with his car coming to a stop at the rear of the grid. At the same time Hamilton would pit taking on option tyres coming back out in fourth. Hamilton's stop had seen him come in a bit earlier than expected having only completed only eight laps on his pervious set of option tyres. Sutil's car would be finally removed as Rosberg continued to lead Valtteri with Alonso third. Ricciardo would pass Hulkenberg for seventh while on lap fifty five Magnussen and Raikkonen would pit from ninth and tenth. Hamilton would pass Alonso for third and would start to close in onto Valtteri. Alonso would pit again on lap fifty six coming out in seventh. Hamilton was now only 7.0 seconds behind Valtteri but Hamilton was setting times 2.0 seconds a faster than Valtteri. Alonso was challenging Button for sixth and would pass him at the hairpin. Hamilton was closing the gap to Valtteri with Valtteri's soft tyres having see thirty three laps after fifty eight laps.

 
Bottas
 

It was looking more likely that Valtteri would finish third while we had Alonso fighting Ricciardo for fifth. Despite several attempts Alonso was not able to get past the Red Bull lap sixty one and Hamilton was right behind Valtteri but it would be interesting to see how the two Mercedes powered cars would run against each other. Also Hamilton's front tyres were looking quite second hand as Hamilton tried to pass at the hairpin using his DRS but Valtteri covered him off. Button would pit from eighth on lap sixty three while at the front Valtteri continued to hold of Hamilton. Hamilton had DRS but Valtteri was able to keep the Mercedes behind , but for how much longer. Valtteri would continue to hold of Hamilton with two laps remaining. The pair would start their final lap with Rosberg still easily leading. Valtteri was able to keep his lead over Hamilton while Rosberg would cross the finish line to win his home race the German Grand Prix. Valtteri would come home a fantastic second giving Williams their 300th podium finish. Hamilton would finish third from Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Button, Magnussen, and Perez tenth.

For the Williams team it was a great result with Valtteri on the podium for a third time but it was such a disappointment for the team to see Felipe again involved in a crash that saw him fail to score any points. With only one week to Hungary hopefully Felipe can stop this run of disappointing results. After the finish Valtteri's engineer would say "Amazing, that was fantastic. Beating a Mercedes fair and square. Unreal." Another eighteen points for the Williams team as they continue their fight with Ferrari with Williams moving to third in the Constructors championship.

 

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

German GP: 300th podium for Williams
Discussion started by Williams F1 , 20/07/2014 15:04
Williams F1
20/07/2014 15:04
What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

williams4284
20/07/2014 16:05
apperently last time we got 3 podiums in a row was in 2003 with mighty JUAN

j-s
20/07/2014 16:47
If Juan could Juan just Juan Formula Juan race, which Juan would Juan want to Juan?

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.
We record all IP addresses on the Sportnetwork message boards which may be required by the authorities in case of defamatory or abusive comment. We seek to monitor the Message Boards at regular intervals. We do not associate Sportnetwork with any of the comments and do not take responsibility for any statements or opinions expressed on the Message Boards. If you have any cause for concern over any material posted here please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing abuse@sportnetwork.net