Things to know ahead of the German Grand Prix
Following the technical problems for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton easily secured his 87th career pole position without any threat from his rivals for the 2019 German Grand Prix.
After dominating the entire race weekend, Charles Leclerc was deprived of fighting for pole position due to a technical problem which occurred on his Ferrari SF90 in the final qualifying segment. His team-mate Sebastian Vettel was also sidelined early in the qualifying session after he realized a turbo-related technical gremlin on his very first installation lap. As a consequence, the German will start today’s race from the last starting position.
Räikkönen still the fastest
Length – The bit-of-everything Hockenheimring is 4.574km long. Drivers will need to complete 67 laps today to cover the whole race distance of 306.458km.
The Räikkönen factor – The fastest ever race lap around the Hockenheimring still belongs to Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn driver set a lap time of 1m13.780 to secure the fastest race lap during the 2004 German Grand Prix which has still remained the best lap time until today.
Changes – No change has been made to the layout or the asphalt of the Hockenheimring, but a number of modifications have been implemented to the kerbs, barriers and fences around the circuit. The debris fence on the outside of Turn 1 has been replaced. The barrier to the left of the track between Turn 11 and Turn 12 has been realigned. A negative kerb has been installed on the right-hand side at the entry to Turn 13.
Only two - This year there will be two DRS zones at the Hockenheimring, the 2018 pit straight DRS zone having been removed. The first zone has a detection point 103m before Turn 1 and activation 60m after Turn 1. The second zone has a detection point at the exit of Turn 4 and an activation point 140m after Turn 4.
Ferrari unbeatable for the moment
Fixture on the calendar – Germany is one of the most frequently visited country in Formula One history, lying fourth on this list tied with Belgium behind the British, Italian and Monaco Grand Prix. This is the 64th World Championship German Grand Prix. The race first appeared on the calendar in 1951. It was not part of the Championship in 1955, 1960, 2007, 2015 or 2017.
Three – Today’s Grand Prix will be the 37th race to be held at Hockenheim. The race has been held in three locations. Nürburgring hosted most of the early races, the exception being 1959 when the field visited Berlin’s AVUS circuit. In 1970, the Grand Prix moved to Hockenheim which has hosted the majority of races since. Nürburgring has taken over the hosting role only in a few years.
Momentous race meeting - The German Grand Prix has been the scene of debut F1 wins for Alberto Ascari (1951), John Surtees (1963), Patrick Tambay (1982), Rubens Barrichello (2000) and Mark Webber (2009).
The most successful – Ferrari are still the team with the highest number of victories in history of the German Grand Prix. The Italians have won 21 times on German soil. Interestingly, the Maranello-based outfit has managed to win at Nürburgring, Hockenheimring and the AVUS Berlin circuit, making them the only team to have clinched victories on all three venues of the history of the German Grand Prix. Williams are next on the list with nine triumphs.
Four – Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are tied in terms of race victories in Germany with both having won on four occasions. Lewis Hamilton, the only Hockenheim winner in the current field has an opportunity to become F1’s most successful driver in German Grand Prix history.
Not lucky – Sebastian Vettel has only won the German Grand Prix once. The home hero achieved that for Red Bull at the Nürburgring in 2013, he is still yet to become victorious at the Hockenheimring. Obviously, starting from the very back end of the field, it will be a big ask for the quadruple world champion at his 10th home Grand Prix.
Celebration - This weekend’s home race for Mercedes will be the manufacturer’s 200th Formula 1 world championship Grand Prix start as a constructor. Mercedes made its F1 debut at the 1954 French Grand Prix, entering a trio of W196 models.
The Brazilian force – The honour for winning from the lowest starting position goes to Rubens Barrichello.
The magic power – Despite to Barrichello’s spectacular success from the back of the field, the pole position has a magic power at the Hockenheimring. Exactly half of the previous 36 Hockenheim-based German Grands Prix have been won from pole position, including six of the 11 races held since the 2002 redesign.
The rookies - Four drivers race at Hockenheim in F1 for the first time this year, all having previously raced here in the FIA F3 European Championship. Of the four rookies, Lando Norris has secured the most noteable result when he clinched the 2017 European F3 title with a second place in the first race of the weekend.
