Sundaram Ramaswami
Lewis Hamilton’s last outing in Germany was devastating, to say the least. However, he turned the tide this time round to take a historic victory at the Eifel Grand Prix. The race was historic for Renault as well as for a certain Kimi Raikkonen, but it will also be remembered for Nico Hulkenberg’s valiant last-minute substitution which brought four important points for the Racing Point team.
Here are all the numbers from the 2020 Eifel GP –
GENERAL –
- The Nurburgring is the only F1 circuit to have held a race with four different GP names – (German, European, Luxembourg, Eifel).
- The Nurburgring became the 4th venue (after Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza) to host a Grand Prix in each decade since the sport’s inception. Monaco is likely to be the 5th one, considering the race was cancelled this year.
- Only 3 of the last 19 races at the Nurburgring have been won by the polesitter, while the driver starting 2nd has emerged victorious in 5 of the last 6 races here.
- Nine different constructors finished in the top 10 on Sunday.
- Seven of the ten constructors have taken a podium this year, the most since 2012. The only ones missing out are Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams.
- George Russell and Nicholas Latifi are the only drivers yet to score a point this year.
- This was the first time since Japan 2017 that Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo shared the podium together.
MERCEDES
- This was Mercedes’ first win at the Nurburgring since 1954.
- Mercedes engines have scored a point in 228 consecutive F1 races (China 2008 – Germany 2020), equaling Ford-Cosworth’s all-time record set between 1967 and 1983.
- Mercedes have won 4 of the 5 races in Germany since the hybrid era. The one they missed out on? The infamous 2019 German GP, where Hamilton recorded a 50-second pit stop.
- Mercedes suffered their first race retirement of the year. There were the only team until now yet to endure a DNF this season.
- Hamilton’s 91 race wins equalled Michael Schumacher’s overall tally, a record that has lasted 14 years.
- Schumacher took 246 race starts to reach the landmark, while Hamilton took 261.
- This was Hamilton’s 70th race win with the Mercedes team. Quite interestingly, all of his 91 victories have come in a Mercedes-powered car.
- Hamilton’s win tally goes to 7 this year, with the Eifel GP victory being his first from a non-pole start in the 2020 season.
- Hamilton has now won at 24 different circuits since joining Mercedes in 2013. His overall count is 27 (including his races with McLaren).
- Hamilton now has a 69-point lead in the championship, the most he’s had after 11 races in any of his championship-winning campaigns. Surely, he has one hand and four fingers on the trophy already.
- It was a tough weekend for the Russian GP winner. This was Valtteri Bottas’ 5th race retirement, and second consecutive one in Germany, since joining Mercedes in 2017. Hamilton only has a solitary retirement in the same period (Austria 2018).
RED BULL RACING
- This was Verstappen’s 8th podium in 11 races this year and he sits just 14 points behind Bottas in the championship.
- Alex Albon’s streak of 24 consecutive race classifications came to an end at the Nurburgring.
- The Thai driver suffered his first-ever mechanical retirement in F1 at the Eifel GP. His only other retirement was at the 2019 Canadian GP, due to a first-lap collision.
- Honda engines have accumulated 21 podiums and 7 fastest laps since 2019, the same number as Ferrari engines in this period.
RACING POINT
- German drivers have scored a point in each of the races Germany has hosted in the last 20 years. Had it not been for Nico Hulkenberg’s late substitution in place of Lance Stroll, that streak could have very well ended, as the only other German on the grid, Sebastian Vettel, finished 11th.
- Hulkenberg is currently 7 points behind Vettel in the drivers’ standings, despite starting just 2 races this year.
- Racing Point are now 3rd in the constructors’ standings (120 points) with a 4-point margin over McLaren. The team have never finished higher than 4th, even when they operated under their former identity – Force India.
RENAULT
- Renault became the 10th constructor to take a podium in the hybrid era.
- Ricciardo took Renault’s first podium since Nick Heidfeld at the 2011 Malaysia GP, a gap of 3472 days and 188 GPs.
- Ricciardo took his first podium in 46 races. His last podium was at the 2018 Monaco GP, a race he won from pole.
- The Aussie who was tenth in the standings with 20 points five races earlier, has leapfrogged a bunch of midfield drivers and is currently fourth in the standings with 78 points to his name.
McLAREN
- McLaren have endured 3 retirements in the last 3 races.
- Lando Norris suffered his first non-finish since Mexico 2019. Two difficult races have dropped him to 6th in the drivers’ championship.
FERRARI
- This was Sebastian Vettel’s worst race finish at his home race.
- The last time Vettel finished two consecutive races outside the points was in 2007.
ALFA ROMEO
- Kimi Raikkonen emulated Rubens Barrichello at the Eifel GP, to become the most-capped F1 driver with 323 race starts.
- It’s worth mentioning that he spent two years away from F1 in 2010 and 2011, to compete in the World Rally Championship. The Finn is rumoured to sign a one-year extension with Alfa Romeo, which could take his total to 350 race starts if we have a 21-race season.
ALPHA TAURI
- This was Pierre Gasly’s 7th points finish in 11 races. The French driver is currently just 11 points behind Red Bull incumbent Alex Albon in the championship.
HAAS
- Romain Grosjean scored his first point after 441 days and 20 GPs. His last point came in Germany as well.
- The Frenchman has an interesting affinity towards Deútschland. Not only does he have a podium at the Nurburgring, but he’s also scored points in the last 3 races held in Germany.
- Grosjean has finished each of the last 10 races, a feat he’s achieved for the first time in his 10-year F1 career.
