Honda travels to Hockenheim with new upgrades on RA108

Round ten of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship takes the Honda Racing F1 Team to Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix. The 4.574km (2.842-mile) circuit is situated on the banks of the River Rhine, between the cities of Frankfurt and Stuttgart, and is making a return to the F1 calendar after sitting out 2007.

The track was built in 1939, but racing only took off at the venue in 1964 when Dutch circuit designer John Hugenholz, who also penned the Honda-owned Suzuka Circuit, created the 6.8km (4.2-mile) layout that was to remain largely unchanged until 2001. It was on this track, which had an average speed in excess of 242kph (150mph), that the Honda Racing F1 Team’s Rubens Barrichello scored his maiden F1 victory in 2000.

Hockenheim was re-designed by Hermann Tilke in 2002 when the circuit was shortened and safety improvements were made. The mix of long straights and a twisty infield provides the teams and drivers with an interesting technical challenge and the 67-lap race is sometimes incident-packed.

“The wet race at Silverstone gave us the opportunity to combine driver experience and team performance to achieve a very well deserved podium finish for Rubens. The team worked extremely well throughout the race to take advantage of the opportunities which opened up, aided by an excellent drive and outstanding tyre feedback from Rubens. Our first podium of the season was of course a big morale boost for the team, however it would be unrealistic to expect a repeat of this result in dry track conditions.”

“Following the test at Hockenheim last week, we will be introducing the next step of aerodynamic, mechanical and engine performance upgrades for the RA108. The test allowed our engineers to gain a better understanding of our recent lack of qualifying pace, so we will be aiming for an improvement on our grid positions as the foundation for a strong race performance. With changeable weather predicted, it could be an interesting weekend.”

“Our aims for Germany are as always to get the best out of the car and hopefully achieve a good result. It is so incredibly competitive in the midfield pack at the moment that it is almost impossible to make predictions. Our test at Hockenheim was successful, so I’m looking forward to seeing how that relates to our performance this coming weekend.”

“I have always enjoyed racing at Hockenheim and I have some great memories from previous races here after finishing on the podium in 2004 and 2005. There are good overtaking opportunities and you can see some great battles, which makes the racing exciting for the fans who always pack the grandstands here. The track can be quite a challenge if the heat and humidity levels are high, and the medium to slow speed corners put quite a bit of stress on the tyres.”

“It was fantastic to wake up on the Monday morning after Silverstone and see the trophy! To step onto the podium again was an unexpected but deserved outcome to our British Grand Prix weekend and I was so pleased to have achieved the result for the team. However we have to keep our focus and continue to improve the performance of the RA108 as we are fully aware that our result at Silverstone was assisted by the wet conditions. We made a small step at the test so it will be interesting to see how the car performs against our midfield competitors this weekend.”

“My first victory in Formula One came at Hockenheim back in 2000 so this circuit is very special to me. The layout changes mean that it is a different venue now from the track that I used to enjoy so much, however it’s still a good circuit. Overtaking is possible, particularly under heavy braking, and with changeable weather, this can make for an exciting race.”