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Lewis Hamilton in front of Max Verstappen - the fans at the Nürburgring followed this picture for most of the race
Photo:
INA FASSBENDER / AFP
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton celebrated the 91st race victory of his Formula 1 career at the Nürburgring.
The Briton draws level with Michael Schumacher, who also had 91 victories in his career.
Hamilton crossed the finish line at the Eifel Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Daniel Ricciardo (Renault).
Hamilton's greatest competitor appeared to be team-mate Valtteri Bottas before the race, and as in previous weeks.
The Finn won the last race in Sochi and won qualifying at the Nürburgring on Saturday.
Bottas wasn't in a good mood, however, for 13 laps: Hamilton overtook him after braking at corner one, and only six laps later he had to park his car due to a technical defect.
Drivers repeatedly complained of technical problems on the unfamiliar track, and Formula 1 started in the Eifel for the first time since 2013.
Esteban Ocon (Renault) had to park his car on the 24th lap, Lando Norris (McLaren) on the 45th lap.
In the meantime, Norris was third, but was then overtaken by Ricciardo.
Tension after restart
Even the Renault driver had nothing to do with the decision to win: After just 40 laps, Ricciardo was around a minute behind Verstappen, who was ten seconds behind Hamilton.
It was only after a safety car phase that the field moved closer together, and when he restarted on lap 50, Verstappen defended spectacularly against Ricciardo.
In the back field, Nico Hülkenberg (Racing Point) fought for points against Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), among others.
On Saturday, Hülkenberg, who is currently without a contract, was called up for the sick Lance Stroll at short notice and started the race from last place without a training session.
At the start, the German made up three places, in the end he crossed the finish line in a strong eighth place.
Vettel was eleventh.
Things went worse for Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo): With his 323rd start in Formula 1, the 40-year-old set a record.
Because he drove Williams driver George Russell out of the race due to a driving error, he received a ten-second penalty and finished twelfth.
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