2018 German GP : Race Preview

A race that provides a high-speed adventure in the middle of a dense pine forest along with a generous portion of chaos, the Hockenheimring is a circuit that really tests the power units and drivers’ bravery. Last season was no exception where engine failures hurt the likes of Kevin Magnussen and Nolan Bryant, and collisions destroyed the races of Daniel Ricciardo and Catharina Caracciola after Carlos Sainz forgot where to brake going into the Jim Clark chicane on the first lap. The treacherous Agipkurve also claims its victims with Romain Grosjean spinning off last season and enjoying the architecture for a few laps before rejoining. Tornado Motorsport will be hoping for nothing similar this season, especially as they have the momentum.

Tornado ace the race at Silverstone

FF1M’s spiritual home of Silverstone produced a masterclass from Tornado and in particular, Charles Leclerc after the Monegasque qualified well and raced even better. On a two-stop strategy, he was able to keep up with early leader James Clark despite the Altrincham driver being on a lighter fuel load, so when Clark made his first of three stops, Leclerc was able to take charge and control of the race, only losing the lead after his first stop but quickly retaking it from Clark. As for the other Tornado, Vaino Kimminen’s race was more busy but no less impressive from 10th on the grid, he steadily worked his way through the field throughout his four stints and eventually took 2nd from Alessandro Farina in the closing stages. Clark’s three-stop strategy didn’t pay off in the same way as Kimminen’s did as it appeared that Tornado was just better suited for the race compared to Gojira as Clark dropped to 6th, but with fresher tyres, he was able to recover back to 4th ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Magnussen, who both enjoyed a good scrap throughout the race. For FJR, it was better performance compared to the previous race in Austria with Magnussen fastest in Saturday practice, but a conservative race ERS set-up plus their car still containing the properties of a parachute on the straights meant that Magnussen was defenceless from behind. Teammate Caracciola had similar frustrations after she spent virtually the whole race stuck behind CBA Racing drivers, but she managed to steal a point on the final lap after Tomas Gonzalez’s engine failed exiting Luffield. The extra point means that FJR are still tied on points with Mitchell but both remain in separate Friday groups with the rest of the running order being as follows:

Paddock News

• Judd have brought their third engine upgrade for this race, bringing new ICE, ERS, and CE components
• Megatron have brought their second engine upgrade for this race, bringing new ERS and CE components

Power vs Reliability

Hockenheim demands a good power unit and good top speed on its four enormous straights. Teams therefore can’t be shy with their race ERS use to maintain competitiveness, which won’t be good news for those customer teams who aren’t able to run maximum ERS in the race, particularly Mitchell whose car hasn’t been particular good in a straight line anyway, but also Andrew Racing as they have relatively strict rules on how much ERS they’re allowed to run in races. CBA Racing on the other hand can use as much ERS as they like in races thanks to Judd’s generosity. Combined with their car being naturally quick on the straights anyway, they stand a pretty good chance at disrupting the title fight between Tornado, Gojira, and Shake ‘n’ Bake.

Support Races

No support races this weekend, but rumours of STV Racing’s line-up changing refuse to go away as Lando Norris’ seat has now sensationally come under threat after throwing away yet another win at Silverstone after colliding with Itsuki Yoshida. Fortunately for STV Racing, Willows Junior weren’t able to capitalise and STV actually extended their lead in the teams championship thanks to Cristobal Alvarez salvaging a solid 4th in the feature race. For now, STV’s line-up will remain unchanged, but FJR test driver and E-Bah-Gum driver Pierre Gasly, having completed his FFeM season, has been knocking on STV’s door.

Coverage Details

Race highlights will premiere from 2pm on Sunday with FJR’s James Brickles, Shake ‘n’ Bake’s Courtney Cass, and Willows Racing’s Joseph Willows in the commentary box.

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