In particularly those starting off the racing line, where few if any drivers had thought to run during the pace laps, got away poorly. Everyone got away from their positions, though some markedly better than others. Hamilton led a delayed standing startThe field sent huge rooster tails of spray into the air as the lights went out. Instead, after three laps the field formed up on a still very wet grid to start the race.

But in the two-and-a-half years since the rule was introduced, many commentators appeared to have forgotten it, and led many fans to believe the race would have a rolling start. Since 2017 the race director has had the option of ordering a standing start after commencing a race behind a Safety Car. However when race control elected to send the field away behind the Safety Car, the question of which tyre to start on became moot. Lewis Hamilton was on top, and it was tipping down.ĭriving their reconnaissance laps on a soaked circuit, Hamilton was one of a handful of drivers who braced the intermediate tyre. It was as if the 2019 German Grand Prix had picked up five minutes after last year’s podium ceremony at the Hockenheimring.