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After a washout on Friday, things definitely took a turn for the better at the Nurburgring where a lack of track time and unfamiliar conditions gave all the drivers - including special guest star Nico Hulkenberg - an extra challenge and opportunity to prove what they were capable of in Formula 1's first ever Eifel Grand Prix.
George Russell (Retired, Lap 12): 6.5/10
This wasn't the best of weekends for George Russell, who struggled to get to grips with the Nurburgring in the sole one hour practice session available to the drivers although he still managed to outpace his Williams team mate Nicholas Latifi by the end of the session. There was little eye-catching sparkle to his qualifying run either, and he wasn't able to break out of Q1 in the way that he has managed so consistently during the season up to now. And then when it came to the race, he picked up two places in the early laps thanks to Romain Grosjean hitting problems and Alex Albon pitting early, fended off Nico Hulkenberg and found himself lining up a tasty target in the form of Sebastian Vettel when no less a driver than Kimi Raikkonen out-braked himself and clouted the side of the FW43, destroying its suspension and leaving Russell parked by the trackside. Nothing the Briton could do, and certainly not his fault.
Valtteri Bottas (Pole, Retired, Lap 18): 8.5/10
If the ratings were for Saturday only, we'd give Valtteri Bottas a full ten out of ten for the way he took charge in tricky, cold conditions and showed what was possible in both final practice and in qualifying, where he ended up a very convincing 0.256s faster than Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the end of Q3 to give him pole position - just what he needed to maintain the momentum of his win last time out in Sochi. Then there was his robust defence of the lead from Hamilton into turn 1 that impressed even his team mate - finally we are seeing a Valtteri who is willing to drop his deferential manner and bare his teeth even at the risk of making contact. But just when it looked as though it was to be his day, Bottas was too hard on his tyres resulting in a costly lock-up that opened the door wide for Hamilton to swoop, while the Finn needed an early pit stop that dropped him to fourth. All might not have been lost however and there was still a chance he could have undercut Hamilton and Verstappen to retake the lead - but the Mercedes' MGU-H had its own plans for an early siesta and that was that.
