Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari has pole position for the Formula One German Grand Prix on Sunday, narrowly edging out Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes for the top spot. Lewis Hamilton, Vettel’s top competition in the Drivers’ Championship, didn’t get an opportunity at pole when his car suffered a hydraulics failure in the second qualifying session.
Sunday’s race is set to begin at 9 a.m. ET in the United States, and will be broadcast on ESPN. Live online streaming of the race can be had via WatchESPN, the ESPN App or F1 TV Pro.
Hamilton was so distraught at his misfortune in Q2, he tried to get out and push his car back to the pits, which would have made him eligible to compete in Q3 as his posted time was fast enough to advance. But the on-track stewards prevailed and Hamilton’s car was pushed to the site, where it was extracted.
“We had the failure at turn one as Lewis ran the ‘normal’ kerb which all the drivers use in that stage of qualifying,” Mercedes said after the session.
“Then, with failed power steering as a result of the hydraulic failure, we had the ‘jumping’ moments that were seen on TV and which people understandably thought might have been the cause of the issue, but were in fact a consequence of it.”
Vettel spoke on Hamilton’s issue, calling it a “shame,” but also noting that he has to focus on winning a race on Sunday. He starts 13 places on the grid ahead of Hamilton. He also currently leads Hamilton by eight points in the standings.
“I don’t wish anything bad or something like a technical issue which he had to happen to anyone,” Vettel said. “It was a shame to see him go out and I mean it but you look after yourself and we try to do the race tomorrow which is the most important part of the weekend.”
Behind Vettel and Bottas are Kimi Raikkonen, the former’s teammate at Ferrari, and Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Verstappen’s teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, knew going into qualifying that he was going to be at the back of the grid due to a power unit replacement on his car.
Kevin Magnussesn and Romain Grosjean of the American-owned Haas F1 team qualified fifth and sixth, respectively, ahead of both Renault cards. The Sauber of Charles Leclerc once again made it into the third qualifying session, and will line up ninth alongside Sergio Perz and his Force India to round out the Top 10.
Below is all you need to know to watch the race on Sunday.
How to watch the 2018 F1 German Grand Prix
Date: Sunday, July 22
Location: Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany
Time: 9 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Online Streaming: WatchESPN, ESPN App, F1 TV Pro
F1 2018 German Grand Prix Starting Grid
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:11.212 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:11.416 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:11.547 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:11.822 |
| 5 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:12.200 |
| 6 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:12.544 |
| 7 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:12.560 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Renault | 1:12.692 |
| 9 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | 1:12.717 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:12.774 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:13.657 |
| 12 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | 1:13.702 |
| 13 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:13.736 |
| 14 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | No time |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:13.720 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:13.749 |
| 17 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1:14.045 |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:14.206 |
| 19 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:14.401 |
| 20 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | No time |
