Max Verstappen stormed to a thrilling victory at Hockenheim for Red Bull, as Mercedes crumbled at their home race.

Verstappen’s win was his seventh in Formula One and followed a chaotic German Grand Prix.

Verstappen: “It was amazing to win in the end. It was really tricky to make the right calls.”

“To come out on top it was all about not making mistakes. It’s amazing to win here.”

The win was Verstappen second triumph in three races, after claiming top honours in Austria.

Vettel and Kvyat Comebacks

Sebastian Vettel pulled off an amazing comeback to take second place from last place.

Alongside some ruthless overtaking, Vettel also benefited from a strong tyre strategy amongst the numerous safety cars.

Vettel: “I’m just happy. I think before the last safety car I realised I was quite a bit faster, and I had some good moves on the back straight.”

“It was about getting the next car, and the next car, and the next car.”

The result marks Vettel’s first podium finish following his controversial time penalty in Montreal.

Daniil Kvyat took his third career podium and Toro Rosso’s second, as he found himself battling Racing Point’s Lance Stroll in the latter stages.

Stroll catapulted himself into podium contention by pitting early for soft tyres, and briefly led before Verstappen re-took the position.

Kvyat got ahead but soon found himself behind a charging Vettel.

Luckily, the Russian managed to stay ahead of Stroll to take Toro Rosso’s first podium since 2008.

Saturday – becomes a father ?

Sunday – on the podium at Hockenheim ?

An incredible 24 hours in the life of @kvyatofficial ?#F1 #GermanGP ?? pic.twitter.com/saZm4yV2eY

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019

Kvyat: “It’s amazing to be back on the podium. And to bring one back for the team after so many years is special.”

“It was a horror movie with a bit of black comedy out there!”

Kvyat’s third place also marked the first time two Honda-powered cars achieved a 1-3 finish in a Grand Prix since 1992.

A Bittersweet Anniversary for Mercedes

Mercedes endured a very difficult home grand prix and saw the Silver Arrows walk away with no points.

This is a result the team will want to forget on their 125th anniversary, especially after a strong qualifying performance on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton brought his Mercedes W10 machine home in eleventh place, after he ran off the circuit earlier in the race on dry tyres.

This spin knocked off half of his front wing and forced an unscheduled stop.

As the Briton returned to the pit lane, he failed to cross to the right of the bollard, and consequently received a five-second time penalty.

In the closing laps, the reigning champion spun again at Turn 1, but avoided a crash.

However, moments later, Valtteri Bottas, who was chasing Lance Stroll for third place, crashed at the same point.

A difficult and dizzying day for both Mercedes drivers at Hockenheim ? ?#F1 #GermanGP ?? pic.twitter.com/x8u4opjBMT

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019

Following the incident the safety car was deployed, subsequently closing up the grid which saw the late recovery from Vettel.

Leclerc Leads Long List of Retirements

While there was smiles on Vettel’s side of the garage, it was less joyful on Leclerc’s side.

Moments before Hamilton’s crash, the Monegasque driver lost control at the same point while running on the soft tyre.

However, unlike Hamilton who was able to limp back to the pits, Leclerc was unable to get his Ferrari out of the gravel.

Sergio Perez was the first to crash out not long after the start of the race in wet conditions.

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris were both unfortunate to suffer mechanical problems and failed to see the finish.

Elsewhere, Nico Hulkenberg ended up in the barriers whilst in contention for a podium finish.

Devastated ?#F1 #GermanGP ?? @HulkHulkenberg pic.twitter.com/W6vlV3pSca

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019

Pierre Gasly’s Red Bull failed to see the chequered flag, after colliding with Alexander Albon’s Toro Rosso and damaging his front wing.

Gasly struggled throughout the race, while Albon managed to secure a career-best sixth place behind Stroll and the McLaren of Carlos Sainz Jr.

Afla Romeo Penalties Benefit Hamilton and Williams

Alfa Romeo put in a strong performance in the tricky conditions.

Despite a few off track moments for Kimi Raikkonen, the Iceman crossed the line in seventh, ahead of Italian teammate Antonio Giovinazzi who finished eighth.

However, after the race the stewards found that both cars breached the regulations relating to the application of clutch torque during the start.

Because of this, Raikkonen and Giovinazzi were handed 30 second penalties and dropped out the top ten.

This promoted Haas’ Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen to seventh and eighth places respectively. The two driver did come together near the end of the race at the hairpin, but continued to the relive of Team Principal Guenther Steiner.

After a tough race, Lewis Hamilton was able score points in ninth with Robert Kubica claiming the first point for Williams in 2019.