Motorsport: Brendon Hartley wet-weather experience vital at German Grand Prix

Brendon Hartley has credited his experience in racing under wet conditions for his second point-scoring result of the 2018 Formula One season.

The 28-year-old Kiwi finished 10th at the German Grand Prix, scoring a point and doubling his tally for the season.

Starting 16th on the grid, Hartley struggled early after a poor start, but came into his own late in the race, when rain hit the Hockenheim circuit.

A renowned wet-weather master in his sportscar days, he managed his car superbly on slick tyres, avoiding the chaos in pitlane and around the track.

By contrast,  German points leader Sebastian Vettel crashed his Ferrari late in the race, relinquishing the championship lead in the process.

The rain passed through after a couple of laps, rewarding Hartley for his decision to stay out.

Hartley's Toro Rosso team had requested he stop.

"Happy with all the decisions I made on the track," Hartley said. "The team called me to box under the rain to pit for intermediates, but I just had a feeling to go one more lap.

"It's fine margins we work with, but it worked out today. Really happy with my race today."

It could have been better for Hartley, who was ninth with a few laps left to run, but was chased down and passed by Frenchman Romain Grosjean's Haas.

"Once I got past Lance [Stroll], I got straight past Sergey (Sirotkin) and then had some great battles out there.

"I was a little disappointed I couldn't keep [Romain] Grosjean behind me at the end, but he had a lot more pace than me. It just wasn't possible.

"I kept it clean and showed some real pace all weekend really.

"It's a good reward to take a point, but we still have a little bit of work ahead for the team."

The teams head to the Hungaroring next week for the Hungary Grand Prix.

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