German Grand Prix 2014: Mercedes look to extend their lead

A general view of Hockenheimring

Perfect timing for Germany

With Formula 1 heading to Germany for the 10th race of the season, it couldn’t have arrived in any better way for both the sport and the country. Hockenheimring being the venue for this year’s grand prix, the circuit is known for being completely flat with very little changes in elevation throughout the track. A track that was once the fastest circuit in formula 1 has seen major transformations throughout the years over safety concerns. The track was heavily revised and designed by Tilke Gmbh in 2002 . Now two-thirds the length of the original, only the twisty ‘Motodrom’ section at the end of the lap remains from the previous circuit.

But the circuit will always be remembered for witnessing the death of one of the sport’s greats, Jim Clark, who perished in a Formula Two race.

The past being past, this year’s race is turning out to be very interesting and could provide for another reason of celebration to the country. With Germany being the Football World Champions this year and Germany’s own Nico Rosberg being the leader of Driver’s Championship, coupled with Silver Arrows enjoying a huge domination over other teams, Nico’s win could prove to be Germany all the way.

Mercedes- A cut above the rest

Mercedes has turned out to be a force to reckon with this season and has left the other teams play catch-up for the entire season so far. Their domination is expected to continue even with the furore around FRIC suspension system. After Lewis’s win and Rosberg’s retirement in Silverstone, the onus now lies on Rosberg to win in front of his home crowd and augment his title hopes, while Lewis will leave no stone unturned to be back on top of the leader board. Therefore, a championship battle is guaranteed to ensue.

Williams will definitely enter the race with the hopes to bring another big overhaul of points for itself and even try to be the reason of a few headaches for the Silver Arrows. The team had been struggling with their sudden disappearance of pace which they showcased in the opening race, but looking at the results of last couple races it can be safely said the team has found their mojo back. Valtteri Bottas will surely try to have a hat-trick of podiums, while Massa will be keen to once again finish higher than his ex-team mate Fernando Alonso.

Things are not looking any good for the Italian team as they head towards the 10th race of the season, having failed so far to provide a competent car to their drivers. Fernando Alonso who has so far bought in continuous overhaul of points for the team will surely find it difficult this time given the definite forward strides made by rival teams Williams and Red Bull. Ferrari are struggling to bring competent upgrades to the car. It will be interesting to see how Kimi Raikkonen performs after his big crash at Silverstone.

While Germany may have a couple of reasons to be happy and excited about the race, the woes of the defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel, who has so far failed to outperform his team mate, may give a sour taste to the fans if he is plagued by another reliability issue. But good news for the racing fans and Red Bull is that there are chances of a fierce battle for the third podium place with Ricciardo at the helm of RB10.

Consistent Force India

Another team to be on the lookout is McLaren who scored a brilliant 4th and 7th in the last race and the recent upswing in performance has convinced McLaren to abandon a radical approach to development in the second half of the season. The team will look to beat rivals Red Bull and Williams, as Jenson Button tries to beat his teammate and rookie Kevin after underperforming him in a a majority of races.

A preview would be incomplete if there’s no mention of this year’s Dark Horse Force India. The team took everyone by storm by outperforming bigger and better funded teams in almost all the races so far. A combination of a competent car and excellent and aggressive pit-stop strategy has seen the team scoring a podium in Bahrain as well as continued top ten finishes by at least one driver. But now it seems the other teams have caught up with Force India and an opportunity missed by both the drivers in Silverstone to score big will definitely induce the team to perform better in Hockenheimring.

While Nico Hulkenberg will try to forget his disappointing last race failing to score big after starting 4th from the grid, it will be Sergio Perez who will receive greater attention from everyone. It remains to be seen if it is for another brilliant drive or increasing his tally of shunts this season.

The weather could play an interesting part this weekend. Chances of showers on Sunday could lead to a promising prospect of an interesting race.

A track with around 65% of the time spent on full throttle, Mercedes-powered units are expected to benefit from the four long straights so it remains to be seen how Ferrari and Renault power units performs this weekend.

In short Hockenheimring promises to have every ingredient necessary to become a race to remember. You should not miss this one!

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Edited by Staff Editor