Although this event will be the thirty second Formula 1 Grand Prix held at Hockenheim, it is the fortieth anniversary of the first ever world championship round staged here in 1970, which produced a thrilling fight between Jacky Ickx, who started from pole in a Ferrari and Jochen Rindt in a Lotus, with victory after 50 laps going to the Austrian by less than a second. In total, the Scuderia has won the German GP nineteen times, which makes it the race Ferrari has won more often than any other event. The last victory came courtesy of Michael Schumacher in 2006, when Felipe Massa made it a nice one-two for the Prancing Horse. The Brazilian has visited the podium on two other occasions, finishing third in 2008 and again last year, when the race was held at the Nurburgring, which now alternates the hosting of the German GP with Hockenheim. As for Fernando Alonso, he won here in 2005. Five years earlier, Five years earlier, Rubens Barrichello, a Ferrari driver back then, secured his maiden Formula 1 victory in rather unusual circumstances. Having started from eighteenth on the grid, the Brazilian began by staging a great climb through the field, in a race that saw a madman stage a one-man track invasion, which necessitated the appearance of the Safety Car. Then in the final stages, the rain arrived and while Rubens opted to stay on dry tyres, the McLaren duo of Hakkinen and Coulthard pitted for wets: in the final laps, the Brazilian put on a masterly performance in the slower section of the circuit, stirring the enthusiasm of the large number of Ferrari fans packing the Motodrom, who had been left bereft of their idol Schumacher, out of the race after an accident at the start.
Up until 2002, Hockenheim was something of a one-off circuit on the calendar, or at least similar to Monza in that it required a special very low downforce package and set-up to deal with two very fast straights than ran through the spectator-less forests, so that when the drivers returned to the more normal part of the circuit, their main priority was staying on the track with very little wing, because priority was given to being quick on the straights. Since 2002, the circuit was modified, which meant the straights disappeared, leaving a more conventional circuit. Even without the straights, there are still some genuine overtaking opportunities, predominantly at the hairpin and the corner leading into the stadium section. The circuit characteristics, on paper at least, are more likely than recently visited venues to play to the strengths of the Ferrari F10, although it is fair to say that for a variety of reasons, the fact that the car has improved dramatically in recent races has been masked by a series of unfortunate and unlucky incidents, that have kept it out of the top places. Nevertheless, on the stop-start track in Montreal and the higher speed street circuit in Valencia, it proved competitive and even if it could not match the Red Bull benchmark at Silverstone, here too at the English circuit with its high downforce, fast corner characteristics, the car was good enough for the second row of the grid. The engineering team at Maranello has not eased up at all and there are further updates on the car this weekend, with changes to the diffuser and therefore everything points to another competitive weekend for Ferrari. No matter how much progress has been made in terms of car development, there are no points awarded for technical excellence and it is clear that, this weekend and at the race in Budapest just seven days later, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro must bring home a big points haul if it intends to be fully in the hunt for the championship title.
For the first time this season, there is a rather unusual tyre choice, in that Bridgestone is bringing the two extremes from its range, the Supersoft and the Hard. Whether or not this choice will produce an exciting race on Sunday is hard to predict, but it will most likely make the usual Friday free practice tyre comparison particularly interesting. Adding to the workload on the tyre front is the fact that, as always it is likely to be extremely hot and humid over the weekend, not forgetting that there is no recent data on running slick tyres at this track, as last year, when slicks made their come-back, the German GP was staged at the Nurburgring. While the Hockenheim track has lost its long straights, it still retains the famous Motodrom, a stadium section which houses the paddock, pits and a complex of corners, surrounded by giant grandstands. The Hockenheim crowd has always been very enthusiastic and in the past, red tended to be the dominant colour in the stands, as they cheered on Michael Schumacher. This year, they have no fewer than six “home” drivers to choose from, showing their support with the deafening sound of the famous air horns. And on the subject of deafening sound, as the German Grand Prix is the first major sporting event since the end of the football World Cup, it will be interesting to see if the dreaded Vuvuzela has made the trip from the southern to the northern hemisphere!
Massa “Hoping for a normal race”
Tomorrow I fly to Germany for the start of what will be a very busy period, with two Grands Prix on consecutive Sundays. It might seem an unusual thing for a race driver to wish for, but my greatest hope is that I can have a normal race. If I think back to everything that happened to me in the last three races, sometimes I still find it hard to believe that I had so much bad luck: in Montreal and Silverstone I was involved in collisions on the opening lap and in Valencia, the Safety Car came at just the wrong time for me and ruined my race. In all three of those races, our Friday and Saturday performance had proved we had a competitive car, but I never managed to translate that potential into points on the Sunday. So, my main aim is to have a trouble-free weekend from start to finish: of course I wouldn’t be a racing driver if I did not have thoughts of winning the race, even if we know that, at the moment, Ferrari is up against some very strong opposition, but really, if there are no unusual incidents on Sunday and we can race to our full potential, then I will be satisfied, because if we manage to do that, then I am sure a good result is waiting for us.
It’s true you cannot do much about luck, good or bad, but in terms of being as well prepared as possible for this weekend, everyone at the factory has been working very hard since the last race and I have been to Maranello twice to have meetings with our engineers, to fully understand the new developments and then last Monday, I spent the day driving the Hockenheim track on our simulator, as well as taking part in more meetings. I have always enjoyed driving at this circuit and this year we will have the novelty of using slick tyres here for the first time, as last year’s race was held at the Nurburgring. The last time we came here, in 2008, I finished third and in 2006, I was second behind Michael (Schumacher) and in fact, I have always finished in the points here since I have been driving for Ferrari. In a way, I regret that I never got the chance to drive on the famous old Hockenheim layout, with its long straights through the forests, so this new version is the only one I know. I think the track characteristics should suit our car quite well and I hope we will be competitive there. We are pressing forward with the car development, even if it seemed much improved in the last few races and here we will have a new diffuser, which we will evaluate during Friday’s free practice. I am sure other teams will also be moving forward on the technical front, but we must just concentrate on our own job and not concern ourselves with that.
I have not done much else since the last race, because with two trips to Maranello and my usual physical training work, there has been plenty to keep me busy. To drive from my home in Monaco to the factory can take around four hours, sometimes more if there is traffic and although it can occasionally be a pleasant drive, especially in a Ferrari, I sometimes prefer to fly, in order to save time. Here in Monaco, it is very hot at the moment, which means it is perfect for endurance training outdoors and also for spending time relaxing with the family. There won’t be much time for that now until after the Hungarian Grand Prix, as we prepare to tackle two races that will be very important in terms of the final outcome of the championship.
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