We are have passed the halfway mark for this season’s Formula 1 World Championship. Round 10 brings us to the legendary Hockenheimring in Germany for the German Grand Prix. The Hockenheim circuit alternates with the Nurburgring each year for the German Grand Prix after making a return in 2012. The circuit is a mixture of medium to slow corners with a few heavy braking sections. The final sector is very technical and requires large amounts of downforce to keep the car on the track though the off-camber corners.
The Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be aiming for a strong showing for the Silver Arrows. No doubt that they would want to impress the home fans. Hamilton will be hoping to build on his victory at the British Grand Prix while Rosberg will want to impress in front of his home crowd. Williams are looking stronger each race and the Hockenheimring looks like it could suit the Williams cars. Red Bull are refusing to give up the title chase and will hope for a strong finish in Germany. Ferrari on the other hand are expecting another tough race weekend. The Hockenheimring is a circuit that does not suit the characteristics of the F14T. They will be hoping to get as much performance out of the car as possible.
With uncertainty over the whole FRIC suspension debacle, teams that were running FRIC suspension are removing the systems off their cars just in case a rival team protests the legality of the car. There is still no official word from the FIA whether teams and drivers will be penalised for using FRIC suspension. Paddock insiders believe that FRIC suspension is worth about 0.4s a lap. Mercedes, who are running the most advanced version of it look like the biggest losers in this. Although this will hurt Mercedes, their FRIC suspension is not the only thing on the car that gives them the advantage. We will have to wait and see what happens this weekend.
Below are the broadcast times for the Formula 1 Grosser Preis Santander Von Deutchland 2014. All times are GMT+2
Free Practice 1: Friday 10:00
Free Practice 2: Friday 14:00
Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00
Qualifying: Saturday 14:00
Race: Sunday 14:00
We’ll bring you updates throughout the practice session and live Twitter commentary on our Twitter account (@F1_Madness) for qualifying and the race.
