This weekend for what seems the 8th time, we are hearing more about the constant political fighting than we are the race. So I am going to take this time to have a German Grand Prix preview that will hopefully take your mind off of among other things Hitler, Max, Bernie, and breakaway series.
This weekend brings us to Nurburgring for yet another German Grand Prix, a legacy event on the Formula 1 World Championship calendar. The Friday practice sessions are in the books and Lewis Hamilton proved to be quickest going into qualifications. The true question however, is what can we expect between Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing? When we last left the racing, Red Bull pulled off a dominating victory in England and showed Brawn that they were not going to run away with the title like first thought. It did raise questions as to Brawn’s performance capabilities in cooler conditions. The pace and dominance that was shown by Sebastian Vettel was truly alarming for any competitor on the grid as it is very unusual to see a car make a 17 second gap in the first 17 laps of a race.
For the German Grand Prix we are looking at temperatures around 65 degrees Fahrenheit which is very similar to those seen in Britain. So does that mean we will see similar results? I think that the results will be closer as Brawn has done their homework and will not be embarrassed like that again, however, they will be similar in that I believe that in the cooler conditions RBR has a clear advantage. Provided the RBR boys don’t tinker too much with the fuel strategy, it should be a good race for them. Jenson Button has stated the team cannot settle for just points paying finishes due to the pace that RBR are showing and I tend to agree with that. While many think the title may be under raps, we have seen similar gaps falter within the last few years and if a car continues to win, it would be no time at all that Vettel would be right back in the fight. So Germany will be crucial in where the championship goes from here.
While the title fight continues at the front, there are still a number of things going on toward the back of the field. Ferrari are continuing to struggle for pace and are showing no signs of picking up the pace. While McLaren have now shown they have learned from the mistakes of the past and are putting together decent speeds during practice. That was the case during practice two when Lewis Hamilton set a fast time. However, it is highly unlikely that the team have reversed fortune and are on pace to win. AS far as others like Toyota, BMW, and Renault, there are still questions to answer and a good chance we could see many cars, including Ferrari really make a decision after Germany as to whether they continue this years program or begin to think about next year. Either way, the race should be good and potentially the last at Nurburgring as the German government has no money to spare the Grand Prix. Keep it here after the race for a full rundown of the weekends F1 action.
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:32.149 23
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:32.331 + 0.182 31
3. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:32.369 + 0.220 32
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:32.480 + 0.331 28
5. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:32.511 + 0.362 32
6. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:32.585 + 0.436 32
7. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:32.664 + 0.515 26
8. Alonso Renault (B) 1:32.774 + 0.625 24
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:32.872 + 0.723 32
10. Piquet Renault (B) 1:32.992 + 0.843 29
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:33.012 + 0.863 36
12. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:33.052 + 0.903 34
13. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.128 + 0.979 34
14. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:33.161 + 1.012 28
15. Glock Toyota (B) 1:33.172 + 1.023 34
16. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:33.182 + 1.033 29
17. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:33.724 + 1.575 27
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:33.903 + 1.754 30
19. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:34.025 + 1.876 30
20. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:38.877 + 6.728 3
I previously had put Hockenheim instead of Nurburgring…my mistake. I had been discussing legacy events prior to writing the article and in particular Hockenheim. The race as you know is in Nurburgring and I apologize for the blunder.