2014 German Grand Prix, Hockenheim: Preview and Weekend Times

Opening hours

Friday July 18

Free 1: 10:00-11:30 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Free 2: 14:00-15:30 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Saturday July 19

Free 3: 11:00-12:00 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Qualifying: 14pm (Sky Sport F00 HD)

Sunday July 20

Race: 14pm ̶ 00 laps ̶ 67km (Sky Sport F306,458 HD)

Direct:  SKY Sports F1 HD (full broadcast of the grand prix on Rai channels: for more information on Thursday evening we will publish the flash preview with updated times)

Previous race

Podium:

Lewis Hamilton: the wheel of fortune has finally turned in the Englishman's favor, precisely at the most suitable GP. Lewis' weekend is definitely not perfect, in qualifying due to a wrong strategy he finds himself starting in fifth position, once again observing his teammate there in front of everyone. Sunday is another story, and the Mercedes driver goes to take the triumph amidst the jubilation of the fans, thanks to the first fail of the sister car which forces Rosberg to interrupt his positive streak that had lasted since the beginning of the season. Now the gap to the championship leader is only 4 points and a championship that was taking a one-way street has completely reopened. Long live the show.

Valtteri Bottas: simply a fantastic race, from the back up to second position, demonstrating once again the great competitiveness of the Williams. Only the only flaw of the weekend is the terrible qualifying (out in Q1). For the rest, the Finn is always showing top performances and as an expert driver, bringing home important results for the team (two podiums for Williams in a row hadn't been seen for some time). Valtteri is leaving behind his teammate who has been hit by various problems, but in the end it is the ranking that speaks.

Daniel Ricciardo: Always him. More and more concrete as the season goes on. Once again on the podium, and once again the points gap widens from his closest pursuers, Alonso and his teammate Vettel. Having qualified in the top ten on Saturday, but certainly not in an extraordinary position, on Sunday he managed to give his best and managed to finish the race on the podium. Another important performance for the Australian, who is quietly entering the range of the strongest riders of the lot. Now we'll see what he can achieve in Germany, in the halfway point race.

1 Top:

Fernando Alonso: Saturday at Silverstone is Ferrari's Caporetto, and Fernando qualifies in a crying position: nineteenth. On Sunday he made a mistake in his positioning on the starting pitch, and for this he received a 5 second penalty to be served in the pits before the pit. This does not stop his great comeback with overtaking which only stops after having fought for memorable laps with Vettel. Both drivers in this duel complained about track limits to each other, but equally gave rise to a great duel, one of those episodes that still keeps fans glued to the television. Fia, do you understand the message?

1 Flop:

Sebastian Vettel: let's consider the duel with Alonso, yes, however let's also consider his starting position - second - and let's consider the finishing position, once again behind his teammate. You can see how Sebastian's weekend was saved exclusively by those spectacular laps spent battling with the Ferrari Spaniard. For the rest, the German's performance was nothing exceptional, in fact, quite subdued. Now we will see if in the home race he will be able to make up for his recent rather disappointing performances and perhaps win the second victory of the season for Red Bull. His last success dates back to last year in Brazil. It seems a bit much for the four-time world champion who seems to have lost his old serenity.

 

Circuit

Name: Hockenheimring

Location: Hockenheim, Land Baden Wüttemberg, Germany

Construction: The project and the first track date back to the 12s. Initially 2002 kilometers long, the track has undergone numerous changes over the years, also to ensure greater safety for the drivers (in fact, there has been no shortage of fatal accidents on this track, such as that of Jim Clark or Patrick Depailler). The current circuit is the result of drastic changes carried out in XNUMX, in the name of greater entertainment and a greater number of laps per race. The old track was dismantled amid protests from enthusiasts.

Distance per lap: 4,574km

Number of curves: 17

Direction of travel: hours

3 Best Parts: Turn 1, Nordkurve: not a real bend, but a fairly pronounced bend to the right, in which having a good entry line plays a fundamental role, to have the best speed. Turn 6, Harpin: after a very fast stretch of track that bends to the left you face this very narrow hairpin to the right. This is certainly the best place to launch an attack. Turn 12, Mobil 1: it is the curve that leads into the last section of the track, as well as the slowest and most driven one. This curve to the right is taken in fourth gear at 200 km/h: the trajectory is essential to avoid going off the track and risking a spin at a fairly dangerous point on the track.

Mechanical Stress: The Hockenheim circuit is characterized by medium-low speeds, and the tires are very often subjected to skidding when exiting corners and blocking when entering them, and this causes high temperatures on the surface of the rubber. The most important braking is at the hairpin where the tires must guarantee good stability despite the bumps in the asphalt. The brakes are used for 13% of the lap, and the most important aspect is choosing the right air intakes to best cool the braking system.

Tire Choice: PZERO RED SUPERSOFT and PZERO YELLOW SOFT

DRS area: in the part of the track between turns 4 and turn 6, the so-called Parabolika, with detection point just after turn 4.

Previous Editions

Last 3 Editions:

2011 edition: the three free practice sessions all take place with clear or partially cloudy skies and a dry track. In FP1, Fernando Alonso on Ferrari set the best time, while in FP2 and FP3 Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel won. Qualifying: temperatures drop significantly (14° C in the air, 22° C in the asphalt), so it is necessary to fit tires soft in order to access Q3 and earn pole, obtained by Webber with a time of 1'30''079 (ninth for him in Formula One), beating Lewis Hamilton (McLaren – Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Race: bad start for the two Red Bulls, with Webber being overtaken by Hamilton and threatened by Alonso, who overtook Vettel, who a few laps later ended up spinning after a passage on artificial turf. Contact on the tenth lap between Sébastien Buemi and Nick Heidfeld, where the latter gets the worst of it and is forced to retire due to a cover-up after losing his front wing. In the meantime, Massa manages to free himself from Rosberg (Mercedes) and move into fourth, while the three pacesetters battle it out: Webber attacks Hamilton who responds with a counter-overtaking along the main straight. First round of changes on lap 14, where Massa, who has not yet returned, takes the lead, while behind Webber is faster than Hamilton and Alonso in the pits, preceding them at the exit. Another fifteen laps pass and it seems to be Alonso who takes the advantage over his direct pursuers after the second stint, but Hamilton overtakes him with warmer tires and takes the lead. At the third tire change the Englishman was still in front and thus took his 16th personal success ahead of Alonso and Webber, while fourth was Vettel who got the better of Massa as the Brazilian was slowed down in the pits by technical problems. Nice gesture from Webber who accompanies Alonso to the pits after the Asturian has parked his car along the track.

2012 edition: on Friday the rain affected the times of the drivers and their cars, with Button (McLaren – Mercedes) best time in FP1 and Pastor Maldonado (Williams – Renault) in FP2; on a dry track it was Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) who set the fastest lap in FP3 on Saturday. Qualifying: with the forecast calling for rain, all the drivers took to the track straight away and in Q2 there were important eliminations such as those of Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes). At the end of Q3, on a wet track, Alonso obtained pole position, clearly clearing everyone else with a time of 1'40''621 and winning his second consecutive pole. Behind him are the two Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber, fourth place for a tenacious Michael Schumacher on Mercedes. Race: on Sunday morning the times of the two Red Bulls were cancelled, in fact, according to the FIA, the mapping of the control units was not compliant with the regulations, but Adrian Newey intervened and convinced the commissioners that the rules were not broken. The weather is sunny and the track is dry, all the cars start off regularly and Alonso maintains the lead, while behind Webber he loses several positions. In the middle of the group Massa, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean had to stop for repairs, while Hamilton had to change tires a few laps before the start following a puncture. From the ninth to the twentieth lap all the drivers enter the pits for the usual tire change and Alonso is once again in the lead, while Button stands out behind with two overtakes on Nico Hülkenberg and Michael Schumacher, taking third behind Vettel. Kimi Rӓikkӧnen also overtook the two Germans to take fourth. Vettel seems to be able to undermine Alonso but after the second tire change it is Button who takes second place from him, which is regained in an irregular manner as the German places all four wheels outside the dividing line. Thus Fernando Alonso wins on Jenson Button and Kimi Rӓikkӧnen, fourth is Kamui Kobayashi on Sauber – Ferrari while Vettel, penalized, is sixth.

2013 edition: the controversy over the Pirelli case is resolved with the return to Kevlar structures and greater control over tire pressure and their left - right reversal by the FIA; it runs, as usual, at the Nürburgring which had seen its presence almost disappear due to lack of funds. Free practice: the Mercedes duo Hamilton - Rosberg prevailed in the first session on Friday, while in the second it was Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel who recorded the best time; finally in FP3 on Saturday Vettel is still the fastest ahead of Rosberg. Qualifying: in Q2 Rosberg makes a surprise exit, while in Q3 his teammate Hamilton surprisingly grabs pole position beating the two Red Bulls and the two Lotuses of Rӓikkӧnen and Grosjean, seventh and eighth the two Ferraris of Massa and Alonso. Race: Hamilton can do nothing at the start against the supremacy of Red Bull and must give way to them, while behind Massa he overtakes Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso – Ferrari). However, the Brazilian was forced to retire following a spin three laps later. On the sixth lap the first tire change begins with Hamilton, Vettel, the Lotus duo and Webber. On the Australian's car, however, a wheel was badly fixed and when he restarted it came off, hitting a cameraman directly, who was slightly injured. Webber thus loses more time in the pits while Vettel leads calmly in front of the two black-gold cars. Fear on lap 22 when Bianchi's car, parked on the grass following the failure of the engine, left in neutral, enters the track and crosses it, fortunately without consequences, but this causes the Safety Car to come in for 7 laps. At the restart little changes in the first three positions other than the gaps: at the finish line Vettel wins with Kimi one second behind him, Grosjean third followed two seconds behind a comeback Alonso.

Best Edition For Authors:

1976 edition: on the first day of testing the best time was set by James Hunt. His direct pursuer, Niki Lauda, ​​set the second fastest time, ahead of Patrick Depailler, Hans – Joachim Stuck and Clay Regazzoni. On Saturday a light rain disturbed the tests, so much so that none of the leading riders managed to improve their time. Hunt thus took pole number 5 ahead of Lauda. Race: Rain makes its appearance on the track a few minutes before the start, postponed due to the need to repair protections along the track which were damaged. All the drivers therefore chose wet tyres. At the start, the lead of the race was taken by Regazzoni, while Lauda got off to a bad start and slipped to eighth place. At the end of the first lap many drivers decide to change tires to switch to dry ones, except for tread Ronnie Peterson and Regazzoni. The drama happens on the second lap when Lauda swerves Mine, losing control of his Ferrari. The car sets off to the right, hits the bare rock at the side of the circuit and bounces in the middle of the track, catching fire: it is hit by Harald Ertl's car and Brett Lunger's. The drivers who in the meantime arrived on the scene got out of their cars and managed to extract Lauda from the burning car, including the Italian Arturo Merzario. Lauda, ​​with bad wounds and burns, is immediately taken by helicopter to the hospital, where he will fight between life and death in the following days. At the restart, two hours later, it is not allowed to use the forklift, while Chris Amon decides not to take to the track due to the lack of safety along the track. In the end the winner is James Hunt on McLaren who, without his direct rival Lauda and the withdrawal of an excellent Peterson, has a clear path, leading Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell – Cosworth) and teammate Jochen Mass by more than twenty seconds. This will be the latest edition of Formula One racing on Nordschleife.

Best Edition For Readers:

With 25% of the votes, here is the edition of your choice.

2004 edition: Michael Schumacher dominates with Ferrari in qualifying, taking pole in his home GP, with Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams – BMW) starting behind him, almost 4 tenths of a second behind due to an error in the last sector . Button should have started third on BAR – Honda, but the gearbox replacement causes him to drop 10 positions, leaving the second row to the two from McLaren – Mercedes, Kimi Rӓikkӧnen and David Coulthard. Race: poleman Schumacher gets off to a good start, maintaining the lead of the race while behind him is a surprising Alonso who, from fifth place, manages to overtake the two from McLaren and Montoya, who in turn made a terrible start which relegated him to seventh position. A contact between Coulthard and Barrichello forces the Brazilian to return to the pits to replace the damaged nose cone, a lap later Rӓikkӧnen overtakes Alonso and tries to close the gap with the race leader while Montoya takes sixth having overcome Webber. On the ninth lap the waltz of pit stops begins with Alonso leading the way, then Schumacher and finally Kimi, who sets the fastest lap in the race and seems to be able to catch up with the German. However, he had to say goodbye to his dreams due to the failure of the rear wing on the thirteenth lap, which caused the car to crash into the barriers; fortunately the Finn escapes unscathed. At the 21st Montoya passes off the track, which Button takes advantage of, moving into fourth. Thanks to the excellent race strategy, the Englishman also managed to gain third position after the second pit stop in which he was the last to return. Having been overtaken, Coulthard mentions a duel with Alonso, but the Spaniard leaves no space and Button has to give up the direct attack; so he goes to the third stop. It is the Renault driver who is still in front, but it will be short-lived: on lap 52 Button manages to steal second position from him and quickly gain a certain margin capable of guaranteeing him the second step of the podium. Schumacher then wins in front of an amazing Button (from 13th to 2nd) and Fernando Alonso who in the final laps has to watch out for Coulthard, managing to take home third place.

Predictions from F1GrandPrix.it

At Silverstone it was Nico who retired and Lewis who won on home soil, will the roles be reversed now that the race is on German soil? We hope for a direct duel in the good name of Formula One! Now removing the two extraterrestrial Mercedes, an interesting duel between Red Bull, Williams and Ferrari seems to be able to ignite behind them (disastrous qualifying aside), while we await confirmation from Force India and above all from McLaren, the most sleepy of the lot which could compete for the top of the Top 10.

RECORD

Test lap: 1:13.780 – K Raikkonen – McLaren – 2004

Race lap: 1:29.468 – M Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004
Distance: 1h32:35.101 – M Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004
Driver victories: 4 – M Schumacher
Team victories: 21 – Ferrari
Driver Pole: 4 – J Clark, J Ickx
Pole team: 18 – Ferrari
Best driver laps: 4 – M Schumacher
Best team laps: 17 – Ferrari
Driver podiums: 7 – M Schumacher
Team podiums: 51 – Ferrari

Hall of Fame

1. 1926 R Caracciola – Mercedes
2. 1927 O Merz – Mercedes
3. 1928 R Caracciola, C Werner – Mercedes
4. 1929 L Chiron – Bugatti
5. 1931 R Caracciola – Mercedes
6. 1932 R Caracciola – Alfa Romeo
7. 1934 H Stuck – Auto Union
8. 1935 T Nuvolari – Alfa Romeo
9. 1936 B Rosemeyer – Auto Union
10. 1937 R Caracciola – Mercedes
11. 1938 R Seaman – Mercedes
12. 1939 R Caracciola – Mercedes
13. 1950 At Ascari – Ferrari
14. 1951 At Ascari – Ferrari
15. 1952 At Ascari – Ferrari
16. 1953 N Farina – Ferrari
17. 1954 J Fangio – Mercedes
18. 1956 J Fangio – Ferrari
19. 1957 J Fangio – Maserati
20. 1958 T Brooks – Vanwall
21. 1959 T Brooks – Ferrari
22. 1960 J Bonnier – Porsche
23. 1961 S Moss – Lotus Climax
24. 1962 G Hill – BRM
25. 1963 J Surtees – Ferrari
26. 1964 J Surtees – Ferrari
27. 1965 J Clark – Lotus Climax
28. 1966 J Brabham – Brabham Repco
29. 1967 D Hulme – Brabham Repco
30. 1968 J Stewart – Matra Ford
31. 1969 J Ickx – Brabham Ford
32. 1970 J Rindt – Lotus Ford
33. 1971 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
34. 1972 J Ickx – Ferrari
35. 1973 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
36. 1974 C Regazzoni – Ferrari
37. 1975 C Reutemann – Brabham Ford
38. 1976 J Hunt – McLaren Ford
39. 1977 N Lauda – Ferrari
40. 1978 M Andretti – Lotus Ford
41. 1979 A Jones – Williams Ford
42. 1980 J Lafitte – Ligier Ford
43. 1981 N Piquet – Brabham Ford
44. 1982 P Tambay – Ferrari
45. 1983 R Arnoux – Ferrari
46. 1984 A Prost – McLaren TAG
47. 1985 M Alboreto – Ferrari
48. 1986 N Piquet – Williams Honda
49. 1987 N Piquet – Williams Honda
50. 1988 At Senna – McLaren Honda
51. 1989 At Senna – McLaren Honda
52. 1990 At Senna – McLaren Honda
53. 1991 N Mansell – Williams Renault
54. 1992 N Mansell – Williams Renault
55. 1993 A Prost – Williams Renault
56. 1994 G Berger – Ferrari
57. 1995 M Schumacher – Benetton Renault
58. 1996 D Hill – Williams Renault
59. 1997 G Berger – Benetton Renault
60. 1998 M Hӓkkinen – McLaren Mercedes
61. 1999 E Irvine – Ferrari
62. 2000 R Barrichello – Ferrari
63. 2001 R Schumacher – Williams BMW
64. 2002 M Schumacher – Ferrari
65. 2003 J Montoya – Williams BMW
66. 2004 M Schumacher – Ferrari
67. 2005 F Alonso – Renault
68. 2006 M Schumacher – Ferrari
69. 2008 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
70. 2009 M Webber – Red Bull Renault
71. 2010 F Alonso – Ferrari
72. 2011 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
73. 2012 F Alonso – Ferrari
74. 2013 S Vettel – Red Bull Renault

 

Matteo Bramati, Andrea Villa

 

Sources: Brembo, Pirelli.