Hockenheim holds good memories for Honda drivers

Round 12 of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, the German Grand Prix, takes place at Hockenheim this weekend. The fourth of this season’s five sets of back-to-back races sees the F1 calendar travel to Germany and then Hungary before the now traditional summer break.

Since the French Grand Prix, the Honda Racing F1 Team has been hard at work on the test track in Jerez to prepare for the next three races, concentrating on chassis and engine developments plus intensive tyre evaluations in preparation for forthcoming hot races in Germany, Hungary and Turkey.

Reopened in 1966, after the original oval was cut in two by the construction of an autobahn, Hockenheim was radically changed again in 2002. The legendary sweeping forest straights were removed in place of a tighter, more modern layout that boasts a much larger spectator capacity. The result is a track that is almost unrecognisable from its predecessor with dramatic reductions in both speed and length, but considerable improvements in safety. Opinion on the circuit is still very much divided among the drivers and teams. That said both Honda drivers are quick to give the venue a ‘thumbs up’.

“My first victory in Formula One came at the Hockenheim back in 2000 so this circuit is very special for me, even though the layout changes mean that it is a different venue now from the track that I used to enjoy so much,” remarks Rubens Barrichello. “It’s still a good circuit for the drivers and the fans, however, because overtaking is possible – particularly on the long straight with late braking – which can make the racing more exciting. Your car needs to work well at Hockenheim, and with the hot and humid weather that we usually get, it can be a particularly challenging race for the car and the driver.”

“Hockenheim is a circuit that I always enjoy and I have some great memories from previous races here after finishing on the podium in 2004 and 2005,” adds Jenson Button. “There are some decent overtaking opportunities around the circuit and I enjoyed a good battle with Michael Schumacher for third place last year. It will be very difficult to achieve a similar result this time but testing went well in Jerez last week and we hope to see an improvement in our performance in the last few races.”