Max Verstappen wins German Grand Prix

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Max Verstappen wins German Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashes

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took his second win of the year in a chaotic and incident-strewn German Grand Prix held in intermittent rain.

The Dutchman led a topsy-turvy result in which Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took second from last on the grid and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat was third.

Lewis Hamilton had a day to forget, finishing 11th after two mistakes.

But the Briton did not lose any ground to team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the championship after the Finn crashed.

It was a dismal way for Mercedes to end a weekend when the team celebrated 125 years in motorsport and their 200th Formula 1 race.

But the Mercedes drivers were not the only ones to fall foul of the treacherous conditions in a race that featured a remarkable six safety cars – two of them virtual – and the winner made five pit stops to change back and forth between wet and dry tyres.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed when looking in strong shape for at least second place. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg went off at the same place, the treacherous penultimate corner, which was also where Hamilton made one of his errors.

After the race Hamilton was classified as finishing ninth following 30-second penalties handed to the Alfa Romeos of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi for driver aid infringements. Hamilton therefore gained two points in the title race over Bottas. The action also ensured Williams scored an unlikely point for the first time this season, with Robert Kubica 10th. 

Through the chaos, Verstappen drove an almost flawless race, tracking the Mercedes in third place through the first half of the Grand Prix and then moving to the front as the world champions' race fell apart.

Red Bull made all the strategy calls correctly and Verstappen judged the conditions perfectly to take a well-deserved victory which made him look the class of the field – although even he had a big spin, one corner before the bend that took out Leclerc, Hulkenberg and Hamilton.

Canadian Stroll fell behind Vettel but still managed an excellent fourth place for the team now owned by his father, while Sainz took fifth – another excellent race drive from the Spaniard, who escaped his own off at the penultimate corner – and Albon a career-best finish of sixth halfway through his debut season.

There was a treat for fans at Hockenheim as Mick Schumacher took his father Michael's championship-winning Ferrari F2004 around the circuit for a spin

How they crossed the line

1 Netherlands Max Verstappen  Red Bull 

2 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari  

3 Russia Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso  

4 Canada Lance Stroll Racing Point  

5 Spain Carlos Sainz Jnr McLaren  

6  Thailand Alexander Albon Toro Rosso 

7 France Romain Grosjean Haas  

8  Denmark Kevin Magnussen  Haas  

9 Great Britain Lewis Hamilton Mercedes   

10  Poland Robert Kubica  Williams 

11Great Britain George Russell  Williams 

12 Finland Kimi Raikkonen  Alfa Romeo  

13 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo   

14France Pierre Gasly Red Bull  

Did not finish 

Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 

Germany Nico Hulkenberg  Renault  

MonacoCharles Leclerc  Ferrari  

Great Britain Lando Norris McLaren 

Australia Daniel Ricciardo  Renault 

Mexico Sergio Perez  Racing Point