Grand Prix 2012 German Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

The German GP marks the half way point in this strangest of seasons.

There have been seven different winners, with Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber the only two able to notch up more than one win.

From having a car which looked to be well off the pace at the start of the season, Fernando Alonso is still leading by 13 points, from Mark Webber of all people. Can he and Ferrari maintain the momentum going forward?

Indeed, in a drastic reverse of fortunes from last season, Mark is comfortably winning the head to head over his double world champion team mate, Sebastian Vettel.
The Red Bull car appears to suit both drivers though and is the class of the field so expect things to change between the top three before the summer break.

It's a different tale at McLaren. Button has gone from winning the first race to only scoring seven points in the last six races. His team mate, Lewis Hamilton has fared better, despite multiple team errors and the best efforts of certain other drivers. He is however languishing in fourth place in the standings, as are McLaren who have been overtaken by Lotus.

What is clear, is the McLaren is no longer in the top three and some (including Button) are even claiming it is behind several of the mid-field teams. This after the results of both McLaren drivers at Silverstone, where they barely scraped 8th and 10th place finishes.
It's a big change from just a few races ago when Hamilton was leading the Drivers' Championship and McLaren were second behind Red Bull in the Constructors'.

Lotus appear to be getting stronger with every race. Surely it's just a matter of time before one of their drivers is on the top step. Which one though? Romain Grosjean looks every bit as good as Kimi Räikkönen and if not for some unfortunate collisions earlier in the season would most likely be ahead of him in the standings.

Mercedes are consistently inconsistent. Michael Schumacher appears to have broken his dreadful run of results and bad luck but Nico Rosberg had a very poor race last time out, finishing a lowly 15th.

Likewise for Williams; the car appears to have the pace, if only the drivers were capable of exploiting it.

It has been two years since F1 last raced at the Hockenheimring, due to the alternating calendar with the Nürburgring. As a result the teams will have no data concerning the Pirelli tyres, so expect lots of running in the free practice sessions, weather permitting.

Will we see the eighth different winner of the season? Will this race finally reveal the pecking order and see things settling down?
Will McLaren be able to recover their position amongst the top three with their much vaunted upgrade package they are planning to bring?

All these questions and more will be answered soon.

For the circuit write up, stat's, map and videos, see here: http://cliptheapex.com/pages/hockenheimring/

 

[Kewee]

Erm.... Who do you support again?

Any team that doesn't cheat.

 

[The Pits]

Right then. I must log off now, due to the unique way the BBC is funded.

I will be avoiding all contact with t'interweb, but if I dont, please no one mention anything about the race, until after the highlights show on BBC1 later!!

 

[Greenlantern101]

Bauer also suspects that "this new torque map will artificially alter the aerodynamic characteristics of both cars" which suggests now illegal "off-throttle exhaust blowing".

When I was at Silverstone it was very clear to hear the Reb Bulls are still blowing of throttle.. Lotus was noticeable for the off throttle farting noise as well.

 

[Hamberg]

Greenlantern101 and that I believe is the reason the FIA were alerted

 

[Brogan]

Head over to Chat for in-race banter: http://cliptheapex.com/chat/

 

[Brogan]

A strange race, not that satisfying for some reason.

Another win for Alonso surely makes him favourite for the title now.
No doubt Vettel will be under investigation for that overtake on Button on the penultimate lap.
The McLaren upgrades have obviously worked, for one driver at least.
Hamilton's luck strikes again, being the only driver to suffer a puncture from the debris from Massa's wing.

Edit: It has just been confirmed that Vettel is under investigation. Suppose we'll have to wait several hours for the final result now.

 

[GermanF1]

I don't see any reason why Vettel shouldn't be penalised, apart from the fact that he's driving a Red Bull. And I think this sole reason will be convincing enough for the Stewards.

 

[Kewee]

Please, let's not get into the 'tainted titles' arguments again, whether it be driver or constructor - they have all had their moments over the years.

It would seem that it is inherent in the sport and that will never change, despite the FIA attempts.

Not intending to start an argument Jen. It's just how I've felt for some time. Pushing regulations to the limit has always been a part of the sport in the modern era, Going totally against the spirit of the regulations and what the governing body is trying to achieve to make the sport sustainable and less liable for criticism is quite different.

 

[Brogan]

Does that include having a secret technical veto over other teams?
More prize money?
Getting the regulations changed to suit the engine at the threat of withdrawing?
etc.

Seriously, Ferrari have been the worst culprits over the last 60 years.

 

[Jen]

One has to wonder why someone who is well acquainted with the sport should still be horrified by its history, yet still be a fan.

It would seem the racing does not stop on the track and finds its way into the design and engineering teams.

Perhaps, as fans, we should put the past behind us, start afresh and hope that the FIA take note. It may be an idle hope, but a hope none-the-less.

 

[Road of Bones]

Enjoyed that race- especially nice to see JB troubling the leaders again (about flipping time, frankly!). As for Seb's penultimate lap pass, well- it's for the stewards to decide frankly. I thought it was marginal, but slightly inevitable, as Vettel clearly had more tyre grip in the closing stages.

 

[Kewee]

Brogan.... My comments regard Red Bull not Ferrari. As far as I know Ferrari have been working within the regulations during recent years. They were guilty of more than their share of underhand tactics during the Schumacher era but that was a different time with different people, in fact it's fair to say they were Ferrari in name only during those years. Anyway Paul, the Ferrari situation is a separate issue

 

[Hamberg]

Fernando is faster than you.

Anyway I blame Ferrari/Alonso for the introduction of DRS. Which I think didn't work as it should today - overtaking was too easy.

 

[Tacitus]

The track was abused by ALL the drivers today. There needs to be punishment for going wide. Alonso constantly used an off track line between the last two drivers. Vettel constantly drove off the track and bollocks was it a mistake. 3 times in one lap, outrageous. The only part of the track they didn't seem to go off track was turn one and was pleasantly surprised to see all the drivers keep on track. Unlike Felipe Massa and many others taking positions in 2010.

 

[Kewee]

Hamberg......Might as well blame them for that, they get blamed for most other things as well.

 

[Brogan]

Vettel and Button have been called to the stewards' room at 1530 (UK).

I expect we'll hear something around 2000.

 

[FB]

There's only one way to solve this.... FIGHT!

 

[GermanF1]

Tacitus The easy solution would definetly be to just bring back more gravel traps and/or grass. It would kill two birds with one stone. You wouldn't see people passing while off the track (or attempting to do so). And finally driver's errors would be punished as they should be.

 

[Brogan]

We've discussed this at length before (I'll see if I can find the thread) but gravel traps can be dangerous and cause cars to flip.

Edit: Here's one thread on it - http://cliptheapex.com/threads/gravel-traps-vs-tarmac-run-off.1450/

 

[GermanF1]

As I said, there could be grass instead or those bumpers they have in Monaco in the chicanes.