The drivers who made it into Q3 would have to start the race on the tyres they had used to set their fastest lap time in Q2.
Qualifying Īs per the regulations, qualifying consisted of three parts, lasting 18, 15 and 12 minutes in length and entitled Q1, Q2 and Q3 respectively, with five drivers being eliminated after each of the first two sessions. The session ended with Charles Leclerc quickest in his Sauber. Whereas the first two practice sessions were dry, final practice took place in heavy rain and as a result only nine drivers set a lap time as the heavy rain would cause the session to provide little useful data. Further back Renault and Stoffel Vandoorne both complained that they had poor first and second practice sessions with Vandoone calling it his "worst Friday for a long time." Williams however had a positive day with the team pleased with the benefits brought on by their new front wing.
F1 2018 qualifying driver#
However Red Bull driver Max Verstappen still thought that his team would be able to compete with the Mercedes and Ferraris over the course of the race weekend, meanwhile Hamilton also prophesied that Sebastain Vettel and Ferrari would be the team to beat. This meant that despite Red Bull being fastest Mercedes and Ferrari were still considered favourites for the Grand Prix.
F1 2018 qualifying full#
Īcross the first two practice sessions it was the Red Bulls which set the fastest overall lap, marginally ahead of Mercedes with the Red Bull cars also appearing to have the fastest race pace, around 0.2 seconds quicker than the race pace of Mercedes' and Ferrari's, although Mercedes and Ferrari would rarely reveal their full potential during practice sessions. The second practice session also passed without incident and ended with the other Red Bull of Max Verstappen being fastest with Lewis Hamilton finishing a close second in both practice sessions. The first practice session passed without incident and ended with Daniel Ricciardo being fastest for Red Bull. Practice Īs stated in the sporting regulations, three practice sessions were held, the first two were held on the Friday and were each ninety minutes in length with the last practice session taking place on the Saturday, before qualifying, lasting 60 minutes in length.
In addition to this Pirelli brought the intermediate and full wet tyres for light and heavy standing water conditions respectively.
Of the three the ultrasoft was the least durable but offered the most grip with the medium tyres being the most durable but offering the least grip. Tyre supplier Pirelli selected the medium, soft and ultrasoft tyres for the Grand Prix weekend. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari held a twenty–point lead over second placed Mercedes. Championship standings before the race īefore the race, Ferrari driver, Sebastian Vettel lead the World Drivers' Championship, with Lewis Hamilton in second place, eight points behind. Renault brought an updated front wing and Williams brought an updated aerodynamic package. Ferrari brought a new exhaust system and a new rear wing. Several teams brought car upgrades to this race. The race marked the 77th running of the German Grand Prix and it was the 63rd time it was run as part of the World Championship since the inaugural 1950 season. It was the 11th round of 21 in the 2018 Formula One World Championship. This was the first German Grand Prix since 2016 and it took place at the Hockenheimring near Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.