German Blitzkrieg in Hockenheim Grand Prix
Leading the field is Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel who sees the Hockenheim race a very special event for him to prove his point as the man to beat in F1. Germany's illustrious F1 son Michael Schumacher is coming back home after his retirement to race and redeem his stature as one of F1's legend.
Vettel is in the middle of a Red Bull team squabble involving his teammate Mark Webber and their management. The tiff started when the two Red Bulls collided with each other during the middle race of the Turkish Grand Prix that cost both drivers their individual championship and constructors' championship points. The young German was pretty beaten up by Silverstone and that made its toll on him. His teammate Webber lashed out at the team's controversial front wing switch which also affected him as the favored driver by the management.
The young Vettel is now in fourth position in the driver's championship standings trailing Webber and the two McLarens – Hamilton and Button. He is more pressured to perform better at this German course supported by his thousands of fans on weekend. All he has to do is focus on the race, stay with the team's race strategy and compete with Webber squarely. If he will win the race ahead of his teammate without controversies, then the brewing war within the team will be resolved.
Schumacher is racing again in his home turf that gave him most of his F1 career wins. He won his last German GP trophy in this 6.823-kilometer German racetrack in 2004 onboard Ferrari. However, many of his critics are questioning his ability to notch another win with his new team. Schumi has yet to win a podium finish for his new Mercedes GP team.
The German legend has the vast experience to win the race but it will never be a quick or easy process for him to get to his racing form after three years of retirement. He made a strong race in an intra-team battle with Nico Rosberg in Spain and Monaco but slumped again. Mercedes GP car has one of F1's powerful engines ideal for long stretch and slow corners. However, reliability issues of their race cars have contributed to the team's lackluster performance in the season. The German GP might be the answer to his critics or regret that he came out from retirement. It remains to be seen on Sunday's race result.
Other German drivers expected to score championship points in this race include Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) and Timo Glock (Virgin). It will be an exciting home GP for German fans where these homegrown talents will achieve great things for their country. German fans as well as Hockenheim organizers are hoping for a head to head race finish between Vettel and Schumacher or for an all-German finish at the podium.7SUS7HPY4EQA
Hockenheim F1 Grand Prix Circuit Revisited
Hockenheim is considered as one of the fastest circuits with two distinct sections which require drivers' focus and gut of steel to manage the twists and turns of the racetrack. One of the sections is the sector starting from Turn 13 to Turn 17 going to the stadium complex in front of the grandstands and the pit area. Maneuvering and overtaking are made in this section that give lots of heart-thumping and adrenaline-charged moments for the 100,000 live spectators. This very fast and breathtaking circuit was added with new chicanes that require also from team engineers to outfit their race cars with better setups.
Hockenheim race circuit is divided in three sectors compose of long straights, turns and a tight hairpin. The first sector has two long straights and four right corner turns. This part of the circuit is good to build up speed and perform maneuvers in the turns. In Turn 1 at Nordkurve, car speed is place at 211 km/h at fourth gear. Turns 2 and 3 set average speeds at a slow 93 km/h shifting to second gear.
Hockenheim's Sector 2 forms the best zone on the track with a very long straight good for powerful engines. In the Parabolika section, the longest straight of the circuit, drivers can hit a top speed of 326 km/h at their top gear. At the end of this long straight, the tightest corner in the racetrack awaits the drivers. Speed hits a lowly 59 km/h shifting to first gear to build up speed again. Turn 7, 8, 9 and 10 offer the best turns good for overtaking and maneuverings.
Sector 3 comprises the fastest corners going into the finish line. Starting with Mobil 1 Kurve, race cars hit 205 km/h at gear 4. Turn 16 and 17 are double right hand corners where major wheel to wheel battles set their center stage before going into the finish line.
The German Grand Prix will have 67 laps totaling at 306.458 km distance. The lap record is 1:13.780 and set by Kimi Raikkonnen in 2004 onboard a McLaren. The Hockenheim circuit is the major racetrack of Mercedes as well as by German F1 racers. The race on July 25 will involve a record six German drivers from different team with Michael Schumacher leading the pack. Sit tight and watch the race with the exciting twist and turns of Hockenheim.
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