Leclerc stuns Rosenqvist to win Hockenheim finale

In the tricky conditions, polesitter Rosenqvist was unable to build an advantage at the head of the field once the field was released after a single lap behind the Safety Car.

The gap between the Swede and Leclerc hovered around the 1.5 second-mark for the opening stages, before the latter began to reel in his vastly more experienced opponent with a succession of quick laps.

By half-distance, the pair were nose-to-tail, and after two failed attempts at seizing the lead at the Spitzkehre hairpin, Leclerc was able to cut underneath Rosenqvist at the exit of the corner, drawing alongside along the following straight and move ahead as the pair went through the right-hand flick.

Leclerc proceeded to streak away from Rosenqvist before the Safety Car was deployed in response to a collision between Fortec stablemates Martin Cao and Pietro Fittipaldi that left the latter’s car stranded.

Once the action resumed, the race timed out after another two laps, with Leclerc making good his escape once again to take his second win of the season.

Behind the leading duo, Antonio Giovinazzi maintained his perfect podium finish record as the Italian benefitted from a spin by long-time third place man Maximilan Gunther at the start of the final lap.

Mikkel Jensen also took advantage to move up into fourth, with Gunther taking fifth after surviving being hit by Mucke teammate Santino Ferrucci in the final few corners. The American was handed a 20-second time penalty for the incident that dropped him all the way down to 28th.

Ferrucci’s penalty promoted Lance Stroll to sixth, with Markus Pommer, Jake Dennis and Alexander Albon all close behind. Callum Ilott, who started fourth but dropped down the order following contact with Jensen on the first racing lap, took the final point in 10th place.

Giovinazzi continues to lead the championship on 106 points, with Leclerc now just five behind in second and Rosenqvist a further seven back in third place.

Race results: