10 Tenths Grand Prix Preview - Germany

[Super Tourer]

In our next preview, we look ahead to the German Grand Prix.

Hockenheim – 25th July 2004.



2003 German Grand Prix – 67 laps

1 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 67

2 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 67 +65.4

3 Jarno Trulli Renault 67 +69.0 secs

4 Fernando Alonso Renault 67 +69.3 secs

5 Olivier Panis Toyota 66 +1 Lap

6 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 66 +1 Lap

7 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 66 +1 Lap

8 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 66 +1 Lap

9 Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 65 +2 Laps

10 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 65 +2 Laps

11 Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 64 Accident

12 Nicolas Kiesa Minardi-Cosworth 62 +5 Lap

13 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 60 Engine

Ret Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth 23 Hydraulics 19

Ret Justin Wilson Jaguar-Cosworth 6 Gearbox 16

Ret Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1 Accident damage 2

Ret Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 1 Accident damage 14

Ret Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 0 Accident 3

Ret Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 0 Accident 5

Ret Ralph Firman Jordan-Ford 0 Accident 18

Fastest Lap: Juan Pablo Montoya 1:14.917




2003 Grid
1 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1:15.167

2 Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1:15.185

3 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:15.488

4 Jarno Trulli Renault 1:15.679

5 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.874

6 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:15.898

7 Olivier Panis Toyota 1:16.034

8 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:16.483

9 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1:16.550

10 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.666

11 Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1:16.775

12 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 1:16.831

13 Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1:17.090

14 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 1:17.169

15 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1:17.557

16 Justin Wilson Jaguar-Cosworth 1:18.021

17 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1:18.085

18 Ralph Firman Jordan-Ford 1:18.341

19 Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth 1:19.023

20 Nicolas Kiesa Minardi-Cosworth 1:19.174




2003 Race Review
We were still in the ‘Michelin’ period of the season and Williams were continuing to use them to best effect. It was a race of contrasting fortunes for the Williams drivers, JPM romped to victory by over a minute, whilst Ralf got embroiled in an accident at the start, which saw Kimi, Barrichello and him retire as a result. The stewards decided that Ralf had moved over and squeezed the Ferrari, they touched and Rubens was sent into Raikkonen’s McLaren which speared off into the wall. It was, the stewards decided, an accident caused by Ralf "paying no intention to the position of the other cars", he was docked 10 places on the grid for the next race.

Meantime JPM ran to an easy victory, lapping every car up to 4th placed Alonso, despite his BMW engines throttle only running at 93% for the majority of the race.

The first corner melee, also accounted for Frentzen and Firman who found themselves caught in the concertina as cars braked to avoid the chaos ahead, also involved were Villeneuve and Wilson – cue the safety car and a clear up.

Michael Schumacher struggled with the Bridgestones again and later suffered a puncture, whether this was due to picking up debris from the earlier incidents or the tyre simply cried enough was unclear, there was little left of it by the time Michael pitted in any event, however he still picked up more points for 7th place, which would prove to be important later in the season.

That was the story of the race really, it’s on days like these that championships are won and lost. Both Ralf and Kimi had a no score and suffered a severe dent in their championship aspirations, Montoya picked up 10 points to overtake Kimi for 2nd in the table, whilst as ever Schumacher survived a puncture and a lacklustre race to secure 2 more points, the significance of which would be evident after Hungary when the gap between MS and JPM was down to only 1 point, with Kimi only 1 more point behind Montoya.

Read a full race review: http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr709.html

[Super Tourer]

Germany Flashback.

2002
Michael Schumacher won equaling his own and Nigel Mansell’s record of nine victories in a season. Williams completed the podium with JPM 2nd and Ralf 3rd. It was a race of heavy attrition with 12 retirements. The season was already one of total domination by Schumacher who after the race ‘led’ JPM by 100 points to 40 in the driver’s standings, whilst Ferrari had almost double the points of 2nd placed Williams in the constructors table.


2001
Ralf won from Barrichello and Villeneuve. JPM was actually the faster of the two Williams but retired with engine failure. Michael Schumacher retired after being the catalyst for a pile up at the start, he was slow away, Burti in the Prost, unsighted by cars ahead, was launched off the back of the Ferrari, flying over the car and Bernoldi’s Arrows, narrowly missing Verstappens Minardi as well. It was a big accident from which all the drivers were fortunate to emerge without injury


2000
Ferrari won, but it was Rubens not Michael, who retired after a start line accident with Fisichella’s Benetton. Giancarlo hit Michael from behind in a typical ‘he just hit me ‘/ ‘he slowed’ type shunt – the result a sizeable crash and both were out. It should actually have been a McLaren Mercedes day with an easy win for Hakkinen, but in an ironic twist the race was interrupted by a track invasion from a disgruntled Mercedes employee which brought the safety car out. This wiped out the 30 second advantage Mika had over 3rd placed Barrichello, with DC running in 2nd.

Once the race resumed rain fell, as is common for this region, it rained on one side of the track whilst the other was dry, the gamble was on – pit for wets or stay on ‘dry’ tyres and hope it would clear up, Mika pitted, Barrichello stayed out…DC tried to stay out on wets but decided it was too tricky and dropped from 2nd to 5th as a result. The rain didn’t get any worse and Rubens was able to hold on for his first F1 victory. Another drive worth a mention was Button who finished 4th after starting from the back.


1999
Irvine won for Ferrari, although it was Salo (standing in for Schumacher) who should have won, until been moved aside by the Ferrari pit wall. This left Irvine 8 points ahead of Hakkinen in the title chase, with Mika retiring in this race when a rear tyre exploded at 200 MPH


1998
A McLaren 1-2 with Mika taking the win from DC and putting himself well onto the way to the driver’s crown.


1995
Michael Schumacher won in his Benetton and became the first German to win his home race since the 1930’s.


1991
A Williams 1-2, Mansell from Patrese, but the big result was 5th and 6th for season debutants Jordan, De Cesaris coming in ahead of Gachot.


1989
There was something of a coup at Lotus, with team boss Peter Warr’s head rolling for the poor performance during the year, the Lotus chairman was also no longer, after being arrested for his alleged part in the DeLorean scandal that swept through the motor industry.


1985
Renault ran a third car for Francois Hesnault for in- car camera testing purposes.


1984
Mike Thackwell replaced Stefan Bellof in the Tyrrell who had sports car commitments (can you imagine that happening these days). The paddock buzz was that ATS had discovered a new star in testing, his name - Gerhard Berger


1982
Ferrari already having a bleak season following Villeneuve’s death at Zolder faced another appalling weekend as Pironi suffered severe injuries when he collided with Prost’s Renault in wet weather qualifying. This capped a black year for Ferrari, as Pironi’s stalled Ferrari had caused the startline crash that killed Paletti back in Canada.



Past Winners
2003 – Montoya – Williams
2002 – M Schumacher – Ferrari
2001 – R Schumacher - Williams
2000 – Barrichello - Ferrari
1999 – Irvine - Ferrari
1998 – Hakkinen – McLaren
1997 – Berger – Benetton
1996 – Hill – Williams
1995 – M Schumacher – Benetton
1994 - Berger – Ferrari
1993 – Prost – Williams

[Super Tourer]

Germany Form Guide

M Schumacher
2003 – G6/P7
2002 - G1/P1
2001 – G4/Rtd

Barrichello
2003 – G3/Rtd
2002 – G3/P4
2001 –G6/P2

Button
2003 – G17/P8
2002 – G13/Rtd
2001 – G18/P5

Montoya
2003 - G1/P1
2002 – G4/P2
2001 – G1/Rtd

Trulli
2003 – G4/P3
2002 – G8/Rtd
2001 – G10/Rtd

Alonso
2003 – G8/P4
2002 - DNS
2001 – G21/P10

Coulthard
2003 – G10/P2
2002 – G9/P5
2001 – G5/Rtd

Raikkonen
2003 – G5/Rtd
2002 – G5/Rtd
2001 – G8/Rtd


Looking Ahead to the 2004 Race.
Ironically this is not one circuit where Michael Schumacher has racked up win after win, only winning twice in 10 years with 1 victory in the last 4 seasons. If there is such a thing as a bogey track for Schumacher it’s here, where he has suffered retirements in the past. In both 2000 and 2001 he barely made the first corner. However, his current form and Ferrari’s superior package surely coupled with all the work Bridgestone have done, make win number 11 this season a formality for Michael this time around…?

Rubens has gone quite well here in the past, but looked a bit lacklustre at Silverstone where he was expected to go well, can he step up to the plate again here I wonder?

Only a month ago it would have been McLaren squirming in their seats at the thought of having to perform at the home of their ‘engine partner’, but the 19B is getting better by the race and we can expect Kimi to be challenging here. They seem to have found speed and reliability, although DC still finds the car not entirely to his liking.

This time it’s Williams facing an uncomfortable weekend, their car revisions look nothing like as effective as McLaren’s, to add salt to the wound they risk losing 4th place in the constructors to them at the cost of several million dollars. Frankly Williams look all at sea, down to effectively a one car team, lacking speed, wasting points through errors, and no apparent direction. 2005 can’t come quickly enough I would guess. It’s a shame really as right place, wrong time is apt, JPM goes very well here. Looking at the form guide he has been on pole twice in the last 3 races, scored a win and a second and in 2001 was dominating the race before an engine failure put him out. If only Williams could put a decent car under him here, he would fly. Gene didn’t impress in the 2nd Williams, so Pizzonia gets chance to show his doubters that it was Jaguar not him who was at fault last time around. Unhappily for Sir FW, this race marks one year since their last GP win…..

In our last preview we posed the question of how BAR would rise to the very different challenge of maintaining form during the 2nd half of the season. On the evidence of Silverstone they have slipped off the ultimate pace, whilst McLaren have improved and look to be their challengers for the podiums. This will be a test of BAR to keep pushing forward, but Button likes being team leader and the view from the podium, so hopefully they will be right up there. We need to have more than one team taking the fight to Ferrari at anyone time, which has been something lacking this season.

For once the spotlight will be on Toyota who will appear with their ‘B’ version car, testing of which was a bit inconclusive as gremlins hampered the car and they didn’t run with all the new aero parts they will use at Hockenheim. There will be more than a few interested observers to see an idea of how the future of Toyota with Mike Gascoyne’s direction pans out, notably Ralf watching from home, and any number of hopeful’s looking to get their hands on the seat alongside him. Toyota need to start delivering results, they have been making backward progress this year and for many observers it is still ‘if and not when’ they will get some meaningful results – it’s going to be an interesting weekend for them.

Renault is in a bit of a quiet patch, with another non-score at Silverstone denting their momentum. Trulli is still in the dog house with Flav after losing a podium place in front of all the Renault top brass at Magny Cours, whilst Alonso didn’t display the star quality associated with him during a lacklustre run at Silverstone. Both have something to prove here.

Once again, Ferrari have shown that they can take whatever sporadic opposition is thrown at them, seemingly it doesn’t matter how much fuel Michael carries, or where he starts on the grid, Ferrari have the answer, maybe this time Kimi and McLaren can pose a more serious question?

It’s also worth noting that the testing ban is now in force, sending all the engineers back into the wind tunnels, dyno’s, simulators and test rigs in the search for improvements….

[Super Tourer]

Circuit Map

http://www.formula1.com/race/circuitmap/725.html


Weekend Timetable

2004 German Grand Prix

http://www.formula1.com/race/timetable/725.html


Timetable

Friday 23rd July

11:00-12:00 Friday Practice 1

14:00-15:00 Friday Practice 2


Saturday 24th July

09:00-09:45 Saturday Practice 1

10:15-11:00 Saturday Practice 2

13:00 Saturday Pre-Qual

14:00 Saturday Qualifying


Sunday 25th July

14:00 Race - (13:00 UK time)


LIVE Timing - for the race and all practice/qualifying sessions
http://www.formula1.com/race/livetiming/725.html


Timezone
Check the time difference from your region – World Clock

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/full.html

Germany is +1 hour ahead of BST.



UK TV Schedule – ITV

The German Grand Prix on ITV1

Qualifying: Sat 24th July 1230-1415

Main Race: Sun 25th July 1205-1510

Highlights ITV1 Sun 25th July 2345-0045

Highlights ITV2 Mon 26th July 1900-2000

Replayed: Tue 27th July 0120-0405


Please check times with your TV guide or motoring press before recording this race!



Weather Outlook

Friday – Storms - 29 degrees
Saturday – Thunder storms – 27 degrees
Sunday – Showers 23 degrees.

http://uk.weather.com/weather/local/...&letter=H&y=10
http://uk.weather.com/weather/local/...&letter=F&y=10

[Super Tourer]

Championship Tables

2004 Drivers Championship

Drivers


1 Michael Schumacher 100

2 Rubens Barrichello 74

3 Jenson Button British 53

4 Jarno Trulli Italian 46

5 Fernando Alonso 33

6 Juan Pablo Montoya 29

7 Kimi Räikkönen 18

8 Takuma Sato 14

8= David Coulthard 14

10 Giancarlo Fisichella 13

11 Ralf Schumacher 12

12 Felipe Massa Brazilian 5

12= Olivier Panis 5

14 Mark Webber 4

15 Cristiano da Matta 3

15= Nick Heidfeld 3

17 Timo Glock 2

18 Zsolt Baumgartner 1

http://www.formula1.com/archive/driver/2004.html



Constructors

1 Ferrari 174

2 Renault 79

3 BAR-Honda 67

4 Williams-BMW 41

5 McLaren-Mercedes 32

6 Sauber-Petronas 18

7 Toyota 8

8 Jordan-Ford 5

9 Jaguar-Cosworth 4

10 Minardi-Cosworth 1


10 Tenths Tyre Maker standings

1. Michelin -231
2. Bridgestone - 198

[Pitstop]

Brilliant stuff ST - as always.

[Wrex]

Amen to that. Top stuff

[Adam43]

The circuit and weather could help the other () teams. Hot would presumably still be nice for Michelins and the slow corners don't play to one of Ferrari's strengths (although its not like they are weak particularly).

The second most likely track left where they could be beaten. IMO.

[Kicking-back]

A comprehensive job, as ever.

[Mr V]

Top job, yet again ST