German GP : Preview

The popular Hockenheimring has been a near ubiquitous staple on the FF1M calendar which consistently produces dramatic races full of incident. One such example came in 2008 where two Gui Racing self-destructed with Christian Klien apparently suggesting that teammate Robert Kubica “may overtake me cleanly, but I overtake him ‘Klienly’.” Another example was the entirety of the 2003 race which kicked off with the Andy Racing of Christijan Albers cannoning into the back of Cristiano Da Matta going into the Jim Clark chicane, sending the Dark Wolf driver spinning for approximately 300 metres with no rear wing.

Battle resumed between Tornado and Shake ‘n’ Bake

The previous race at the Hungaroring saw Tornado Motorsport and Shake ‘n’ Bake Motorsport continue their on-track scrap reminiscent of their 2009 seasons with Vaino Kimminen brilliantly overcoming a mid-race electrical issue to overtake Fernando Alonso for the race win with just a few laps remaining. Alonso was able to hold off the other Tornado of Romain Grosjean for 2nd come the end of the race and could still pose a threat for the championship, particularly as the next three races look set to favour Megatron with long straights demanding a strong ICE.

The recent mid-season test at Zandvoort seemed to confirm that Megatron still had an edge with Shake ‘n’ Bake in particularly looking good on raw pace, but Tornado’s Esteban Ocon also showed well with the 2nd quickest time during the second day. The other Tornado test driver, Charles Leclerc, should be buoyed by this having signed a race deal with Tornado for 2018. Both days were topped by the Andrew Racing of Jean-Eric Vergne, who has been having a quietly solid season with points in all but two races this season, which including a single point in his 100th race at the Hungaroring. No such milestones are taking place this weekend, although Alonso and Sebastian Vettel will celebrate two big ones in a couple of races time.

In the pit lane

Previously reported rumours of Mattia Alfonsi racing in FF1M have been confirmed to be true as he will take over Robert Kubica’s seat for the remainder of the season. He will join his old support series rival James Clark, and their partnership will no doubt catch the attention of the Italian press, who have unfairly lampooned Clark in the past. Upon Alfonsi’s arrival, Clark has said that he is “very much looking forward to being teammates with Alfonsi as he has always pushed me to be a better driver in the junior series, and our time as test drivers at Gojira in 2015 have brought upon a mutual respect for one another.”
Mugen have taken their third engine upgrade of the season and will have a new ICE and ERS components
Judd have taken their third engine upgrade of the season and will have new ERS components

Win number 10 for FJR?

FJR team boss James Brickles loves Hockenheim with wins coming from Gerhard Berger twice, Karl Wendlinger, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, a home win for Nick Heidfeld in that chaotic 2003 race, Fernando Alonso, the final win of Jenson Button’s career, and most recently, Kevin Magnussen. The Dane capitalised on Lewis Hamilton’s massive lapse in concentration last season when the Mitchell driver missed his turn in point into the Agipkurve on the final lap and threw away a race win. FJR will do well to add to their Deutsche Punktekarte this season with their evidently draggy chassis recording the lowest top speeds at Zandvoort. It also looked horrible to drive at the Hungaroring in the hands of Catharina Caracciola, who despite taking her first career pole position, plummeted to 16th and last of the remaining runners having gone off track a few times and damaging her front wing against Alessandro Farina.

Another driver looking to bounce back is Lewis Hamilton with the Mitchell driver losing ground in the championship battle after an engine failure in the early stages of the Hungaroring. His mood didn’t improve during the mid-season test after his gearbox broke during day 2, although he was quick on both days. Amazingly, he has yet to win at Hockenheim with it proving to be one of his bogey circuits alongside Monaco, but podium number 80 awaits him if he can get his championship challenge back on track.