Lewis Hamilton won in Hockenheim but it was the second-place finish of Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr – and more troubles at Ferrari – that caught the eye of RBS ambassador and three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart.
"The German Grand Prix suggested to me that the McLaren is currently a better car than the Ferrari, which seems to be very difficult to set up. And whatever Ferrari's problem is, their drivers are having difficulty driving around it.
Lewis Hamilton had complete command of the race, and had pulled out a substantial lead, when the safety car was produced after Timo Glock's accident. That accident showed that the current Formula One cars are, in a sense, quite fragile. There have been several incidents this year where suspensions have broken after running over a kerb.
McLaren's decision not to call Hamilton in for a pit stop during the safety car period was a very questionable one, particularly given that they are running for the Championship. It's like in The Open golf tournament – sometimes it's better to use the two iron rather than the driver.
The Make it happen moment of the race was Renault's decision to put Nelson Piquet Jr on a one-stop strategy. The timing of Glock's accident turned out to be a major benefit to him. Without it, he would have had no more chance of a podium finish than of flying in the air. He was aiming merely to be in the top 10, but Renault's strategy allowed them to take full advantage of the available opportunities. And Piquet drove a very good race – not like we saw from him in the first half of the season.
I thought Felipe Massa should not have moved off the racing line when Hamilton passed him at the hairpin. He should have stayed tight to the inside and defended his line more. Massa is fighting for the World Championship, and opening the door that wide was not a good decision. He should have made Hamilton work for it.
But full credit to Lewis: he delivered when he had to. He was extremely aggressive in passing Massa and Piquet. And brave too – in either case he could have interlocked wheels. We saw at Hockenheim that Hamilton, with just one year's experience, is unquestionably the fastest driver in the McLaren team."
