Grand Prix 2018 German Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

So after an exciting British GP we move on to Germany. The Hockenheimring, where hopefully the excitement will continue.
It really is the home race of Mercedes, as the original circuit was used by Mercedes Benz to test their cars, but that was a very long time ago and the circuit then was nothing like the current, and in my opinion, strangely shaped circuit of today. Seen from the air it's a sort of square shape with a protuberance shaped like" Pinnochio's nose" coming off one side. Much has changed since the large triangular circuit that Mercedes Benz used. At one point the circuit became a large oval shape and ran through the forrest, and the race could be dry in the Stadium section and wet through the trees, which was always an interesting situation. However Herman Tilk got his hands on the place, and now the circuit is 4.75Km long and the forrest section is gone for ever.
It 's not a track with a lot of fast corners and it's quite slow through the twisty stadium section which is one of the original parts of the track that remains, and, where they have built a large number of grandstands. Obviously a good place to watch the race from.
The last race here was in 2016, and it was won by Lewis Hamilton in ... A Mercedes...But they haven't had it all their own way. Ferrari have had the most wins at Hockenheim over the years, so both teams will be going there with Huge expectations. I'm not about to pretend that I have any idea which car will be well suited to the track, or indeed which tyres should do well, the tyre choices are, I believe, Soft, Ultrasoft and Medium. But our CTA tyre expert will reveal all, I'm sure.

Qualifying at Hockenheim is quite important, as in, you qualify well, you do well. Although some of our younger drivers may not have got that point, I'm Sure Max will give it a go wherever he qualifies. Vettel now has 171 points to Hamilton's 163. Raikkonen is on 116 and Bottas is on 104. Obviously Ferrari are ahead, 287 to 267. Red Bull are doing their best but on 199 points total they are really going to have to hope for a miracle. The race is between the top two teams at the moment, and for once it really is a race. Lets hope it remains exciting in Germany. Lets hope Romain has a weekend where he doesn't hit anything or anyone. And lets hope for a miracle for McLaren as well as for Red Bull.
For anyone who is going to the race, if you walk through the old forrest section you will find a wooden cross a memorial to Jim Clark. There is a plaque behind turn 2 of todays circuit for him, but it's only there because the forrest section is no longer part of the circuit. One of the F1 greats.
 
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I thought Raikkonen's radio comments were infantile. Clearly he knew full well what the team order was, forcing Jock Clear to spell it out potentially damages the team in the public eye - and to what benefit? A few of his fans were maybe alerted to the fact that he's the Ferrari #2...well, the timesheet's been telling them that for years. Time to go.
 
Kimi's response that they were not "Clear"

Yes it does look silly coming from Kimi so why do it unless he knows he is on his way out . We saw this sort of thing at Lotus when he held up Grosjean
 
I don't blame Kimi for making them spell it out. He is a former world champion and should not be a #2 driver.

The real problem is that there is only six seats worth having in F1, and at least two of these teams have a defacto #1 driver (I think all three do actually). So, as a top driver you can either race for a less funded team like Alonso at McLaren, or you can swallow you pride and be the defacto #2 driver at a competitive team. It is a cursed situation.
 
Izumi Funny you should say that given they are thinking of re-signing Kimi I think Vettel needs a kick up the bum because he likes Kimi thinking he is not fast enough and is taking for granted he is No 2 and expects to move out of the way but we saw I think Kimi is almost realising I aint going to get many more chances to prove I can win

I do think a driver that can threaten Vettel will sharpen his focus .. off course if he wins the drivers title then he can justify the arrangement at Ferrari
I am not too hot for team orders, and as far as I am aware, it was first time this year, when team orders came up. Not that Vettel asked for favor. Kimi not too long ago stated he has no problem to support his teammate, if so required. I like Kimi as much as Seb, but IMO his assistance has been required in last race, yet it did not go down well with him for all to see. So much was obvious. Maybe size of his bonus is based on race-points, who knows. From a different perspective, at the moment Kimi has to pull his socks up to hold his season ranking. RBR is rising, and they mean business.
 
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Kimi hasn't been as competitive as Vettel for a long time but that doesn't mean that if they want him to move to a side to let his team mate through they shouldn't be clear about that, IMHO it's just a matter of respect. Also we don't know what's in his contract.
 
Leaving Germany big question on my mind is - has Sebastian buried WDC this year? It is not going to be smooth sailing to wipe out deficit he has incurred. MB has a good car, and RBR wants a piece of action.

On this occasion I want to voice my doubts that a driver, to be recognized as great, has to in first instance to prove himself against his teammate. That criterium makes no sense, because the sport is actually a team sport. It doesn't hurt to better other driver in a similar car, but it is not essential IMO.

In contrast, two protagonists from top teams, such as Vettel and Hamilton this year ride in similar machinery, and from my selfish point of view this fight is far more intriguing. That's a real fight.

Is nail biting healthy? I need to know for rest of this season.
 
Izumi Funny you should say that given they are thinking of re-signing Kimi I think Vettel needs a kick up the bum because he likes Kimi thinking he is not fast enough and is taking for granted he is No 2 and expects to move out of the way but we saw I think Kimi is almost realising I aint going to get many more chances to prove I can win

I do think a driver that can threaten Vettel will sharpen his focus .. off course if he wins the drivers title then he can justify the arrangement at Ferrari

What I get from your post is, that Vettel is not driving to his potential because driving next to (weak?) Kimi allows him to do so. Permit me to disagree. I think Vettel drives as fast as he needs or can with that car. In certain situations he can pull back, control gap, and save equipment, which is for me the most maddening aspect of current rule book. Kimi BTW is a fast guy, however for some reason he needs to put together whole season, not just sporadically glow in some races. This up and down performance affects of course WCC. It will come down to lesser sum of mistakes.
 
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Jacques.... yes it is big specialist in psihology :))))))))))))))))
A person who in a short period of time can give contradictory statements about the same driver...
is authoritative expert for... the tabloid press
 
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Prost, who was a devoted Catholic, worried that Senna would do dangerous things in the car because of his own religious beliefs. I hope Lewis doesn't start to think he's omnipotent in the way Senna started to.
 
I hope he does, the cars are safe enough for drivers on the edge of danger, it’ll be more fun. He won’t though.
 
I found this very interesting video on Vettel's last lap before crashing, you can clearluy see that he had no grip whatsoever on the rear, he was trying to keep a wide line, as one is supposed to do under those circumstances, but it wasn't enough, his tyres were far too cold by then, since the video includes the radio messages that he gave tio the pit wall I'm surprised that he din't ask for new tyres (and slow down) as it was obvious that he was well over the limit

 
I am hoping that is a lesson learnt and he won't make the same mistake again this weekend. Fingers crossed on that.
 
Last chance for them before Singapore I reckon. Max has been keeping nice and clean of late and Danny Ric has ways been good round here.

I don't know which way to swing on this one. My heart says fantastic out of the blue Red Bull win. My head says jubilant Hamilton back to back win. My gut says Vettel bounce back win.
 
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