Ferrari: German GP – One step away from the twentieth success

Although the German Grand Prix will be hosted for the thirty-second time at Hockenheim, this year marks the fortieth anniversary of the first time this event took place at this circuit. In 1970 the race was based on the duel between the Ferrari of Jacky Ickx, who started on pole, and the Lotus of Jochen Rindt: the victory went to the Austrian after a battle that lasted all 50 scheduled laps and ended with a margin of advantage over the Belgian less than a second.


In total, Ferrari has won this event nineteen times, which represents a record in the history of the Scuderia. The last success dates back to 2006, when Michael Schumacher won ahead of Felipe Massa for a splendid one-two for the Prancing Horse. The Brazilian driver has reached the podium on two other occasions, including one on the Nuerburgring track last year: since 2008, in fact, the German Grand Prix has taken place alternately on the two traditional German circuits. Fernando Alonso has as his best result the success of 2005, when he was at Renault. Five years earlier, then Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello achieved his first success in Formula 1 in rather unusual circumstances. Starting from eighteenth place on the grid, the Brazilian was initially the author of a good comeback in a race marked by the invasion of the track by a madman, which made a neutralization necessary. Then, in the final stages, the rain was the protagonist, with Rubens choosing to remain on dry tires while the two McLarens of Hakkinen and Coulthard switched to wet ones: in the final laps the Brazilian was masterful in the slowest part of the circuit, unleashing the enthusiasm of the many Ferrari fans who crowded the Motodrom and who had been "orphaned" by their idol Schumacher, who was put out of the race by an accident at the start.

Until 2001, the Hockenheim track, together with that of Monza, was a history in itself from a technical point of view in the world championship calendar. To win at Hockenheim you needed a very low aerodynamic configuration and a particular set-up to tackle the very long parts of the circuit that passed through the forest; then, when they arrived in the Motodrom, the riders had only to adapt to try to stay on the track, given that the maximum speed of the fast sections was favoured. Since 2002 the route has been modified, making it much more conventional: with a good part of the forest crossing removed, there are still a couple of good opportunities for overtaking such as the hairpin and the entry into the Motodrom.

On paper, it is a track that is quite favorable to the characteristics of the F10, but a car that has definitely improved in recent outings: if the results did not live up to its potential, it was more due to incidents than technical reasons. Both on a braking and acceleration track like that of Montreal and on the city track, albeit rather fast, of Valencia, the Maranello car was very competitive and also at Silverstone, where aerodynamic efficiency in fast corners is fundamental, Alonso he was able to obtain third place in qualifying.

The technicians were not left idle and further developments will be brought to the track in Germany, particularly in the diffuser area, which gives hope for a new step forward. Furthermore, regardless of any development, it is clear that between Hockenheim and Budapest the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro must bring home a good haul of points if it wants to continue to be in the running for the world title.

For the first time this season, Bridgestone has made an unusual choice of tyres: in Germany the teams will have the Supersoft and Hard compounds available, i.e. the two extremes of the range. It's difficult to say whether this will lead to a greater spectacle in the race, but it will certainly make Friday more interesting, when the usual comparison between the performance of the two types of tires is carried out. Furthermore, it must be considered that there are usually high temperatures and a lot of humidity at Hockenheim, without forgetting that we will return to racing on slicks on this track after 13 years, given that last year the German Grand Prix took place raced at the Nuerburgring.

If the Hockenheimring has lost its long straights, the Motodrom has remained in place. This sort of stadium houses all the stands, the paddock and the pits and has often had red as the dominant colour, thanks to the union of Ferrari fans with those of Michael Schumacher. This year there will be six Germans at the start, who will be supported by the typical, deafening sound of the trumpets. It will be interesting to see if this time someone wants to follow the example of the many fans who accompanied the football World Cup matches in South Africa with the equally deafening sound of vuvuzelas!