Published: Today at 14:54
IT was supposed to be Lewis Hamilton’s day to celebrate his 100th grand prix — but he had to settle for a supporting role to McLaren team-mate Jenson Button.
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Hamilton’s hopes of victory in his landmark race were dashed as early as the second lap due to a puncture before he was later forced to retire with a mechanical problem.
But he still played a key part in helping Button finish in third place behind winner Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who controversially overtook the Brit to claim second.
Red Bull’s preparations for this race were thrown into chaos just a few hours before the start when they received news that the stewards were investigating their engine mapping.
It made for a twitchy few hours for the Milton Keynes-based team before technical whizz Adrian Newey spoke to the officials to put forward their case.
They then received welcome news that the FIA would take no further action, meaning Vettel and Mark Webber held their second and eighth places on the grid.
Vettel managed to maintain his position as the lights turned green but was forced to fend off his one-time idol Michael Schumacher.
The battle between the two Germans allowed Ferrari’s Alonso to open up an early gap, but it was not such a smooth start for his team-mate Feipe Massa.
Under-fire Brazilian Massa lost his front wing going into the first corner, sending splinters of fibreglass flying across the track.
While he was able to limp back to the pits for a new nose, the consequences for Hamilton were massive.
The Brit, who made a slow start from the line to drop down a place, picked up a puncture on his front tyre at the start of his second lap.
He quickly radioed to his pit crew that he “could barely get back to the pit” before adding that he thought he should “retire” from the race.
His McLaren team, however, did not share the same view as their driver and set about changing his tyres before sending him back out to rejoin the race in 22nd place.
While Hamilton was not having any fun around the Hockenheimring, Button was enjoying his best outing in the last seven races.
He quickly set about catching Nico Hulkenberg before passing him at turn four on his eighth lap.
The 32-year-old then hunted down Schumacher before overtaking him three laps later at the hairpin turn six with a great move on the seven-time world champion.
Button’s heroics quickly took its toll on his tyres and he was called into the pits by his team after 20 laps.
After his rivals also made their stops, Button was up to third place having made up a 2.5-second gap on Vettel.
Meanwhile, Vettel started chipping away at Alonso’s lead as the Spaniard started to nurse his tyres early, a tactic he has used successfully in previous races.
Hamilton’s early problems meant he was soon picking off the backmarkers but it was not long before he was back in the centre of the action with the rest of the leaders.
He was lapped by Alonso and then Vettel but the Brit, who was quicker than the German, set about un-lapping himself.
The 27-year-old was perfectly entitled to attack Vettel and then overtook him on his 34th lap, much to the dismay of the two-time world champion.
Hamilton then focused on Alonso, who even used a burst of KERS to fend off his challenger — despite him being a lap behind.
All of which only served to help Button, who was able to creep up on the two cars in front of him.
With Hamilton keeping both Alonso and Vettel occupied, McLaren made a bold decision to call in Button to the pits on lap 41.
The team, who had struggled so badly with their pitstops earlier in the season, made a faultless and quick stop of just 2.4 seconds.
The stop prompted Red Bull and Ferrari to call in their drivers as the excitement level was cranked up.
Vettel’s stop was slightly slower than Alonso’s and when he returned to the track he was wheel-to-wheel with Button, who managed to hold his nerve to pip his opponent into second.
It was the sort of performance we have come to expect from the 2009 world champion, who went into this race with a return of just seven points from his previous six races.
It appeared to give him a huge boost in confidence as he quickly charged down Alonso, while Vettel’s challenge suffered a blow after running wide at turn one.
Hamilton’s miserable day was compounded when he retired at the end of lap 57, with one eye on preserving his car for next weekend’s race in Hungary.
Out in front, Alonso was still able to keep Button at arms-length, while Vettel made a late surge on Button.
The Red Bull’s pace began to pick up and it was not long before Button was in trouble.
Vettel was breathing down his neck on the penultimate lap before passing him on turn six, although the move took him off the track.
Button quickly complained about the German’s unfair pass, which the stewards later confirmed they were looking into.
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