At Silverstone, we saw a change in winner, with the arguments over blown exhausts ultimately coming to nothing. Red Bull put themselves in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, and the weather made conditions tricky throughout the weekend, which made things interesting for us. What can Germany offer us up? We’ve got just two races left before the summer break – can they see us off in style?
Event Schedule
The new Silverstone gave us some issues in the pitlane, with Red Bull and McLaren both compromising their races, with Force India and Sauber also struggling. From new to old, the Nürburgring looks like it’s set to be another wet weekend, one in which tyres and conditions, pit stops and pace will play a vital role.
Fernando Alonso took the win at the last race, but Sebastian Vettel will want to get back on top form for his home crowd. Likewise Mercedes will want to put on a great show, billed as they are as the German team.
Towards the back, rumours of driver changes continue to plague HRT, whilst Virgin have bolstered their technical department, and may be making a step in the right direction.
Date | Day | Session | Time (GMT+1) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
22 Jul | Friday | Free Practice 1 | 09:00 | |
Free Practice 2 | 13:00 | |||
23 Jul | Saturday | Free Practice 3 | 10:00 | |
Qualifying | 13:00 | |||
24 Jul | Sunday | Grand Prix | 13:00 |
The Weather
From one wet race to another, the early forecasts for the weekend look to be wet. Rain is predicted for Friday and Saturday, and although at the moment it seems Sunday may avoid precipitation, the chances of it staying like this will change.
Friday, 22 July
- 16℃
- Low: 8℃
- Humidity: 65%
- Rain showers
- 13℃
- Low: 9℃
- Humidity: 68%
- Rain showers
- 14℃
- Low: 8℃
- Humidity: 64%
- Cloud cover
Circuit Map
The Circuit
Name | Nürburgring |
Location | Germany |
Timezone | GMT +0200 |
First Race | 1951 |
Laps | 60 |
Length | 5.148 km |
Distance | 308.641 km |
Start / Finish Offset | 0.239 km |
The Nüburgring circuit is tucked away in amongst the trees, and although it is only a small part of the epic 22km original circuit, it is still capable of providing some good racing. There are a couple of good overtaking spots around the track, although the DRS zone is yet to be confirmed.
The cars run at full throttle for just over half the track, meaning that the priority goes towards downforce rather than straight line speed. This weekend we’ll be seeing the soft and medium tyres from Pirelli, and the tyre manufacturer expects two-stop strategies to be prevalent.
Session | Driver | Team | Time | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Free Practice 1 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 1:25.701 | |
Free Practice 2 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:16.265 | |
Free Practice 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:15.103 | |
Qualifying | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:13.791 | |
Grand Prix | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1hr 28:38.866 | |
Fastest Lap | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:15.824 |