German Grand Prix
Hockenheim, 18-20 July 2008
PREVIEW
ROUND TEN
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
driver 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.
HOCKENHEIM - THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE
The new Hockenheim is a very different challenge to the old
layout. What was once a flat-out blast through the forest
is now a modern stadium circuit, but the old Motodrom section,
with its testing mix of elevation changes and double-apex
corners, has been retained in the new layout.
Car set-up is a compromise between this very twisty infield
section and the straights at the back of the circuit. The
teams spent last week's three-day test session at the track
trying to establish good levels of mechanical grip with their
cars, while minimising the amount of aerodynamic downforce
in order to be fast in a straight line.
Stability under braking is also important because there are
a number of heavy braking areas on the lap, particularly at
the Spitzkehre hairpin (Turn 6) where the cars slow from 310kph
(193mph) to 60kph (37mph). It's one of the slowest corners
on the Formula One calendar and the best overtaking point
at Hockenheim.
With only two high-speed corners on the lap, into and out
of the Motodrom, tyre wear is not such a factor at this race,
but the high track temperatures sometimes witnessed in late
July can create large fluctuations in grip.
Full throttle: 65% Brake wear: Medium
Downforce level: Medium - 7/10
Tyre compounds: Hard / Medium Tyre usage: Medium Average
speed: 215kph (134mph)
HONDA TEAM TALK
Ross Brawn, Team Principal
Q. How much of a morale boost was Rubens' third place in
the British Grand Prix two weeks ago? "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, however it would be unrealistic to expect
a repeat of this result in dry track conditions."
Q. How do you expect the Honda Racing F1 Team to perform
at the German Grand Prix? "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
for the weekend, it could be an interesting race."
Jenson Button
Q. What are your hopes for the German Grand Prix 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."
Q. What are your thoughts on the Hockenheim circuit?
"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."
Rubens Barrichello
Q. Following your podium finish at Silverstone, what do you
hope to achieve at Hockenheim? "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."
Q. Does the track provide a similar challenge to the old
layout, on which you scored your first win? "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."
LAP OF THE TRACK with Alex Wurz
"The most memorable thing about Hockenheim is the stadium
section because the huge grandstands create an amazing atmosphere.
There are thousands of people, all making a lot of noise and
that sounds pretty cool when you're on the drivers' parade.
As for the circuit, in my view it has become just another
racetrack since it was re-designed in 2002, but it's still
quite challenging.
"You arrive at Turn 1 in sixth gear, at just over 270kph
(168mph). You brake only for a very short period, downshift
one gear and flick the car towards the apex. You need to have
very good turn-in here, otherwise you'll understeer wide at
the exit and lose time down the following straight.
"Turn 2 is a strange corner because it's slippery and
bumpy under braking. You have to force yourself to brake early
so that you can get on the power early at the exit, which
is important because the longest straight on the lap comes
next. As you're getting on the power, the car is loaded up
with lateral Gs and you have to feed in the power progressively
to avoid too much wheelspin.
"We reach a top speed of 310kph (193mph) on the next
straight, before braking for the hairpin. It's a very slow
corner, first gear at 60kph (37mph), and is the best overtaking
spot on the lap. There's lots of run-off so you can try some
really creative moves if you need to. It's important to get
good traction at the exit because you accelerate up to sixth
gear before to Turn 7, which is easy flat, and you arrive
at the next left-hander at 280kph (174mph).
"The car slides through these two lefts and it's easy
to miss your apex. You accelerate all the way through the
next corner, a right-hander, although you might lift a tiny
bit at the entry to get the front end turned in. By the exit
you're in fifth gear and heading back towards the stadium.
"Turn 12 is the most challenging corner on the lap.
It's fast, 270kph
(168mph) at the entry, and bumpy, and the track narrows at
the exit, so you have to be very precise with your line. You
need to use the exit kerb to be fast, but you mustn't go wider
than that because the Astroturf on the outside is slippery
and you can lose a lot of time.
"A banked second gear left-hander comes next and the
gradient helps you to carry a lot of speed at the apex. However,
the gradient flattens out while the car is still loaded up
at the exit, so you have to be prepared for some oversteer.
A left-right flick follows, after which there's a compression
that helps you get the car turned into the last couple of
right-handers. You have to open up the steering slightly between
these corners, but they are more like one double-apex corner
than two separate ones. Then it's important to get a good
exit in order to carry as much speed over the start-finish
line."
Honda in Germany
When Honda began operations in Germany in 1961, it became
the first Japanese automobile importer in Europe. Since then,
the country has remained at the centre of Honda's European
business and is home to its R&D centre in Offenbach.
Germany has consistently been one of Honda's biggest European
markets. More than 42,000 units were sold in 2007, placing
the country second to the UK in terms of volume, and like
the UK, the biggest-selling model was the Civic with sales
of 14,000 units. The Honda Civic Hybrid is now the most affordable
Hybrid car in Germany and sales were up 68 percent in 2007.
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