a fight on their hands
The midway point of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship arrives next weekend with Round nine, the German Grand Prix, to be held at the historic Nürburgring circuit in the Eifel Mountains.The home race for Brawn GP’s engine partner Mercedes-Benz, the venue for the German round of the championship alternates between the Nürburgring and Hockenheim, with the last Grand Prix taking place at the Nürburgring in July 2007. Today’s Nürburgring is much shorter in comparison to the famous Nordschleife, its intimidating 22.5km and 172 corner predecessor, however the current 5.148km layout, which dates from 1984 with further reprofiling in 2002, still poses some significant challenges for the cars and drivers. The lap has a good range of low to high speed corners and significant undulation change which is unusual for most modern circuits.
ROSS BRAWN, TEAM PRINCIPALQ. What are your thoughts as Brawn GP approach the midpoint of the 2009 season?
“The team is looking forward to returning to the race track at the German Grand Prix next weekend and the Nürburgringshould be a good circuit for our car and play to its strengths. We have several new aerodynamic parts from Silverstone whichwere not used in qualifying and the race due to the issues that we faced there, along with additional improvements scheduledfor the Nürburgring, which should position us well going into the weekend. Whilst coming away with third and sixth placedfinishes from Silverstone was still a good outcome from our home Grand Prix, we would be the first to admit that the result didnot meet our expectations. However we have always said that we would have a fight on our hands to maintain our excellentrun of results at the start of the season and everyone at the factory and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines inBrixworth is looking forward to that challenge. As a team, we have a good history of going away from a race, thinking aboutthe outcome, identifying where we need to make improvements and then coming back stronger. As the home Grand Prix forMercedes-Benz, we will be hoping to come away from the race in Germany next weekend with a successful result.”
JENSON BUTTONQ. Will the characteristics of the Nürburgring suit the Brawn-Mercedes car?
“The Nürburgring is a tricky circuit but there are two key characteristics which should be good for our car. It is a relatively slowcircuit with a lot of medium-speed corners which are one of the strengths of the BGP 001. The Nürburgring is also one of theheaviest braking circuits on the calendar so you need a car which will be good through the four heavy braking zones. With theextra week’s break, everyone at the factory and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines has been working extremelyhard in preparation for the German Grand Prix to get the best package for the race and we’re looking forward to showing whatthe car can do at the Nürburgring after a disappointing weekend by our standards at the British Grand Prix. My last stint atSilverstone showed that the pace of the car is really competitive so we’re confident that we can turn it around at this race. I’msure we will see a really intense fight with our closest competitors and hopefully a great race for the fans.”
RUBENS BARRICHELLOQ. What are the key considerations for a good lap around the Nürburgring?
“I have always enjoyed racing at the Nürburgring and it provides a good challenge for the drivers. The layout and flow is nicewhich allows you to get into a rhythm and there are some interesting undulations and bumps to look out for. I won the racehere back in 2002 so the circuit always holds some good memories for me. The weather can be a little unpredictable due to itslocation right in the Eifel Mountains but we’ll be hoping for some warmer temperatures than we saw at Silverstone for the lastrace. The first corner here is really important to set yourself up for a good lap and it’s a bumpy run down from the start line.You have to get your approach absolutely right and position yourself well for a good exit. However it is also one of the bestovertaking opportunities if the cars around you slide straight on so you need to be alert to take advantage of any opportunities.Many of the corners at the Nürburgring are off-camber so getting the correct line for your corner entry is important all round thelap. We haven’t raced here for a couple of years so it will be interesting to see how the circuit feels in a good car
