Hamilton seals pole ahead of Verstappen, Bottas only third; Vettel knocked out in Q1 while Leclerc didn't post Q3 lap as both suffer Ferrari failures; Watch Sunday's German GP at 2.10pm on Sky F1
Saturday 27 July 2019 17:41, UK
Lewis Hamilton sealed pole position for the German GP ahead of Max Verstappen after Ferrari suffered a double disaster - with both Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel's qualifying ruined by reliability failures.
Ferrari, on top of every practice before Saturday's shootout, looked to be the leading contenders for pole but Vettel failed to set a time in Q1 and is set to start at the back of the grid, while Leclerc made it to Q3 but then did not get out on track.
The Scuderia confirmed Vettel had a 'turbo related problem' while Leclerc had a 'fuel system issue'.
Those problems prevented what was set to be an epic battle between Leclerc and Hamilton - and the championship leader kept his nerve in the final portion of qualifying to seal his fourth pole of the season.
His stonking time, a 1:11.767, may well have been enough for top spot without Ferrari's troubles.
"Ferrari have been really fast this weekend, and I think they've been on a slightly different level," said Hamilton, who claimed he nearly didn't even take part in qualifying due to illness.
"I think the times at the end were good enough to be able to compete with Leclerc if he'd done a lap at the end. It would've been close between us."
But, somewhat surprisingly, Hamilton will not be joined on the front row for Sunday's race by team-mate Valtteri Bottas - but by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Verstappen was three tenths slower than Hamilton, but crucially 0.016s quicker than Bottas.
Pierre Gasly was fourth in the other Red Bull, 0.7s off the pace after his final lap - which would not have lifted him up the order- was deleted due to exceeding track limits.
Ferrari's issues allowed Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean into the top six, while Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg all beat their team-mates to make it into Q3.
German GP Qualifying Result
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
4) Pierre Gasly, Red Bull
5) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo
6) Romain Grosjean, Haas
7) Carlos Sainz, McLaren
8) Sergio Perez, Racing Point
9) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
10) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
What happened to Ferrari?
They're without a win all season but it looked like it was going to be a super Saturday for Ferrari - especially after Leclerc set the pace in final practice when the drop in temperature was expected to favour Mercedes.
But come qualifying, disaster struck.
Vettel was the first to encounter problems, reporting a loss in power on his first lap in Q1. He immediately returned to the pits and Ferrari, after taking his engine cover off, failed to find a fix.
They later confirmed a problem concerning airflow to the turbo in the engine.
"Obviously I'm very bitter, as the car is great, and we've lost out on a big chance," said Vettel, who was looking to bounce back from a critical error at his home race last year.
Leclerc remained on track and was the fastest man in Q1, and just behind Hamilton in Q2. A second pole in three races was in his sights.
The youngster, however, didn't even get out of the garage in the final 12-minute shootout, with Ferrari claiming his failure was to do with the fuel system.
Barring any penalties, he is set to start 10th.
Ferrari have been slower than Mercedes this season, but always reliable. This was a new low, and the debriefs will be intense.
Watch the German GP live only on Sky Sports this weekend. Find out more here to watch the 2019 season live
