Report cards of the German Grand Prix

Zeltweg 2002. Rubens Barrichello leads ahead of Michael Schumacher. A few kilometers from the finish line Jean Todt pronounces the fateful words "Let Michael pass for the championship". On the podium the German, winner, is greeted by a barrage of whistles. Eight years and two months later history repeats itself, this time in Hockenheim, and once again with a Brazilian driver, Felipe Massa, forced - so to speak - to give way to the team leader. Right? Wrong? We don't think this is the place to talk about it. We are only interested in sport. Enjoy the reading!

Jenson Button: 7,5nd - Who goes Slow and steady wins. He doesn't go exactly slow, we think he's healthy enough but he certainly goes far. With the soft tyres, it's obvious. He starts very well but gets messed up at the first corner and ends up very wide, losing position to Hamilton and Webber. He infinitely extends the first stint and thus manages to regain at least fifth place from the Australian. Everything else is boring. He proceeds closely with Hamilton - ah, Poltronieri... - until the finish line. He grinds out precious points, without disasters but with the consistency of a hammer. It was probably difficult to do more. But without the mess at the start… Formichina.

Lewis Hamilton: 8 – As usual, when it comes to showing off his attributes, he never thinks twice. He looks for an opening that doesn't exist at the start but understands that if he wants to pass Webber he has to do so immediately, so he invents a very bad braking and overtakes the Australian for fourth place. Game over. The Mclaren of Hockenheim is not worth either Ferrari or Red Bull and he is content to maintain the position. They also tell him to conserve petrol, even if it were an economy run. It was probably impossible to do more than that. Indeed, keeping a Red Bull behind is perhaps even too much. (the usual) Killer.

Michael Schumacher: 6,5 – The adventure is tough. A lot of. He missed out on Q3 by 8 thousandths - and this is also bad luck - but got a great start which earned him three positions. He proceeds regularly until the stop, he offers himself a nice duel with Kubica who, coming out of the pits, keeps him behind, gives up the position to his teammate who had delayed the pit stop and resists the attacks - not too convinced - of Petrov until the finish line. All for a ninth place. The question arises: is it worth it? If he's fine with it, then why not. He doesn't look out of place compared to Rosberg, who is still 16 years younger than him, Haug has virtually confirmed him for 2011 too... so on. Optimistic.

Nico Rosberg: 6,5th – The only ranking in which he is at the top is that of the fastest pit stops. And we don't know that he changed the tires. It is clear, therefore, that his race will not be mentioned in the annals of the top formula. He gets fooled at the start by Schumacher, from whom he however steals the position at the pit stop. He races practically alone until the finish line, well away from Kubica. Could we have done better than eighth place? Maybe yes, probably no, who knows. What is certain is that Mercedes seems to be in decline. And he doesn't seem to be trying very hard to change the state of things. Fatalist.

Sebastian Vettel: 8st – He gets off to a bad start from pole and gets caught up in the front row syndrome: “Close the driver next to you and don't care about everything else”. The result? He loses position to Massa - third on the grid - and also to Alonso - second - slipping to third position. Not bad, very bad. He probably suffers the psychological backlash because he initially loses ground from the two Ferraris even though the potential to stay close to them is certainly there. This is demonstrated by the recovery in the final stages and the fastest lap on the last lap. He wins a third place which is not to be thrown away but which, with a more intelligent race, perhaps could have been improved. If nothing else, he gets Webber back in the drivers' standings. Who knows if they will play team games in Red Bull too. Dazed.

Mark Webber: 5 – There are weekends that go wrong. Catastrophes don't necessarily have to happen, but you notice it because everything turns - subtly but inexorably - backwards. In Hockenheim it was his turn. He makes a small mistake in Q3 which only causes him to start from fourth position. After a few corners he has to give in to Hamilton's imperious action. At the pit stop he is unable to overtake, in fact he even has to give in to Button, who made a late stop. Then the engine starts eating oil and he is told to keep four seconds behind Button. Precise. He wasn't even a watchmaker or a municipal employee - with the utmost respect for these professions, let's be clear. He finishes sixth, with some infamy and without praise. It's difficult to give him more. Debilitated.

Felipe Massa: 10 – It deserves the best for a whole series of reasons. Because it makes for a fabulous start. Because he drives generously even beyond his limits - as demonstrated by the many blockages and the many skids - but without making mistakes. Because he resists Alonso's first attack with authority. Because he has the good taste not to respond to Rob Smedley's first communication -Fernando is faster than you. Do you know what I mean? - and not even on the second one - Ok, now continue like this. I'm sorry - despite obeying orders. Because he also finds the strength to shake Alonso's hand at the end of the race - despite, for example, the Spaniard punctured his tire at Silverstone, destroying his race. And because he neither chokes Colajanni - «Fernando was slightly faster and managed to pass» - nor Domenicali - «No worries about overtaking, forget it» – demonstrating great aplomb. When, let's remember, there are eight races left - not one or two - until the end of the world championship. Well done, well done, well done.

Fernando Alonso: 9th – Let's get a nice dictionary. Ridiculous: which makes you laugh for its comedy, which arouses laughter, derision, mockery. Vettel passes at the start but is overtaken by Massa. He follows him like a shadow throughout the match, he tries a couple of times but the Brazilian resists his attacks with determination. He complains on the radio that he is faster. And with about ten laps to go the team order arrives. With Colajanni first, Domenicali then and Montezemolo even later saying that this is fine. Leaving aside the fact that the regulation would prohibit all this - but never mind, this year everything is happening - let's close as we opened. Ridiculous: who makes you laugh because of his comedy, who arouses laughter, derision, mockery. With one clarification. In Istanbul we talked about Turkish things between Vettel and Webber. Well, the Turks also landed in Germany. En masse. Indeed, in Mass.

Rubens Barrichello: 5,5 – He gets the start wrong, finding himself bottled up in the group and losing any hope of picking up a few points. It's a shame, because he had once again beaten Hulkenberg in qualifying and because all in all the car wasn't that bad. He says that compared to the cars in front of him he didn't have enough speed to be able to pass them, and we might even believe him. But precisely for this reason the snail sprint at the start becomes unforgivable. He did well to resist De La Rosa in the final stages, before the Spaniard was taken out by Kovalainen, but it wasn't enough. Also because in the last few races he had been very strong. But, as we know, his age also takes its toll on him. Tired (?).

Nico Hulkenberg: 5,5 – Different strategy but similar result to that of his teammate. He also misses the start, losing ground. The team then decides to extend his first stint - on soft tires - practically indefinitely, keeping him out even a couple of laps longer than necessary - beyond what is permissible, we could say. The result is that he is passed not once but twice by De La Rosa, before and after the break. Well, at least it was framed for a long time, much to the happiness of the sponsors. Could this have been the ultimate goal of the tactic? If so, hats off to the Williams wall. Also why peel your hands from the applause for a thirteenth place... Advertising.

Robert Kubica: 7 – Seven like the position he takes home at the end of the race. He starts well, tries to pass Hamilton but chooses the wrong hole and also finds himself behind Webber and Button. He maintains his position and after the stop he resists Michael Schumacher with authority, who tries to steal his position with great force. He runs constantly, he is practically never framed by the cameras but once again he collects precious points. It doesn't seem like the fury at the beginning of the season, but while waiting for better times he's still doing well like this. Solid.

Vitaly Petrov: 7 – The funny thing is that when he crosses the finish line he is convinced that he has finished in eleventh position, on the edge of the points zone. Only later does he discover that he instead finished tenth and therefore takes home a point. The overtaking on Kobayashi, in this sense, takes on an even more important meaning. He puts together a strong race - it's the first time he's finished in the points in the dry - topped off with a good start, a decent pace and an interesting personality. He still has to improve in qualifying, but there is some progress. Half a vote more encouragement. Work in Progress.

Adrian Sutil: sv – We refrain from evaluating both Force India drivers. There are occasions when words speak louder than numbers. He is penalized five places for replacing the gearbox. At the start he collides with his teammate and does not gain positions. He returns to the pits to immediately change the tires and continue straight to the finish line. However, the team - due to Liuzzi's return - gets messed up and sends him back on track with the wrong tyres. He therefore has to return to the pits again. That is, he practically loses a lap right away. We don't have the courage to say anything else. He finishes fourteenth, and perhaps that's already too much. Poor thing.

Vitantonio Liuzzi: sv – Maybe we could use an earful, for Tonio, but let's ignore it. He starts 22nd and collides with his teammate at the start, damaging the front wing. He returns to the pits but he too is fitted with the wrong tires (!!!) and is forced to make a new, further early stop. What else to say? Even in his case, little else. The accident at the start was largely compensated by the shortcomings of the wall. So... The fifteenth place finish is only - as Mazzoni would say - for lovers of statistics. Graziato (from failure).

Sebastien Buemi: sv – When after a couple of corners your teammate gets on your back - metaphorically - you understand that it's not a good day. And he, who is not stupid, leaves the car in the pits and retires. He could have done better, of course. He takes it philosophically, but perhaps not so much: «Contact? we'll talk about it later..." implying that big words could fly. And maybe not only… Manesco?.

Jaime Alguersuari: 4,5 – Getting into the back of your teammate after not even one lap is certainly not the best way to make your team manager love you. Nor from the team boss. Nor by the mechanics. Nor by the teammate himself. To tell the truth, there are few who would be able to appreciate such a gesture. Maybe some admirer of the Demolition Derby genre or similar. We certainly do not belong to this group. And it won't be the fifteenth place finish that will raise his final grade. Rude.

Jarno Trulli: sv – He leads his teammate by a good eight tenths in qualifying, demonstrating that he has an excellent feeling with the German track. The start is also good. To the point that he is starting to hope that the reliability problems - and bad luck, we might add - that have afflicted him since the beginning of the season have opted for a change of direction. And in fact there is a change, it's true, but unfortunately it's that of his Lotus. And he decides that the time of atonement - but for what, then??? - is not over yet for Jarno. Moral: pit stop, a couple of slow laps and then off back to the garage, definitively. Will end? Who knows. What is certain is that if it is true that in this life we ​​pay for what happened in past lives... well, Jarno should have really done something wrong. Reincarnated.

Heikki Kovalainen: 4,5 – His race ends badly when he inexplicably closes the door on Pedro De la Rosa who was lapping him with eleven laps to go. Virtually unforgivable. He candidly admits that he didn't really see it, not even he was a distracted driver, and that's probably true. Congratulations for honesty, not for what was done. All in all it wasn't going too badly, even if for once he wasn't the first among the drivers of the new teams. Half a point more for sincerity. Distracted.

Sakon Yamamoto: sv – It takes courage and hair on your stomach to fail it. It has never been a flash of war - except for finding financiers - and the same goes for his car. If we then add the limited, very limited experience, it is clear that it is objectively ungrateful to hope for something more. He retires after 19 laps due to a gearbox problem. He was already two rounds late, but that's it. The good news is that he should also race in Hungary. But will it really be good news? If it suits him... It still takes courage to reject it, we were saying. We don't have it. And early withdrawal is a splendid excuse to unload our consciences and suspend judgment. Even report card writers have their tricks sometimes. Sorry. Sincerely (we explain certain mechanisms to you...)

Bruno Senna: 6 – He returns to driving after a break in the Grand Prix and does so by taking twenty-first place on the grid which isn't bad at all. Of course, behind him are only his teammate -see report card above...-, Tonio Liuzzi -victim of an accident- and Lucas di Grassi -who didn't ride- but these are subtleties. In the race he tries to do his best, stays out of trouble, is diligent in dubbing and maintains an overall decent pace. Then a puncture sends him even further back and he finishes last. Four laps. Reject it? Promote it? It may not be a phenomenon, but we challenge anyone to do more. So you might as well put your hand on your heart and be good. Graced.

Pedro De La Rosa: 6,5 – The team tries to do with him what worked wonderfully in Valencia with Kobayashi. That is, keep him out as much as possible and do a short and aggressive final phase of the race on soft tyres. Of course, in Valencia the safety car had helped a lot, but Pedro was still doing himself credit. After a good overtaking on Hulkenberg, he pounces on Barrichello when an unexpected maneuver by Kovalainen, lapped, which first opens the door for Rubens and then closes it upon the arrival of Pedro, ruins his front wing and destroys his race. It's a shame because he was coming back strong, he would have caught his teammate and maybe he would have even jumped further ahead. The sixth fastest lap is confirmation of this. One could perhaps accuse him of not having foreseen Heikki's maneuver, but as we know, the crystal ball in the cockpit of his Sauber doesn't fit. Sorry, you will have understood. Closed.

Kamui Kobayashi: 6 – He finishes eleventh, just on the edge of the points zone. It seemed slightly dull compared to the latest performances. From his race we remember a duel with Michael Schumacher, which saw the German resist him, and another battle with Petrov, with the Russian who overtook him. It's not so much the result that doesn't convince us, but rather the surrender shown by him, who has plenty of temperament. Maybe it was just a bad day, who knows. Without De la ROsda's accident he probably would have ended up behind his teammate. Not to fail it, but the passing grade is very stretched. Listless.

Timo Glock: 5,5 – He creates some beautiful fireworks on the first lap, when he launches into a whirlwind of overtaking and counter-overtaking with his teammate and the two HRTs. Then, however, at the end of the fair he finds himself behind everyone again. Yamamoto passes but remains well behind Senna, unable to attack him despite lapping one second and four tenths faster than him. He crosses the finish line three laps behind in eighteenth place. Without any technical problems whatsoever. A little bit, right? Lazy.

Lucas Di Grassi: 6,5 – In qualifying he didn't run, but in the race he made a brilliant start which put him ahead of the HRTs and his teammate. The potential of him and the car is what it is, let's be clear. But he tries, follows Kovalainen for several laps and keeps the pace of the Lotus. Then, however, with a too violent push he breaks the suspension and is forced to say goodbye to the company. But we liked it. Also because, as already mentioned, he didn't run much over the weekend and practically discovered the car in the race. McGyver.

Manuel Codignoni
www.f1grandprix.it