Lewis Hamilton’s world title defence is in tatters after his Mercedes broke down in qualifying for the German Grand Prix. Hamilton will start tomorrow’s race at Hockenheim from 14th on the grid after a hydraulic failure forced him out of contention. Hamilton trails championship leader Sebastian Vettel by eight points, but the German is perfectly placed to extend his advantage having taken pole position in front of his home fans. READ: The full qualifying report for the German Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Silverstone race where he finished second on his home circuit by landing pole position for the German Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel triumphed at the British Grand Prix to extend his world championship lead to eight points, and now Hamilton will hope to hit back at his title rival by winning on the German's home circuit. Follow all the qualifying action from Hockenheim as it happens where conditions could benefit Hamilton due to the wet conditions at the circuit. If you are using the app, please click here to view today’s live blog<doc-sep>UPDATE: SEBASTIAN Vettel secured pole position for the German Grand Prix on Saturday while Lewis Hamilton’s hopes took another blow. Already trailing Vettel by eight points in the title race, Hamilton starts Sunday’s race from 14th place after a hydraulic failure. A huge roar went up from German fans at the Hockenheimring as their local favorite - Vettel grew up near to the track - moved top of the leaderboard with seconds left in qualifying. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas had only just beaten Vettel’s leading time, when Vettel produced a stunning lap to move back in front by about 0.2 seconds. “To do it here, just minutes from where I was born and grew up, it means a lot,” Vettel said. “I’m confident for tomorrow.” Vettel has only won the German GP once - five years ago when it was held at the Nuerburgring - but never at Hockeneim. His 55th career pole position felt even sweeter. Today’s one of my best. I have a mixed relationship with this track. For some reason it has never come together,” Vettel said. “The car was really a pleasure to drive. Some days you can feel you have something in your hands. That’s the feeling I had.” Ferrari’s good day was completed with Kimi Raikkonen third fastest, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Earlier, German fans had cheered for a different reason when Hamilton’s Mercedes suddenly stalled on track in the first part of qualifying, known as Q1. It happened shortly after Hamilton had gone too wide into a turn, sliding off the track and then going over some rough grass and bumping over a kerb - momentarily airborne - as he came back onto the track. The British driver desperately tried to push his car back to the pits so he could continue qualifying, but even with the help of track officials he realized it was a futile effort. Moments later, Hamilton was slumped over his car, head down for several moments. “It was a shame to see him go out, and I mean it,” said Vettel, who is aiming for his fifth win this season and 52nd overall. Hamilton is one win away from matching F1 great Michael Schumacher’s record of four German GP wins, but he will need an exceptional drive - and probably a little good fortune - to achieve that. After a huge downpour drenched the track for final practice earlier Saturday, led by Monaco driver Charles Leclerc, the Hockenheimring dried out somewhat by the time qualifying started. After veering off track, a worried Hamilton complained over his team radio that his gears would not change. Within moments, fans had the rare sight of a four- time F1 champion - who has just signed a whopping new two-year contract - pushing his own car. After giving up, Hamilton ripped his driving gloves off in frustration as he walked away. He jumped onto the back of a scooter, taking him to the paddock area. With cameras fixed firmly on him, Hamilton walked slowly before standing completely still for several seconds, his helmet still on, seemingly unable to comprehend his misfortune. It is the latest reliability issue to blight the once-dominant Mercedes team after Hamilton and Bottas were forced to retire from the Austrian GP three weeks ago. There have also been communication errors and strategy mistakes. Hamilton now faces another slog through the field after being bumped off the track by Raikkonen early into the British GP two weeks ago. In that race, he clawed back from last to finish second. Although Hamilton is way down, he still needs to watch his back on Sunday. Daniel Ricciardo, who has won two races for this season, starts from last place because of an engine penalty. He incurred it because Red Bull made changes to the hybrid system, the energy store and the electronics unit for a combined total of 20 grid positions. Drivers can use two of each specific engine part during the season before penalties, but this is the third time he is using each individual element. Hamilton and Ricciardo carving through the midfield, possibly dueling with each other, promises to be an exciting spectacle. Final practice hit by near washout CHARLES Leclerc led a rain-soaked final practice session at the German Grand Prix ahead of qualifying later Saturday. The 20-year-old from Monaco was about 0.4 seconds quicker than his Sauber teammate Marcus Ericsson. Only nine cars set times on a drenched Hockenheim track, with most leading drivers preferring to wait for qualifying. Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel went out briefly toward the end, with heavy rain bouncing off his Ferrari, and was fourth behind the Williams car of Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas did not set times. Neither did Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, the quickest drivers in first and second practice on a sunny Friday. Frenchman Pierre Gasly span his Toro Rosso car in treacherous conditions. Watch every remaining 2018 FIA Formula One Championship race Exclusively Live & Ad-break free during racing on FOX SPORTS. SIGN UP NOW ><doc-sep>Lewis Hamilton's hopes of winning the world championship were dealt a huge blow in Germany after he qualified only 14th following a mechanical failure, while his rival Sebastian Vettel stormed to pole position. Ferrari driver Vettel delivered a blistering lap in the dying moments of qualifying to see off the competition from Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and take the front slot on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen qualified third in the sister Ferrari. Vettel's breathless lap was greeted by huge cheers from the Hockenheim crowd, with the German now the overwhelming favourite to extend his championship lead over a crestfallen Hamilton. Hamilton, eight points adrift of Vettel, reported over the radio that he couldn't change gear, and moments later he was told to stop his Mercedes to prevent further damage to his machinery. The defending champion had already posted a time quick enough to make it through to the second phase, so, at first, he resisted. "No, I don't want to," he said.<doc-sep>Mark Thompson/Getty Images Max Verstappen made it two in a row for Red Bull Racing when he finished fastest in the second free practice session at the 2018 Formula One German Grand Prix on Friday. Verstappen paced Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton had earlier finished adrift of Ricciardo at the end of the first session. The day began in bittersweet fashion for Daniel Ricciardo, as he topped first practice after finding out he will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid. The Australian posted a mark of one minute, 13.525 seconds to go quickest early on Friday, as he was 0.004 seconds quicker than Lewis Hamilton. Ricciardo's Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen was third, while world championship leader Sebastian Vettel was down in fourth. However, neither Vettel nor his fellow Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen used the quickest tyre compound in FP1. Here's a recap of the action so far from the Hockenheimring, with the drivers back in action later in the day for FP2. FP2 Recap Video Play Button Videos you might like The session belonged to Verstappen, who was 0.026 of a second quicker than Hamilton: It was also a record-setting day for Verstappen: One of the notable aspects of Verstappen's time was how he made history even after having to overcome car trouble. The 20-year-old found himself in the pits at a key moment: While Red Bull will be delighted to have topped both practice sessions, not everybody is convinced the team has produced a precursor for a win in the race proper. Among them, BBC Sport's Andrew Benson noted how the issue with the engine was just one hiccup for Verstappen, who was also "not able to complete a race-simulation run, trying the car on heavy fuel." Significantly, Benson did detail how "Ferrari appeared to have a small advantage over Mercedes" on long runs. Sebastian Vettel couldn't keep up with either Bottas or Hamilton, but did appear faster on ultra-soft, soft and medium tyres, per Benson. It's a fact likely to build confidence among Ferrari that one of Verstappen or Kimi Raikkonen can set a faster pace during qualifying, before standing up to the demands of Sunday's race better than the rest. CHRISTOF STACHE/Getty Images At the moment, though, Verstappen has offered another reminder of his status as the burgeoning star of F1. The youngster still needs a big win to boost his sixth place in the Drivers standings, but it won't be easy with improvement likely from both Mercedes and Ferrari as the weekend progresses. FP1 Recap Here are how the timesheets are shaping up after the first practice session in Germany: Ricciardo has been enduring some misfortune and inconsistent form as of late, so the news that he will start this race at the back of the grid would not have been welcome. Journalist Luke Smith provided more details on the nature of the penalty: Elsewhere, it was a relatively slow start to qualifying, with none of the big hitters really keen to reveal just how much they have to offer in the initial exchanges. The drivers were having some issues adjusting to the track as they upped their pace, too, with Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas both drifting off the racing line and into trouble. Nico Hulkenberg also ended up in the gravel. Per the Pirelli Motorsport Twitter account, although there was some sloppy driving early on, FP1 was set to be valuable for the drivers: As the clock ticked down, the lap times started to drop, with Hamilton the man who initially went quickest. The Briton, however, was on the ultrasoft tyre, with the Ferrari pair of Vettel and Raikkonen on the slower soft compound to begin with. Interestingly, both Ferrari drivers opted against using the ultras, leaving the Mercedes and Red Bull men to battle it out at the top of the standings. In the end, somewhat ironically, it was Ricciardo who discovered some extra pace around the Hockenheimring, edging out Hamilton. While he will have a lot of ground to make up on Sunday from the back of the grid, he can at least be content with the fact his car appears to have the pace to do so.<doc-sep>
SEBASTIAN Vettel surged to pole for his home German Grand Prix on Saturday as Lewis Hamilton suffered a setback when his Mercedes broke down to leave him at the back of the grid. Vettel topped qualifying with a devastating final lap in his Ferrari to pip Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. A distraught Hamilton limped out in the first qualifying session when his car broke down with a hydraulics failure. Vettel rubbed salt in the British defending wporld champion’s wounds by outpacing Bottas by two-tenths of a second. LIVE Stream the 2018 Emirates German Grand Prix, Exclusively Live & Ad-break free during racing on FOX SPORTS. SIGN UP NOW > TV GUIDE: Watch the German GP LIVE and AD-FREE on FOX SPORTS BLOCKED: Why Mercedes really snubbed Ricciardo In front of a huge crowd of flag-waving Germans at the track near his Heppenheim birthplace, Vettel delivered a lap record in one minute and 11.212 seconds to top the Finn’s 1:11.416. “Thanks to those fans,” said Vettel. “It was amazing to see so many Ferrari and Germany flags. “It just kept getting better and I knew for the last lap I had a little bit more - I am full of adrenaline, but feel so happy.” It is his second pole for a German Grand Prix and the 55th of his career. Vettel’s qualifying success makes him favourite to land his first Formula One victory at Hockenheim and only his second Grand Prix win in Germany as he seeks to extend his eight-point advantage over Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen was third in the second Ferrari ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull and the two Ferrari-powered Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. Another home hope Nico Hulkenberg was seventh ahead of his Renault team-mate Carlos Sainz, rising Monegasque star Charles Leclerc of Sauber and Sergio Perez of Force India. Hamilton, who had attempted to push his car to stay in contention, said: “It was definitely a tough one, but these things happen and all you can do is try and gather your thoughts and live to fight another day. “I’ll give everything tomorrow to see how high I can get up, but its not going to be like Silverstone.” Hamilton is expected to start 14th on the grid. If you can’t see the blog console below, please click here.