Will the championship-leading teams keep it clean at the Hockenheimring? And will Mercedes confirm Lewis Hamilton’s future plans?
Here are six talking points for this weekend’s German Grand Prix.
Will Ferrari and Mercedes clash again?
Mercedes were unimpressed at Silverstone after one of their drivers was hit by a Ferrari on the first lap for the second time in three races. While they pointed fingers at their rivals, in both cases looked very much like careless rather than cynical driving.
However the risks the front runners are taking at the start underlines the importance of getting away in the lead and the difficulty of overtaking in the race. The run down to the Spitzkehre hairpin for the first time on Sunday could be a lively affair.
[f1vision]
Can Vettel finally win at the Hockenheimring?
Sebastian Vettel has only won his home grand prix once. He triumphed for Red Bull at the last German Grand Prix to be held on the Nurburgring, five years ago.
But Formula 1 success has eluded him at the Hockenheimring, where his best finish to date remains the third place he scored in 2010 (he also finished third on the track in 2012 but was demoted to fifth by a 20-second penalty for passing Jenson Button off-track).
This year represents an excellent opportunity to claim his first victory at the track since 2006, when he won the second round of the F3 Euroseries at the track.
Silly season in limbo
The driver market for 2019 hasn’t budged as everyone is waiting to see what Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have planned. Will the three-pointed star finally reveal its plans during its home weekend?
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Does the German Grand Prix have a future?
Encouragingly, this weekend’s race is expected to be a sell-out event. This will stand in marked contrast to 2014 where some grandstands were left empty so that others would look more full. This is a blow for a track which was heavily renovated 16 years ago partly with the aim of increasing capacity.
A substantial contingent of Max Verstappen fans is understood to have boosted numbers. Yet Germany’s championship-winning talent such as Vettel and Mercedes (the latter, admittedly, based in Britain) seems not to command the same kind of public interest. And it’s certainly nothing like the Michael Schumacher fever of the nineties and noughties, when this was one of two races held annually in Germany.
Can Red Bull get into championship contention?
After Silverstone, where the long straights made it a tough British Grand Prix weekend for Red Bull, team principal Christian Horner admitted they were probably further outside” the championship fight now. In contrast next week the twisty Hungaroring should offer them the chance to compete for victory on pure performance.
In the meantime can they bank a decent result in Germany? Daniel Ricciardo is likely to take a grid penalty for a power unit change, which will leave them at an obvious disadvantage. But as they showed in China and Austria they can be relied on to capitalise when the cards fall in their favour.
Grosjean: From hero back to zero
A superb result in Austria promised to be the moment Romain Grosjean’s seasons turned around. Then he went to Silverstone and crashed in practice, hit his team mate at the start, and had a high-speed crash after tangling with Carlos Sainz Jnr.
Haas appears to be running out of patience with a driver who is blending inspiration and desperation in very unequal measures at the moment.
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If you’re heading to Germany for this weekend’s race, we want to hear from you.
Who do you think will be the team to beat in the German Grand Prix? Have your say below.
And don’t forget to enter your predictions for this weekend’s race. You can edit your predictions until the start of qualifying:
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Phylyp (@phylyp)
18th July 2018, 11:32
Grosjean should take a page out of Alonso’s book. We don’t see Alonso being the instigator in many wheel to wheel battles these days, but what he does do is drive consistently and continually pick up points, in a car/PU that is inferior to the Haas. Give up a place if it means seeing the chequered flag and still bagging greater-than-zero points.
mog
18th July 2018, 12:08
Amen to that
Tango (@tango)
18th July 2018, 14:37
If there’s a space, and you do not plunge in that space… :)
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
18th July 2018, 22:45
On the other hand, if you plunge for a space which no longer exists, you are no longer a racing driver – because you are a passenger.
Warheart (@warheart)
18th July 2018, 13:49
Grosjean should read the whole book, preface included. I’m not a big fan of Alonso, but he certainly is one of the drivers that gets in trouble less often when battling out on track.
Niefer (@niefer)
18th July 2018, 16:36
@warheart +1
Tbh, it’d be a way long path for Romain.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
18th July 2018, 23:57
Still struggling to see how it wasn’t Sainz’s fault – he turned into a car on the inside of a corner. Grosjean had nowhere to go.
McJamweasel (@mcjamweasel)
19th July 2018, 13:02
Sainz left space on the inside, the problem is that Grosjean understeered wide and needed more space…
Racing incident. Grosjean shouldn’t have understeered, Sainz took a big risk on the outside of a corner like Copse.
Jere (@jerejj)
18th July 2018, 13:17
Will Ferrari and Mercedes clash again? – No. At least, not physically on the track.
Can Vettel finally win at the Hockenheimring? – Yes.
Does the German Grand Prix have a future? – In the short-term, no. In the long-term, it’s possible, but at the moment not too great of a chance for it.
Can Red Bull get into championship contention? – No.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
18th July 2018, 13:29
@jerejj – do you see the Vettel + Ferrari combination as being stronger than Hamilton + Mercedes at this circuit?
Thomson (@fish123)
18th July 2018, 14:33
Yes @phylyp
Jere (@jerejj)
18th July 2018, 17:36
@phylyp Well, this season it’s been rather difficult to predict beforehand which circuit favors which top-3 team’s car. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, for example, used to be one of the ‘strong’ venues for Mercedes, but this time around they were nowhere there.
Joao (@johnmilk)
18th July 2018, 15:34
How do you know they won’t clash physically?
There is a wicked part of me that wants a Ferrari take a Merc in the first corner just to see what happens next.
Or a Mercedes hitting a Ferrari, that would be cool too
Phylyp (@phylyp)
18th July 2018, 15:37
@johnmilk – all well and good, but maybe we can toss a bit of good luck Bottas’ way with all this planned carnage? :-)
Joao (@johnmilk)
18th July 2018, 16:01
@phylyp I agree to spare Bottas
Oh! Just occurred to me, Grosjean taking out Hamilton, can you imagine?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
18th July 2018, 18:17
@johnmilk – Meh, he’s been there, done that. Taken out two champions in one fell swoop. Give the chef a new challenge.
Niefer (@niefer)
18th July 2018, 20:18
@phylyp
Fair point. The next proper challenge would be taking out the SC.
Joao (@johnmilk)
18th July 2018, 22:23
@phylyp but with a Ferrari engine on the back. The conspiracy theories would be through the roof
Phylyp (@phylyp)
19th July 2018, 2:46
@niefer – good one, that is truly a challenge worthy of Grosjean.
@johnmilk – that’s true!
Niefer (@niefer)
18th July 2018, 16:43
Oh, I’d love to see that. The camera capturing the expression on that nauseating Wolff. What Lewis would say and so on…
Maybe faithful Bottas can give us that.
DrG
18th July 2018, 18:28
And you lot are fans of the sport?
Just wow…
Niefer (@niefer)
18th July 2018, 20:15
Oh, I’m sorry. I must have forgotten to stamp my fan’s membership card.
Joao (@johnmilk)
18th July 2018, 22:21
That moment when your level of sarcasm is so advanced, people think you are stupid.
Have a laugh mate
Mashiat (@mashiat)
18th July 2018, 13:45
@keithcollantine Vettel actually finished 2nd on track in 2012 before his demotion. He passed Button for second 2 laps from the end.
dusty (@dusty)
18th July 2018, 14:35
20-second penalty, what a yoke
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
18th July 2018, 14:23
More talking points:
– Overtakes?
– Tires strategies, consumption, blistering?
Joao (@johnmilk)
18th July 2018, 15:33
those are not the German Grand Prix talking points. Those are the season talking points
Niefer (@niefer)
18th July 2018, 16:31
Will Ferrari and Mercedes clash again?
Actually, the silver posture was the real cynical one. So disgraceful!
Can Vettel finally win at the Hockenheimring?
Well, I expect victories from Red Bull on the next two races. At Germany it is just a hunch, though.
Does the German Grand Prix have a future?
Bring F1 to Nordschleife and we’ll see if it hasn’t a future. Probably won’t worry about attendance ever again.
Karma. A crime butchering the Black Forest section couldn’t go out with impunity.
Can Red Bull get into championship contention?
No. Still, I expect them to win the next two races.
Grosjean: From hero back to zero
Poor Grosjean. He’s a nice guy, but his place is at F-E with the other 2nd tier drivers. Imagine LeClerc in that seat, maybe a podium was taken already.
Tarheelpup (@tarheelpup)
18th July 2018, 17:13
I like Grosjean but I’m backing Haas. Unless Romain turns around and has some incredible runs over the next (very) few races I think you are right, it’s Formula E for him.
Hey, I read recently that Gutierrez is looking for a ride…
Niefer (@niefer)
18th July 2018, 20:20
@tarheelpup lol, I hope that kind of ride is the one that takes him from the hotel to the grandstands.
Tarheelpup (@tarheelpup)
19th July 2018, 3:05
@Niefer I wouldn’t bet on The Gut taking an Uber and not crashing.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
18th July 2018, 23:42
With both the WDC and the constructors both being so tight, the top 2 teams (and their drivers) have to give it their all at every start.
Couple that with at least 1 RBR fighting for a lead position on the first lap and the likelihood of a clash between their cars is almost a certainty.
The days of survive the first few laps and then attack seem to have gone these days because of the inherent problems cars have in following. Even the undercut/overcut this year seems to be slightly less effective.
So yes – high likelihood of a clash between Mercedes and Ferrari. The big question is who will be the loser this week and how will it play out with the finger pointing post race.
Jon (@johns23)
19th July 2018, 1:16
Hope theres no clash at the front again by a Merc and Ferrari, to me it just ruins the race within 10 seconds. I think if it happens again the penalty should be way more severe regardless of who’s fault it was.
papaya
19th July 2018, 7:11
Will Mercedes reliability issue hit one of the driver again?
Maybe..
Will Vettel overtake Hamilton on the race?
Highly possible if Vettel qualified behind Hamilton..
Will Mercedes pit stop strategy screwed up again?
Of coz.