Brit goes from zero to hero as Seb spins out

LEWIS HAMILTON climbed off his knees to claim arguably the greatest Grand Prix win of his stellar career.

The Mercedes star was crushed after being forced out of qualifying with mechanical issues, meaning he had to start 14th on the grid.

The image of Saturday was of Hamilton trying in vain to push his stricken car back to the pits before sinking to the floor, overcome with emotion.

Fast forward 24 hours and the picture of the day was of a victorious Hamilton – arms aloft after climbing from the cockpit of his car – leaping into the welcoming arms of his mechanics.

This time the misery was reserved for Sebastian Vettel, who struggled to hold back the tears as his best and possibly last chance of winning his home race was snatched away from him.

Indeed, if this is to be last German Grand Prix for the foreseeable future should their contract not be renewed, it was one hell of a way for Hockenheim to bow out.

The race already had plenty of ingredients to be a classic, with Hamilton way down the order and Australian charger Daniel Ricciardo starting from the back.

Hamilton’s progress through the field was just as rapid as it had been at Silverstone two weeks ago after first-lap contact with Kimi Raikkonen shunted him down the pack.

But fifth place looked like being the best he could hope for until the rain, which had threatened for much of the race, finally arrived.

It appeared the drivers might be able to cope with the greasy track at first, those who had dived into the pits for intermediate tyres soon forced back to the pits for another set of slicks.

But as the shower intensified it was race leader Vettel who was guilty of the most costly mistake, losing control of his Ferrari on lap 52 at Turn 13 before sliding across the gravel trap and into the barriers.

After taking victory at Silverstone, Vettel boasted down his radio about how Ferrari could take the flag of St George back to Italy to hang in their Maranello factory.

On home turf all he could muster, following his potentially title-deciding shunt, was: “F***s sake, f***s sake. Sorry guys. Oh s**t!”

Vettel’s misfortune saw the safety car deployed, prompting Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Raikkonen to dive into the pits.

Hamilton was all set to do the same before a late call to abort saw him forced to dive across the grass and back on to the circuit to take up first place.

With 10 laps to go the race resumed and Bottas went for his Mercedes team-mate full tilt. But the Finn was soon told to hold station with the track still treacherous.

Hamilton duly took the chequered flag ahead of Bottas and Raikkonen.

But the Brit’s day of drama was not complete, with stewards finally deciding, almost three hours after the race, that a reprimand was sufficient punishment for his pit-lane diversion.

So, an eight-point deficit to Vettel in the fight for the title has, remarkably, been turned into a 17-point advantage.