Sebastian Vettel described a dramatic German Grand Prix as "fun" after he worked his way from the back of the grid to finish second at Hockenheim.

The Ferrari driver failed to set a lap time during Saturday's qualifying session due to power issues, leaving him with work to do to pick up points in his home race.

However, heavy rain created the opportunity to move through the field, with Lewis Hamilton among those to struggle. The championship leader damaged his front wing, received a time penalty for going the wrong side of a bollard while entering the pits and then spun in the closing stages, forcing him to settle for 11th place.

His Mercedes colleague Valtteri Bottas did not even manage to finish, as was also the case with Vettel's team-mate Charles Leclerc, allowing the German to claim an unexpected place on the podium.

"It was a long race - at some stage, it felt never-ending," Vettel - who thrilled the crowd by passing Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat to finish behind Max Verstappen - said afterwards. 

"It was very fun; it was tough with the conditions and tough to read what was the smartest move.

"I don't think there was a problem, but at the beginning, with the intermediates, I couldn't get the hang of it and eventually it was good that the afternoon took so long. I don't know if I can recap the whole race now and congratulations to Max - he drove so well and just kept going.

"Before the last safety car, it was straightforward, I was fast and could time it right, and people were being cautious into the first corner, and I had DRS, and I could get the moves in the back straight."

VET: "I'm just happy. I think before the last safety car I realised I was quite a bit faster, and I had some good moves on the back straight. It was about getting the next car, and the next car, and the next car" #GermanGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/bN5xQ5gsA6 — Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019