"The most memorable thing about Hockenheim is the stadium section becausethe huge grandstands create an amazing atmosphere. There are thousands ofpeople, all making a lot of noise and that sounds pretty cool when you're onthe drivers' parade. As for the circuit, in my view it has become justanother racetrack since it was re-designed in 2002, but it's still quitechallenging.
"You arrive at Turn 1 in sixth gear, at just over 270kph (168mph). You brakeonly for a very short period, downshift one gear and flick the car towardsthe apex. You need to have very good turn-in here, otherwise you'llundersteer wide at the exit and lose time down the following straight.
"Turn 2 is a strange corner because it's slippery and bumpy under braking.You have to force yourself to brake early so that you can get on the powerearly at the exit, which is important because the longest straight on thelap comes next. As you're getting on the power, the car is loaded up withlateral Gs and you have to feed in the power progressively to avoid too muchwheelspin.
"We reach a top speed of 310kph (193mph) on the next straight, beforebraking for the hairpin. It's a very slow corner, first gear at 60kph(37mph), and is the best overtaking spot on the lap. There's lots of run-offso you can try some really creative moves if you need to. It's important toget good traction at the exit because you accelerate up to sixth gear beforeto Turn 7, which is easy flat, and you arrive at the next left-hander at280kph (174mph).
"The car slides through these two lefts and it's easy to miss your apex.You accelerate all the way through the next corner, a right-hander, althoughyou might lift a tiny bit at the entry to get the front end turned in. Bythe exit you're in fifth gear and heading back towards the stadium.
"Turn 12 is the most challenging corner on the lap. It's fast, 270kph(168mph) at the entry, and bumpy, and the track narrows at the exit, so youhave to be very precise with your line. You need to use the exit kerb to befast, but you mustn't go wider than that because the Astroturf on theoutside is slippery and you can lose a lot of time.
"A banked second gear left-hander comes next and the gradient helps you tocarry a lot of speed at the apex. However, the gradient flattens out whilethe car is still loaded up at the exit, so you have to be prepared for someoversteer. A left-right flick follows, after which there's a compressionthat helps you get the car turned into the last couple of right-handers. Youhave to open up the steering slightly between these corners, but they aremore like one double-apex corner than two separate ones. Then it's importantto get a good exit in order to carry as much speed over the start-finishline."
