It was an F1 classic with chaos, crashes and superb battles throughout as the rain played havoc. But who shone, who emerged with a surprise result and who will be ruing a costly mistake?
Tuesday 30 July 2019 15:29, UK
Max Verstappen's F1 victories are always rather dramatic, aren't they? And this was arguably the craziest of the lot.
Verstappen's win wasn't without its blips - the Dutchman had a poor getaway from the front row and miraculously avoided a crash following a 360 spin - but apart from that, his performance was faultless - an incredibly impressive feat considering many of his more experienced rivals crashed out.
His restarts were particularly strong, and it's no wonder Red Bull claimed Verstappen was in a "class of his own" - he won by seven seconds despite a late Safety Car. Two wins in three races for Max - the driver of F1 2019 so far?
Rating out of 10: 9.5
What a difference a year makes for Sebastian Vettel. The four-time world champion would have been fearing the worst after a qualifying reliability failure meant he started at the back of the grid, but Vettel did incredibly well to avoid a mistake similar to Germany 2018 while battling the midfield in treacherous conditions, and he was rewarded for his "survival" with an opportunity to attack on the slicks at the end of the race.
Vettel, who had toiled behind Kimi Raikkonen for much of the afternoon, made up seven positions in the final 14 laps to secure his best finish since a controversial Canadian GP - and he'll hope this result reignites his season. A fine effort.
Rating out of 10: 9
What a 24 hours for Daniil Kvyat. He celebrated the birth of his first daughter on Saturday night and then enjoyed a marvellous day on-track on Sunday, sealing his first podium since 2016 and Toro Rosso's first in over a decade.
Kvyat was superb all afternoon but the key to this result was Toro Rosso's decision to gamble onto slicks with 20 laps to go - only the second team to do so - and Kvyat then overtook Stroll, the even earlier stopper, to essentially secure third with Vettel later charging through for second.
As Kvyat said, it's been a "rollercoaster" of a career - and it's great to see the Russian smiling and in-form. Are you watching, Red Bull?
Rating out of 10: 9.5
Lance Stroll was barely running in the points all afternoon in Germany but then shot into contention after becoming the first driver to fit the slicks following the third Safety Car - and he was even leading the race at one stage.
He was easily passed by Verstappen but his error to let Kvyat through must be frustrating, as a second F1 podium was on the cards. Still, this was a great result for the Canadian, who defended valiantly from those behind him in the closing stages.
Stroll, despite failing to out-qualify Sergio Perez all season, is now five points ahead of his team-mate in the standings. Oh, and he finally ended that Q1 exit drought, which had lasted 14 races.
Rating out of 10: 8.5
Carlos Sainz was in the gravel at one stage but ended the race in fifth - equalling McLaren's best result from the past five seasons. That just sums up a bonkers German GP.
Sainz, who only pitted three times, was one of many midfield drivers who would have been fancying a podium in the closing stages but, while his car had pace, the Spaniard had to fit worn soft tyres from qualifying and so didn't quite have the grip to challenge Kvyat and Stroll.
But this result strengthens his hold on seventh in the championship - he's now 21 points clear of his closest rival.
Rating out of 10: 8.5
"Happy but slightly miffed" was how Alex Albon described his race despite his best-ever F1 finish. And you can understand why. Albon was ahead of Kvyat for much of the race and was only behind Verstappen and the Mercedes before the final swap to slicks - but lost out to his midfield rivals when battling Hamilton.
"It was the most frustrating thing ever," Albon told Sky F1. "I got hung out to dry."
He then stopped for soft tyres one lap after Kvyat and that dropped him below his team-mate, and he couldn't get ahead of Sainz's McLaren in the end. Still, you can't turn your nose up at sixth.
Rating out of 10: 8
A topsy-turvy race for Romain Grosjean ended in familiar fashion: Crashing into his Haas team-mate again.
But this was still an improved weekend for the Frenchman. He qualified up in sixth and the wet weather actually seemed to help Haas' race-day blues, while he finished up in seventh in the race after Alfa Romeo's penalties. You sense rumours will continue about his future with Pascal Wehrlein, the Ferrari junior, tipped to replace him.
Rating out of 10: 7.5
Even with an updated Haas car, Kevin Magnussen couldn't join his team-mate in Q3 in qualifying and his race wasn't great either. Magnussen, like Hamilton, pitted six times as Haas gambled on strategy multiple times without much success. This was only Haas' second double points finish of the season, though.
Rating out of 10: 6.5
Even five-time world champions can be fallible in the trickiest of track conditions and so it proved for Lewis Hamilton, who rightly described this as his worst race for quite some time. Feeling unwell all through the weekend, he certainly didn't feel any better after crossing the finishing line in what was originally 11th place despite leading the race's first 29 laps.
One mistake is rare from Hamilton on race days these days, let alone two, so it was certainly unusual to see the Mercedes spinning off the circuit, particularly when the same car had led so apparently serenely through the race's wet-dry early phases. If the luck had been with Hamilton on Saturday - although he still delivered brilliantly in the Ferrari-less pole battle to head the field by 0.3s - it deserted F1's world champion driver and team in spades on Sunday. Such were the repeat mistakes and setbacks, that no wonder Hamilton described his day as being like a game of dominos.
The fact Hamilton ultimately heads to Budapest with an increased championship advantage is certainly fortune in the extreme.
Rating out of 10: 5.5
It may have come in rather fortunate circumstances after Alfa Romeo's double penalty, but 10th will mean a lot to Robert Kubica, who scores his first point since 2010, and Williams who finally open their account for the season.
Although Williams finished at the back of the field, they actually played it correctly when it came to early race strategy as both Kubica and Russell opted against fitting the slicks until the track was a lot drier later on. And Kubica will be delighted to have finished ahead of Russell for the first time this season. He was rewarded with that top-10 finish because of it.
Rating out of 10: 7
How frustrating for George Russell. He finishes behind Kubica once all season, and it's in that race where Williams score their first point. Russell was frustrated by Williams' tyre strategy, claiming: "We kept it on the black stuff when a lot of people didn't, and it was the best result of the year. It seems okay but there was a chance for more."
Rating out of 10: 6
Seventh became 12th for Kimi Raikkonen four hours after the chequered flag, which was a shame given the Finn had enjoyed a largely fast and combative weekend. There were two obvious highlights: qualifying fifth and then briefly racing in third after an electric getaway. A mistake lost him ground later on, but he was still the lead Alfa and typically brought the car home. But the team's clutch issues before the start ultimately undid that good work.
Rating out of 10: 7.5
Antonio Giovinazzi didn't qualify as impressively as Raikkonen - just missing out on a spot in Q3 - but was on for a good result like his team-mate before Alfa Romeo's late pit call compared to their rivals cost both drivers positions. Then came the penalty that knocked them out of the points entirely.
Rating out of 10: 6.5
After an improved performance at Silverstone, Pierre Gasly came crashing back down to earth at the German GP. Nothing really went right for the Frenchman - not helped by a confidence-denting crash in practice - and his race was a nightmare with multiple mistakes before losing out to the midfield in wheel-to-wheel combat, and then smashing into Albon's Toro Rosso. Must. Do. Better.
Rating out of 10: 5
Valtteri Bottas never seemed to have the pace of Lewis Hamilton in Germany - both in qualifying and the race - but he actually had a great chance to seal a second-place finish at least before he spun and crashed out on Lap 56.
At a time when Mercedes are thinking about whether to keep Bottas, that may well have been a costly mistake," said Sky F1's Ted Kravitz.
Rating out of 10: 5
You've got to feel for Nico Hulkenberg. He was the faster Renault this weekend and looked to be on for a first F1 podium - running only behind Max Verstappen and the Mercedes before crashing out on Lap 39. That's 167 races and counting without a maiden podium for Hulk - an unwanted record.
"I'm just gutted, for myself and for the team - especially in front of the home fans," he told Sky F1. "It hurts."
Rating out of 10: 6.5
Another of those 'what could have been' weekends for Charles Leclerc. Stopped in qualifying by his car when it looked as though he was on course for pole, the Monegasque ultimately stopped himself from at least reaching the podium on Sunday when he went spinning on that ice-like drag strip.
It was a cruel end to a weekend in which Leclerc had displayed prodigious speed in qualifying but, despite his anger about the positioning of that particular piece of tarmac, he insisted he still had only one person to blame - himself.
Rating out of 10: 6
Lando Norris was almost as busy on social media as he was on the track on Sunday with his race over after just 25 laps. In that time, Norris, who was knocked out in Q1 in a poor qualifying, enjoyed some decent battles - despite McLaren incorrectly keeping him on the wets at the start of the race - and looked to have good pace before losing power.
Rating out of 10: 6
These are the kind of races you sense Daniel Ricciardo loves and the Australian would have been confident of capitalising on a manic race with a decent result here. A shame, then, that he had an exhaust failure on Lap 13.
Rating out of 10: 6
Just three laps on the board for Sergio Perez, who shone in qualifying but then crashed at Turn 11. Like Ricciardo, you would have expected the Mexican to shine in these conditions.
Rating out of 10: N/A
Don't miss the next instalment of F1 2019 at the Hungarian GP this coming weekend on Sky Sports F1 - the final race before the summer break. Find out how to watch the 2019 season.
