What's at stake at Nürburgring?

The European Grand Prix, round five of the 2006 world championship, should be a race that answers a lot of questions. The first one has kept Formula 1 fans intrigued since Imola: was Michael Schumacher’s performance an isolated event, or will the Ferraris be capable of consistently maintaining that speed? The Scuderia’s officials have been saying since then that they should be able to do exactly that following modifications to the 248F1, and they are feeling confident.

They are not the only ones. An uprated engine for Kimi Raikkonen and some aerodynamic developments mean McLaren-Mercedes are hoping to back at the front. The developments were tested and approved in Silverstone last week, but will they be able to keep their promises? The Nürburgring has always been a favourable track for them, but will the performance deficit of the MP4/21 have been erased in just two weeks?

At Honda, the unknowns are also many and varied. Their RA106 is an extremely quick car in qualifying, but it seems to lose pace over a race distance. The Japanese manufacturer is still looking for its first win this year, and is working flat out to resolve the situation. But have they been distracted by the latest paddock rumours about flexible wings? Honda has apparently been involved in the debate, and this may have cost them some focus. Finally, while Jenson Button has been strong since the first race, Rubens Barrichello is still adapting to his team’s methods. The Brazilian will want to make a point of putting in a strong performance this weekend.

For Renault, the feeling is one of quiet optimism. The team had a very good Silverstone test last week and is leading the constructors’ championship, while Fernando Alonso extended his lead in the drivers’ championship at Imola. The R26 will feature more new aerodynamic tweaks, and the World Champion will be using the B spec RS26 engine for the first time, that made its debut with Giancarlo Fisichella in Imola two weeks ago.

The Nürburgring is a technical circuit where overtaking is difficult apart from into turn 1. It is known for its unstable climate, with rain, fog and cold conditions often followed by hot summer weather in a matter of hours. The engineers need to formulate the right technical programmes, and be adaptable in case things should change. As for the tyre manufacturers, they will hope to have made the right choices. As Melbourne showed, a 10° difference in temperature relative to the predictions can change the face of a race…