F1 News
Vettel’s 20th to second place ‘nothing spectacular’
- Bevan Youl
Jolyon Palmer has called Sebastian Vettel’s drive from 20th on the grid to second place ‘nothing spectacular’ after the chaotic German Grand Prix but praised his maturity.
Ferrari had dominated the majority of the weekend at the Hockenheimring but engine issues left Vettel unable to run during qualifying on Saturday, leaving him to start at the back of the grid.
The German worked his way up into the top 10 in the early stages of the race but spent the majority of it outside the top five up until the dry weather.
Vettel ‘lacked pace’ according the Palmer but made the most of other drivers’ mistakes and keeping his own to a minimum.
Palmer said in his BBC Sport column: “Vettel's drive to second was nothing spectacular either.
“If you just looked at the statistics, it would appear to be one of the best drives in history, coming from 20th - and last - on the grid to second place by the chequered flag.
“In truth, though, Vettel lacked pace for much of the grand prix and was languishing in around eighth place from lap six to lap 56, with a high of sixth place at the latter point as Bottas hit the wall ahead.
“But what Vettel did was produce a mature drive, keeping his mistakes to a minimum.”
In the closing stages of the race Vettel overtook the midfield runners in front of him, using the advantage of his Ferrari to take an unlikely second place at his home grand prix.
“From there, he exploited the Ferrari's pace advantage over slower midfield rivals - his only competition left bar Verstappen out front - and breezed through for an unlikely second place,” Palmer added.
“Vettel's maturity shone in this race rather than any supreme driving talent and it earned him a standout and much-deserved result, after a lot of bad luck recently.”