Race: Hamilton prevails as a commanding leader!

Lewis Hamilton delivered a superb race in Hockenheim, Germany, to secure a new victory ahead of a remarkable and increasingly confident Nelson Piquet. It was the intervention of the safety car that marked this race.

Felipe Massa takes third place, ahead of Nick Heidfeld, Heikki Kovalainen, and Kimi Räikkönen.

The first half of this German Grand Prix proceeded without incident. Hamilton (McLaren) quickly pulled away from Massa and his teammate Kovalainen.

Robert Kubica for BMW benefited from a good start to pass Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso. Then it was Räikkönen in the Ferrari who overtook the Spaniard, who apparently lacked a bit of energy and flair in this 10th race of the season.

The first twists could have come with the first pit stop, but Hamilton’s McLaren benefits even more and remains the leader with a 12-second advantage over Massa.

It could have looked like an easy victory for the McLaren driver until Timo Glock, who had moved up to third place in his Toyota before pitting and then positioned himself between Sebastian Vettel and Alonso, was involved in a serious accident on the pit straight on the 35th lap.

The German, in front of his home crowd, was likely the victim of a rear suspension failure before crashing into the wall, which led to the deployment of the safety car. Glock was taken to the hospital for checks but appears to suffer from no injuries.

This incident was a stroke of luck for Renault and its second driver Piquet, who had opted for a one-stop strategy. Indeed, he refueled just seconds before the intervention of the safety car.

Hamilton and Heidfeld, who were in first and second positions, had to refuel and made the mistake of not taking advantage of it during the safety car period, while the rest of the field did.

Piquet was therefore the leader of this race as he was third behind Hamilton and Heidfeld. The Briton was then 13 seconds behind the race leader.

He then quickly caught up with his teammate Kovalainen, who voluntarily let him pass, and began a relentless chase against the Renault and Ferrari. The 2007 vice world champion was gaining more than a second per lap.

Hamilton overtook Massa on the 56th lap and didn’t waste any time catching up to another Brazilian in the form of Nelson Piquet, who was unable to withstand the power of the MP4/23.

Massa remains in third behind Piquet, who nevertheless started from the second-to-last row on the grid.

Heidfeld also benefited from his strategy to stay ahead of Kovalainen and Räikkönen.

Kubica is seventh and Vettel clinches the last point after taking advantage of a small mistake by Trulli. Alonso is only 11th behind Rosberg.

The Toro Rosso of Sébastien Bourdais takes 12th place. David Coulthard finishes 13th after a bad start and a later collision with Rubens Barrichello, who had to retire.

The only other retirement is that of Mark Webber. His Red Bull fell victim to an engine failure behind the safety car.