Observing the final checks being conducted on Lewis Hamilton's car in the throng of the midfield cars, it seemed impossible to think he would be celebrating the 65th - and perhaps the finest - victory of his Formula 1 career a couple of hours later.
It was 25 years ago this week that a relatively little-known Michael Schumacher made his F1 debut at the 1991 Belgian GP... surely the greatest 'super sub' of all time!
Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas to start on the front row in Germany, while Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Gutierrez have grid penalties, leaving them 20th and 16th on the grid...
Lewis Hamilton beats Nico Rosberg and tops the times in second practice for the German Grand Prix, but it is again close with only 0.024 seconds between them