Date: 28/07/2019
Venue: Hockenheim
Valtteri Bottas will look back on Silverstone as one that got away from him but he is backed to claim quick compensation in our German Grand Prix predictions.
The flying Finn shaded Lewis Hamilton for pole position and fended off a ferocious early challenge from his Mercedes teammate on race day, only for a safety car incident to go against him.
Despite having to settle for second best in Britain, Bottas will have been buoyed by a strong showing and is fair value at 5/2 in the German Grand Prix odds.
Bottas admitted that his two-stop strategy was also an error in judgement, but vowed to carry on taking the fight to runaway championship leader Hamilton.
“It was maybe not my luckiest day, but that’s life,” Bottas told the F1 website. “I think victory was 100 per cent possible, just the timing of the Safety Car was the worst.
“Not really my day, but at least the pace was good and it felt good out there, so there are positives to take.
“I’m still super-hungry for the win, so looking forward to doing it again in two weeks!”
Team head Toto Wolff added: “To bounce back from our worst weekend of the season with a 1-2 at our home race is a great feeling.
“Valtteri had a really strong weekend; he outqualified Lewis at Silverstone, he led the race, he defended spectacularly, but the Safety Car came out in the wrong moment for him.
“We’re now looking forward to our second home race in Hockenheim.”
How the British Grand Prix finished
1 Hamilton (Mercedes), 2 Bottas (Mercedes), 3 Leclerc (Ferrari), 4 Gasly (Red Bull), 5 Verstappen (Red Bull), 6 Sainz (McLaren), 7 Ricciardo (Renault), 8 Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), 9 Kvyat (Toro Rosso), 10 Hulkenberg (Renault), 11 Norris (McLaren), 12 Albon (Toro Rosso), 13 Stroll (Racing Point), 14 Russell (Williams), 15 Kubica (Williams), 16 Vettel (Ferrari), 17 Perez (Racing Point), DNF Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), Grosjean (Haas), Magnussen (Haas)
Hamilton extended his lead at the top of the table to 39 points with a sixth British Grand Prix victory – and an 80th race win overall.
His record in Germany is also impressive, securing a fourth triumph 12 months ago, with three of those successes coming at Hockenheim.
Even at 18/25, the 34-year-old is sure to feature amongst many German Grand Prix betting tips.
Making a case for the other leading contenders is not quite so easy, but Charles Leclerc has rightly climbed above Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel in the odds list.
Vettel has won just once in the last 12 months, was significantly slower than Leclerc all weekend at Silverstone and looks like a driver desperately devoid of confidence.
The four-time world champion added to his long list of mistakes when he lost control and crashed into the back of Max Verstappen.
He finished 16th, a lap down, and is now a staggering 100 points behind Hamilton, so 10/1 in the German Grand Prix odds will tempt few people in.
Leclerc did put in a brave display to finish third last time out and is quoted at 7/1 to prevail at Hockenheim.
“It was a good day for me,” said the youngster. “This was by far the most fun race of my Formula 1 career to date.
“But from a technical point of view, I think we need to further improve our race pace and how we manage the tyres, because we struggled a bit.”
Verstappen is 8/1 after the Red Bull team took some positives from Silverstone, but making up enough ground to challenge Mercedes will still be tough.
Past German Grand Prix winners:
2018 Hamilton (Mercedes), Bottas, Raikkonen
2016 Hamilton (Mercedes), Ricciardo, Verstappen
2014 Rosberg (Mercedes), Bottas, Hamilton
2013 Vettel (Red Bull), Raikkonen, Grosjean
2012 Alonso (Ferrari), Button, Raikkonen
2011 Hamilton (McLaren), Alonso, Webber
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