FIA Formula One World Championship, the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
threat of showers in Germany
Welcome to the ninth round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
It looks like being another cool weekend, with the ambient temperature unlikely to exceed 18 degrees Celsius. It will be 17 degrees on Thursday and showery, and those showers are likely to continue each day as the temperature drops to 14 on Friday before climbing to 16 on Saturday and 18 on race day.
The race will run over 60 laps of the 5.148 kilometres (3.199 mile) circuit, or 308.863 kilometres (191.938 miles). It starts at 1400 hours local time, which is two hours ahead of GMT.
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Nurburgring - a Formula One set-up guide
The Nurburgring has a reputation for being a 'complete' circuit in the sense that it includes a wide variety of corners. There are high-speed sections, medium-speed chicanes, and some very slow corners with high traction demands. The cars will have to meet all of these challenges this weekend. Overtaking is difficult but possible into the first corner and the chicane at Turns 13 and 14. However, the weather is a constant concern and no matter what the season, rain and cool conditions are an ever-present threat in the Eifel mountains. Renault explain how they plan to tweak their R29 for the German Grand Prix…
Aerodynamics
The Nurburgring demands some of the highest downforce levels of the season, not only for the numerous high and medium-speed corners, but also to maintain good stability under heavy braking for the first corner and the slow chicane of Turns 13 and 14.
As Renault driver Fernando Alonso explains: "The left-right chicane of Turns 13 and 14 is probably the best overtaking opportunity as it's one of the biggest braking zones of the lap. If you are following another car closely, you can pick up a good slipstream on the approach and make a lunge down the inside. We take it at about 100 km/h in second gear and you need to be aggressive with the curbs to straight-line the chicane as much as possible and carry speed through the corner."
Chassis balance
Corners such as Turns Five/Six, Eight/Nine and 10/11 in particular demand a neutral handling balance to avoid compromising the optimum line through the second corner in the sequence, and the engineers will often work through the weekend to dial out understeer in the medium-speed corners.
A quick, responsive change of direction is required in both the slow-speed section at the start of the lap, and through the quicker corners. Mechanical grip is particularly important through Turns One to Four, but cannot be achieved at the expense of aerodynamic performance around the rest of the lap.
Alonso explains: "The run through Turns One to Four is not very exciting for the drivers, but we spend a lot of time in them and that means that any mistake is likely to be very costly, especially in qualifying. We need to be precise with our braking and keep the car under control all the time as too much understeer, oversteer or a missed apex will put you out of shape for the following corners. The car balance is never perfect at such low speeds either, so we are always fighting understeer in the very slow corners, and a nervous rear end when we accelerate away."
Tyres
Tyre performance will, as always, be a critical performance parameter for all teams this weekend with Bridgestone providing the super-soft and medium compounds from its 2009 range. Ambient conditions will play a role in determining which compound is the preferred tyre for the race as we often experience cool temperatures at the Nurburgring.
Brakes
Wear on the brakes is not a major concern. None of the braking zones are particularly severe and there is no reason to think that wear levels on the discs and pads should be abnormally high as a result.
Engine
The Nurburgring is not a circuit that presents the engines with any extreme challenges, and its overall impact is further reduced by the fact that the circuit is situated at altitude, some 500m above sea level. This has the effect of reducing engine power by approximately five percent, while also reducing loads on certain engine components such as the pistons.
The engine is at full throttle for just over 64 percent of the lap - a value slightly above the season average of approximately 62 percent. The longest single period at full throttle barely exceeds ten seconds, so the main challenge for the engine team is ensuring strong performance from low revs so the engine launches well out of the slow corners, particularly Turn Seven which leads onto the uphill drag to Turn 10.
As Nelson Piquet explains: "We approach Turn Seven downhill in seventh gear at almost 300km/h before braking and downshifting to third for the hairpin. It's really important to stay online and hit the apex through this corner so that you can apply the throttle early on the exit to carry as much speed on the long drag back up the hill towards the high-speed chicane of Turns Eight and Nine."
The circuit includes a number of elevation changes, but none are sudden enough to cause the engine systems any concern. The only note of caution is finding the best line through some of the bumpier corners, and particularly the chicane, to avoid spending too much time on the rev limiter, which is potentially damaging for the engine.
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The German Grand Prix Preview - Advantage Vettel and Red Bull?
The German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring should provide a true indication of the state of play as the Formula One season reaches its exact midpoint, provided that the weather does not intervene in the form of lower than normal temperatures or rain.
The signs are that it will be cool, with the ambient temperature failing to exceed 18 degrees Celsius (making it very similar to Silverstone’s), and showers likely at some time each day. In other words, conditions likely to favour the Red Bulls on Sebastian Vettel’s home ground.
The German is in ebullient form after his second victory of the season in Britain, and has more new parts on his Red Bull RB5 to exploit as he goes for triumph in front of countrymen who already see him as the heir apparent to Michael Schumacher.
“I'd say it's like a soccer match when you play on your home ground,” Vettel says. “You always give 100 percent, but in a home race you're even more motivated, because at home you feel comfortable.
"Not far from the Nurburgring, in Kerpen, I got a lot of kart experience which is why I have many friends in this region. During the 90 minutes of the race I do not think about which country I'm in, because I am concentrated on racing. But before and after, this is special because being at home is the best place to stay."
Brawn, however, have not been idle since their home turf defeat.
"We’re looking forward to returning to the race track and the Nurburgring should be a good circuit for our car and play to its strengths,” team principal Ross Brawn says. “We have several new aerodynamic parts from Silverstone which were not used in qualifying and the race due to the issues that we faced there, along with additional improvements scheduled for this race, which should position us well going into the weekend.
“Whilst coming away with third and sixth placed finishes from Silverstone was still a good outcome from our home Grand Prix, we would be the first to admit that the result did not meet our expectations. However, we have always said that we would have a fight on our hands to maintain our excellent run of results at the start of the season and everyone at the factory and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth is looking forward to that challenge.
“As a team, we have a good history of going away from a race, thinking about the outcome, identifying where we need to make improvements and then coming back stronger. As the home Grand Prix for Mercedes-Benz, we will be hoping to come away from the weekend with a successful result."
Jenson Button would like nothing more than to resume his championship challenge by returning the favour and denying Vettel the chance of winning at home.
"The Nurburgring is a tricky circuit but there are two key characteristics which should be good for our car,” he says. “It is a relatively slow circuit with a lot of medium-speed corners which are one of the strengths of the BGP001. The Nurburgring is also one of the heaviest braking circuits on the calendar so you need a car which will be good through the four heavy braking zones.
“With the extra week's break, everyone at the factory and at Mercedes has been working extremely hard in preparation for the German Grand Prix to get the best package for the race and we're looking forward to showing what the car can do at the Nurburgring after a disappointing weekend by our standards at the British Grand Prix.
“My last stint at Silverstone showed that the pace of the car is really competitive so we're confident that we can turn it around at this race. I'm sure we will see a really intense fight with our closest competitors and hopefully a great race for the fans."
Ferrari, Williams and Renault all have high hopes of challenging for the podium, as have BMW Sauber and Toyota, both of whom will be racing on home ground (Toyota are based in Cologne). All of them also have aerodynamic upgrades.
McLaren, racing in Mercedes-Benz’s backyard, are realistic about their chances. “The last time we raced at the Nurburgring was in 2007, and I remember I had a tough afternoon battling through from the back of the field to finish just outside the points,” Lewis Hamilton recalls. “It’s a fantastic circuit; fast and flowing with some good spots for overtaking. And it’s in a fantastic part of the world too; deep in the forests of western Germany, where the fans seem to live and breathe Formula One. It’s always an amazing party atmosphere whenever we race in Germany.
“While we aren’t expecting any major upgrades for this weekend, I’m still looking forward to the race. It’s an honour to be part of the Silver Arrows and, while our results haven’t recently shown it, we’re still pushing incredibly hard and are all hopeful of moving closer to the front before the end of this difficult season.”
The ‘new’ Nurburgring circuit mixes high and low-speed corners with heavy braking areas. About 60 percent of the track is run under full throttle, placing heavy demands on the engine, and it also requires excellent aerodynamic efficiency. Characteristically the circuit is grippy, but promotes understeer so drivers and engineers often struggle to achieve the right aerodynamic balance between the sections where maximum speeds reach 300 km/h and the slow and medium-speed parts which require high downforce.
Bridgestone’s tyre choice might help Brawn in the low temperatures; as in Australia, China and Bahrain the Japanese company will bring their medium and super soft slicks, together with their intermediate and wet rubber.
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Fernando Alonso Q&A: I’m not giving up on podiums
Improvement is the key word for Renault’s Fernando Alonso at the moment - to raise the team’s game in qualifying and hence provide a realistic chance of scoring points on Sunday. And citing last year’s trend, he is not ruling out podiums, or more, later in 2009. As for talk of driving a red car in 2010 - merely rumours says the Spaniard…
Q: What is your outlook for his race, compared to the last few races?
Fernando Alonso: During the last couple of races we had the opportunity to score some point, but we didn’t. So during the last weeks we were trying to maximize the performance of the car. Hopefully here in Germany we can do a perfect qualifying, to have the chance to start from a good position on the grid and then be able to push all through the race. The clear goal is to score some points. Also there is the weather factor, as it might rain, and these are the situations where we have to take the opportunities and get the best out of it.
Q: So what would be a perfect qualifying for you at this moment?
FA: We have to start from better positions as we did throughout the last couple of races. Between P8 and P10 is not good enough, we need to be in the top six in qualifying if we want to be able to score points on Sunday. So the target is to improve the Saturday afternoon.
Q: Are there any improvements on the car for this weekend?
FA: Yes there are. We have some new aerodynamic parts, especially the front wing and the wheel fairings. We hope to gain some tenths of a second, although the other teams will have some improvements as well. Hopefully we can do a little better than our competitors.
Q: There are some rumours about your future. Can you give us any comment?
FA: These are only rumours
Q: You are not on the podium and you are not winning races - how much of a frustration is this to you?
FA: Unfortunately I am getting used to this. It is a very similar situation to the beginning of last year. We have not been competitive, and at the end we were able to get three podiums with two wins. For this year there is the hope that we are able to get on the podium as well. We know that we are not on a good level now, but we will not think of giving up. If we find something good on the car, that we are able to develop even more, then we can probably be on the podium very soon. We will keep on working.
Q: How do you see your overall situation, as having been world champion twice and not being able to win races or compete for the championship?
FA: I think this is normal in every sport, and even more so in Formula One. We have a very good example with one of the greatest drivers, with Michael Schumacher. He has won two championship titles with Benetton, and then five years of not being able to win the title. You have to keep calm, and know that during your career you will have good moments, and also not-so-good moments. And now I am at the phase of some bad moments. I am only 27 years old, so I need to keep improving and learning, so that I am prepared when I have a competitive car again. And then I need to be better than ever.
Q: At Silverstone you were for the first time not amongst the top ten. This will not be something you will want to get used to…
FA: Silverstone was a very unlucky race. In the first place we have not been competitive at all. P12 is not the position that reflects our current status; maybe P7 or P8, but definitely closer to the points. We have to learn from the mistakes and hopefully will be able to do much better here.
Q: Do you still compete with your team mate - for the first time (at Silverstone) you finished behind Nelson Piquet?
FA: You always compete against your team mate, but in the end, if you do not score any points it does not matter whether you finish P12 or P16. For me the target is to be able to score points, and hopefully I will be able to do so on Sunday.
Q: Do you think that the championship is already decided in favour of Brawn GP and Jenson Button?
FA: No, not really. Especially after the result of Silverstone, where we have seen Red Bull Racing improve. For sure Brawn GP is still the favourite, but Red Bull Racing is in a good position too.
Q: So just a little outlook for the next race, in Budapest?
FA: I won my first race in Hungary and this is a feeling that I will never forget, so I have a special connection with the track. Of course I love the podium in Budapest, but also it is a great city with a great atmosphere.
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Exclusive Q&A with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton
Being the reigning world champion and having scored only nine points at the midseason mark is definitely not to Lewis Hamilton’s taste. He can only agree with the old Jackie Stewart saying that a bad year is a character building time. Winning, however, is a far better feeling and the McLaren star admits that he is misses it…
Q: Lewis, how would you describe your season so far?
Lewis Hamilton: Well, obviously the year so far hasn’t been fantastic. It’s a learning year and hopefully I can take what I’ve learned this year on to next year.
Q: After winning the 1969 championship and doing poorly in 1970 Jackie Stewart called that year a ‘character building’ time. Is this year yours?
LH: I believe so, yes. It is a character building year. I must agree to that.
Q: We are midseason. What do you expect the second half of the year to bring?
LH: I am hoping that we get our first win at some stage, or at least aim for a high points or podium finish.
Q: Winning the championship one year and then tumbling to the midfield or beyond the next: how do you cope with this situation and did you ever imagine something like this could happen?
LH: I never would have dreamed that the car could be the way it is, simply because McLaren builds great cars. But everyone has bad years and makes mistakes once in a while and has bad times, and this is definitely one of those.
Q: This season is topsy-turvy. Last year’s backmarkers lead the championship and the usual suspects struggle in the midfield. Is that surprising to you?
LH: It is a unique situation. All I can say is that when you are having a championship where you are competing against everyone - the best drivers that is - that’s a championship. When you don’t have all the top drivers competing with you and hunting you down this is a slightly different championship. Jenson (Button) is a long way ahead - he hasn’t got Felipe (Massa) on his tail, or Kimi (Raikkonen), or Fernando (Alonso), or me. What we see this year is a slightly different championship.
Q: Will this weekend be the turnaround at McLaren? What do you think?
LH: The weather forecast is pretty bad. I hope we make some improvements to the car and I hope they take us get further up the grid and to be challenging for some points. I could imagine that this could be a good weekend for us.
Q: Do you miss winning?
LH: Of course! I miss it every single day.
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FIA: FOTA knew the deal before the meeting
Thursday 9th July 2009
The FIA have defended themselves in the wake of FOTA's accusation that they putting F1 in jeopardy, saying the FOTA eight knew they weren't able to change the rules.
Wednesday's Technical Working Group meeting with the FOTA eight, Williams, Force India and the three new 2010 teams, ended in more controversy when the FOTA members walked out after being told they had no say in next year's regulations nor were they currently entered into next year's Championship.
"It is clear to the FOTA teams that the basis of the 2010 technical and sporting regulations was already established in Paris," said a statement released by the organisation.
"As endorsed by the World Motor Sport Council and clearly stated in the FIA press statement of June 24 'the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to April 29, 2009'.
"At no point in the Paris discussions was any requirement for unanimous agreement on regulations change expressed."
The FIA, though, have come out firing, saying FOTA were informed prior to the meeting that all 13 teams had to agree to any rule changes for next year's Championship.
"Before FOTA's decision to walk out of yesterday's Technical Working Group meeting, the President of the FIA wrote twice to the President of FOTA to remind him that any amendments to the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship regulations were subject to the unanimous approval of the five teams that had already entered for next season under the rules as published," said an FIA statement.
"This is because of the International Sporting Code and also because the entered teams have a contract with the FIA which not even the General Assembly or the World Council can abrogate. Anyone with an elementary knowledge of motor sport governance knows this.
"Imagine the uproar if, after the FOTA teams had entered, the World Council were subsequently to change the rules without asking them.
"It follows that the agreement of the five teams currently entered in the 2010 World Championship to all 2010 rule changes is required.
"To suggest that FOTA were only made aware of this during the meetings of yesterday is quite simply untrue. So is the implicit claim that they were all unaware of one of motor sport's basic principles."
The FIA further state that, despite FOTA's walkout, the other five teams - Williams, Force India and the three new entrants, US F1, Campos Meta and Manor Grand Prix - did agree to the changes.
The FIA also blamed FOTA for the lack of a new Concorde Agreement, saying the organisation, rather than extending the current deal, tried to have an entirely new Agreement accepted.
"The deal that the FIA reached with FOTA in Paris was to extend the 1998 Concorde Agreement with some minor amendments to the governance section," the statement added. "This would have put in place an F1 Commission to deal with future rules with any major question going to the FIA Senate.
"However, on 25 June, instead of the 1998 Agreement with some minor amendments, the FIA received 350 pages of a completely new Concorde Agreement.
"It being wholly impractical to involve the Senate in such detailed negotiations, the contract was handed over to FIA lawyers, who worked on it tirelessly over the weekend 27-28 June and gave comments during a three-hour conference call on Monday 29 June. Then the 350 pages of 25 June turned out not to be the final FOTA/FOA version and elements of a new version appeared, partly on 2 July, partly on 3 July.
"Again, FIA lawyers worked over the weekend on 4-5 July, as did FIA President Max Mosley and FIA Deputy President (sport) Nick Craw. Further comments were then given on a three and a half hour lawyers' call on Monday 6 July and again in a conference call yesterday, 8 July, following the circulation of further drafts. Further significant progress was made yesterday evening in yet another conference call.
"At present it seems probable that a final draft of the 2009 Concorde Agreement will be agreed and ready for signature in the coming days."
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FOTA teams stage fresh walkout
Wednesday 8th July 2009
The future of Formula One is again "in jeopardy" after the eight members of FOTA walked out of a meeting with the FIA.
Just two weeks after peace appeared to have broken out in the wake of FOTA's threat to form a breakaway series, the battle lines have seemingly been drawn again.
The latest dispute centres around the legality of the eight teams' entry into next season's world championship, and voting rights in relation to the technical and sporting regulations.
The furore follows a meeting of the FIA's Sporting Working Group chaired by Charlie Whiting, the FOTA eight - Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP - as well as Williams, Force India and the three new teams in US F1, Campos Meta and Manor Grand Prix.
A statement issued by FOTA read: "Representatives of all FOTA teams attended a meeting of the Sporting Working Group at the Nurburgring today.
"During the course of this meeting, the team managers were informed by Charlie Whiting of the FIA that, contrary to previous agreements, the eight FOTA teams are not currently entered into the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and have no voting rights in relation to the technical and sporting regulations thereof.
"It will be remembered all eight active FOTA members were included on the "accepted" entry list as endorsed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and communicated by FIA press statement on June 24.
"In light of these claims, the FOTA representatives requested a postponement of today's meetings.
"This was rejected on the grounds no new Concorde Agreement would be permitted before a unanimous approval of the 2010 regulations was achieved.
"However, it is clear to the FOTA teams that the basis of the 2010 technical and sporting regulations was already established in Paris.
"As endorsed by the World Motor Sport Council and clearly stated in the FIA press statement of June 24 'the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to April 29, 2009'.
"At no point in the Paris discussions was any requirement for unanimous agreement on regulations change expressed.
"To subsequently go against the will of the WMSC and the detail of the Paris agreement puts the future of Formula One in jeopardy.
"As a result of these statements, the FOTA representatives at the subsequent Technical Working Group were not able to exercise their rights and therefore had no option other than to terminate their participation.
"The FOTA members undertook the Paris agreement and the subsequent discussions in good faith and with a desire to engage with all new and existing teams on the future of Formula One."
In their own statement, the FIA put it more bluntly as they said: "Following the decision of the World Council on 24 June to revert to the pre-29 April version of the 2010 F1 Sporting and Technical Regulations, the FIA today met the teams which have entered the 2010 championship to seek their agreement to these changes.
"All changes have now been agreed subject only to the maintenance of the minimum weight at 620kg and the signing of a legally binding agreement between all the teams competing in 2010 to reduce costs to the level of the early 1990s within two years, as promised by the FOTA representative in Paris on 24 June.
"The eight FOTA teams were invited to attend the meeting to discuss their further proposals for 2010.
"Unfortunately no discussion was possible because FOTA walked out of the meeting."
The walk out has again thrust F1 back into an unsavoury spotlight at a time when the sport finally appeared to be getting its act together after weeks of feuding
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Alonso: Ferrari reports are only rumours
Thursday 9th July 2009
Fernando Alonso has denied reports that he's off to Ferrari next season, saying he hasn't even held talks with the Italian squad.
Every year when F1's silly season starts in ernhest, rumours emerge linking Alonso to Ferrari and this year is no different.
Last month, Spanish daily Diario AS carried a report claiming that Alonso had signed a five-year deal with Ferrari starting in 2010, adding that official confirmation would be forthcoming at the Italian GP.
Ferrari denied the reports.
This week it's an Italian newspaper that is reporting of Alonso's pending arrival in Italy, saying he's signed a two-year deal that includes a three-year option.
Alonso, however, has denied the report.
"They are only rumours. They have been happening in the last four or five years," he told reporters at the Nurburgring.
Asked if he had been talking with Ferrari or already had a contract with the Scuderia, he said: "No and no."
As for his future, the double World Champion says he hopes to soon be driving for a team that is capable of winning races and World titles.
"It is important, but it is not the end of the world," he said.
"I am missing winning - there are no doubts. I want to win and to have a performing car as soon as possible, but I also understand that this is sport and it happens everywhere - not only in motor racing.
"It happens in tennis, it happens in NBA, in football. Sometimes you go up and down in your career. In motorsport, it is even more important to have the car and the package.
"We saw with Michael (Schumacher), maybe the greatest driver ever, two World Championships in Benetton and then five years in Ferrari waiting because this is not only the human part, it is also the team and the package.
"So, I put myself in that part of my career, in stand by, and I am preparing myself very strong physically and mentally.
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Massa: Nurburgring should suit Ferrari
Thursday 9th July 2009
Although Felipe Massa believes the characteristics of the Nurburgring should suit Ferrari's F60, the Brazilian is refusing to make any predictions ahead of this weekend's German GP.
After a two-year absence, Formula One returns to the Nurburgring this weekend in what Massa is hoping could be a good race for himself and Ferrari.
But given the break and F1's new tyre regulations, Massa admits he has no clue how he will fare.
"I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the F60 again," he said.
"The layout of this track should suit it better than the fast corners of Silverstone.
"A lot will depend on how we get the tyres to work and even if we have some new components that Kimi (Raikkonen) and I will be trying on Friday, it is impossible to say at this stage what we can expect from the weekend.
"The first half of the season was very hard to predict and I don't see why it should be any different as we go into the second half."
Massa, who has yet to visit the podium this season, has 16 points to his name, putting him sixth in the Drivers' Championship.
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Thursday's FIA press conference
Thursday 9th July 2009
Nick Heidfeld, Timo Glock, Adrian Sutil, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel attended Thursday's opening press conference for the German GP weekend.
Q: It has been three weeks since the last grand prix. I would like to ask all drivers what have you done and what your team has done to make you faster for this race?
Nick HEIDFELD: The team obviously did quite a lot at the factory. We will have a couple of new parts here. We have a new floor or diffuser on the car. We have a new front wing and a new rear suspension. I used the three weeks quite intensively to keep up with my physical training. I visited the team once or twice and hope that we will see another step forward.
Timo GLOCK: Yeah, quite similar. I was quite busy. A lot of PR stuff to do. I burned some tyres at Goodwood which was quite a nice three days at Goodwood. Overall, just tried to keep my fitness level consistent for the year and hopefully we have a nice little package, an aero package, for here to fight back again for the top five.
Adrian SUTIL: I have been in the UK quite a few times with my team. It is looking really well at the moment, so they are doing good steps. It is important to push them and say well done guys and more of this. I spent a lot of time there and had a weekend off last weekend which was really good. Just at home doing nothing really and trying to save my energy for this weekend. Now I am fit and feeling happy. I am feeling good.
Nico ROSBERG: For me my team has really been doing a fantastic job with development. Of course we are still not there where we want to be. We want to be even further up. But still at the moment, in the last two races, we have been the third best team in general, so that is a very nice position to be in and allows us to fight for even maybe podiums very soon. I am very pleased with that at the moment. Over the break they have pushed on again like all the way through the season and we have new bits coming all the time and it is really nice to see the speed by which they bring parts and develop the car.
It is great and I follow what they have been doing at the factory and give my thoughts on everything and we have some new bits again here, various new bits on the car. They should bring us another good step forward, so I am looking forward to again being third best team and maybe challenge for the podium, maybe even this weekend. We need to wait and see but we need a bit of luck obviously as the two teams ahead, which are Red Bull and Brawn, which is four cars. But with a bit of luck we could have a shot and that's it. From my part I have been in Ibiza and the South of France. A bit of training and a bit of having a good time and relaxing.
Q: So you are going to be fast?
NR: Yes.
Q: Sebastian?
Sebastian VETTEL: We do have some small bits but nothing major. I think we had a very big update at Silverstone which worked perfectly fine, so we should have a very competitive car here again. Always the Nurburgring is very famous for its conditions, so no matter how good is the prediction you never know what is going to happen. The best thing in the morning is to wake up and have a look, so we will see. There are possibly some showers this weekend but I think we do have a competitive car in dry and wet conditions, so it will be very exciting.
Obviously for all of us it is our home grand prix, so we are all very excited. The time between Silverstone and here I was mainly at home preparing. It is quite nice. On the one hand you miss the testing because the part you enjoy the most is the driving but on the other hand it is also good to come back down and use the time to train a little bit more intensively as when you are always busy, always on the road, it is hard to really follow a programme. It is more or less about stabilizing where you are. But if you have a bit of time off you can use it. Other than that I turned 22 last week. That's it.
Q: Was that a big celebration?
SV: Not big. I don't know if you celebrate when you turn 22. It was very quiet. We had some little BBQ with the family but nothing special.
Q: Nick, obviously you have had a difficult start to the season. But do you feel the team is still making progress and pushing hard and will continue to push hard all the way until the end of the season?
NH: Well, I would not say still. I think in the first couple of races we were going downwards unfortunately but since then we started to move up slowly. It has never been as extreme as this year in Formula One that you really see when somebody brings an update. Whenever we brought an update to the car we did move forward and were able to score points in Barcelona and Istanbul. But then as soon as we had nothing on the car we tended to fall back.
That's why I have hopes for here and that we will be able to score points again. I know that there is a lot more in the pipeline for the upcoming races. Of course, it is very unlikely to move us where Red Bull and Brawn are, that's for sure, that's clear. But at least it would be great if we can fight for points on a regular basis.
Q: Timo, last weekend at Goodwood I think you also had a go in a rally car? Tell us about that.
TG: Yeah, it was quite a nice moment. The first time for me in a WRC car. I think the car was around 10 years old but still a proper one and a proper rally stage through the forest. I just was really impressed the first time when I had a taxi ride to see it and then I was just pushing as hard as possible to get a ride on my own. I did four laps which was quite nice and a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and it was a nice weekend. I think at the end I was only nine seconds slower than Sebastian Loeb, so it didn't look too bad.
Q: And your hopes for this weekend?
TG: Hopefully we will be back again fighting for the top five and for the podium. But it is quite close. Everybody is really close together and it will be a hard fight. It is quite interesting to see again which teams are bringing big updates and which teams are bringing small updates. I hope we are on the bigger side and just fight for points strongly and for the podium.
Q: Adrian, you had the big update at Silverstone. You got close, not you personally, with Giancarlo (Fisichella) in 10th place. Do you think points are a possibility? Vijay (Mallya) certainly does.
AS: Yeah, always a possibility. Difficult but it should have been possible in Silverstone already. We were a bit unlucky with both cars in qualifying after my crash, so we had to start from the back. But here we have not really something new on the car, just small things, but still an update from Silverstone should bring us quite a good performance here. Our hopes are to reach the second qualifying again and go close to the top 10. Hopefully in the race we can go into the points but it is a really hard goal to reach but I see a chance and I will go for it.
Q: Nico, talk about the progress being made by the team. It really is a development race, isn't it, and do you think they can sustain this? They are a privateer team taking on those manufacturer teams.
NR: Definitely. The past few years have been a bit of a negative for us, the developments through the season and we always seemed to lose out. But this year we are just really going up. We are really progressing a lot this year, so I am really enjoying it and I am really confident that we can continue. I think the main point is we learnt a lot about the mistakes, especially from last year. We are doing a lot better on that this year and changed a few things, characteristics in terms of development, so it is helping us a lot.
Q: Sebastian, winner of the last race and the only other winner this year apart from Jenson (Button). Adrian Newey thinks it will ebb and flow. Sometimes it will be them and sometimes it will be you. What are your feelings about that?
SV: I hope that in the future that it will be only us. But I think it will be a hard fight. As Nick said in the beginning of this question round it is very unique this year to see that as soon as someone brings an update, whoever it is, is able to make quite a big step. We brought quite a big update at the last race and it seemed to work. I think on top of that we had a perfect weekend.
Maybe Brawn GP was struggling a little bit here and there. In the end it is all about getting your things and getting the job done. I think you have to focus for every single race. Each circuit is different in a way, so in general I think the most important thing is to have a good, fast car which we do, but they also have (one), so it will be a close fight to the end of the season. But as I said you have to keep working, bringing the bits even if it is just a couple of bits you put on the car. They are helping. Everyone is developing like crazy and trying to improve. Both teams are in a very strong position. We have a good car but in the end little things can make the difference.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) Sebastian, how do you feel this year coming to Germany as a star?
SV: I don't consider myself as a star. It is always nice to come here. It is very special for all five of us to take part in the German Grand Prix being German you know, it is our home grand prix. It is similar for an Englishman to drive around Silverstone, I think as it is special. I have had a lot of races here at the Nürburgring in all different categories, Formula BMW, Formula Three and Formula Renault World Series. I like the circuit and it will be my first time around here in an F1 car, so I am definitely looking forward.
Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos - Racing Magazine) Question to you all: there's this big legend about the Nordschleife here. I want to know your experience driving around it with any car and if you have a wish to one day have a Formula One race here, even if the safety standards would be a little bit different?
NH: Yeah, I think I have quite a lot of experience around there. I said earlier, when they opened the new park that the first lap I did here was together with my father, not being able to reach the pedals but just steering a bit. And I would say it ended two years ago when I had the chance to drive around the Nordschleife in an F1 car which was one of the best experiences I've ever had here. I have to say I was surprised how well the track suited the F1 car. Of course it's too dangerous, the run-off areas are not big enough but the corners themselves are great and it was fantastic doing those three laps. Unfortunately, on each of those laps, I had to follow a camera car, so I couldn't go at full speed but I would love to do it any time again.
TG: Yeah, so far I didn't have the chance to go around in a race car or in a Formula One car. It would be a dream to do it in a Formula One car, definitely, but I did a couple of laps, privately, with my road car when I was here the first time in 2000/2001 and I have to say it took quite a bit of time to learn the track. It's not an easy one and still now I have no idea about the corners, only when I'm on the track do I know what I have to do. If you talked about a corner, right now, here: no chance. And this makes it the best track in the world and it's just unbelievable and so far I've only done it in a road car with a couple of journalists. I think they had quite a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to doing it in a proper race car.
AS: Yeah, a fantastic circuit. I would say it's my favourite, the best in the world. I think it's the biggest circuit, there's so much history here but once you go on it, it doesn't matter which car you're in: a slow car, a road car or whatever, it's thrilling and it's incredible to drive these corners, up and down, so many corners. It doesn't matter which car, as I said. I've come here quite a few times, just to do the Nordschleife, sometimes with my road car with some friends. I was here last weekend. I drove down in my own car, did some laps, met up with a friend, another race driver and he was taking me around in his touring car. It was a good experience because he knew the track really well. I know it well but I have never done a race here, so it's a different area. I try to go on it all the time and every race that I've done here I've normally gone for a couple of laps on the Nordschleife on the Wednesday.
NR: For me, there was just one really nice experience with my dad in 1995 when he was doing DTM. He took us round in an Opel Calibra Turbo, which at the time was the car he was racing and he drove a road car but it was still a very, very fast car and I remember his best friend was sitting in the back seat and my dad knows the track like the back of his hand, he knows every jump, every corner, in his mind, he knows it exactly. So we were going absolutely flat out and I just remember that the guy in the back was shouting so loudly. I think he would have preferred to open the door and jump out at 250kph rather than stay in the car. So it was quite a fun experience.
SV: As soon as I got my licence, I used the opportunity (to come here) and I did a lap with a road car. I was completely lost but followed a friend and around half a lap I completely lost the brakes and I was lucky not to crash, so I had totally underestimated the performance of normal road car brakes. Then a couple of years later I had another opportunity with a friend who lives just down the road here close to Nürburgring and the Nordschleife.
He has an old BMW 3-series, not very powerful but modified, so proper tyres and the chassis tuned a little bit. When there were normal tourists around the track, then it was quite big fun to chase them in this little car and even though you have no power on the straights, you were much faster in the corners. It was fun. I think I had five or six laps. First of all you are surprised how many corners there are and how long one lap really is but I think then you quite quickly get into the rhythm and you kind of recognise the corners more and more, so after five laps you roughly know where you are but it has been a few days and I think I have forgotten most of it but it would be nice to come back and do a couple of laps.
Q: (Asen Stoyanov - Monitor Daily, Bulgaria) I would like to ask everybody what is your opinion about the possibility of having a Bulgarian Grand Prix in the next two or three years because tomorrow there will be negotiations with Mr Ecclestone?
TG: I think you will get the same answer five times over but in the end, I think we all welcome a new track, a new race and I think last year we already had a couple of really good events. I think we welcome new tracks every time, new countries to visit, and I look forward to it.
NH: It's very hard to judge because I don't know where it would take place, how it would be, but as Timo said, it's always great to go to new tracks, but not only that, but also to new countries, new cities but very hard to judge from where we sit, not spending a lot of time focussing on that.
SV: I think it's all been said. As long as the circuit is nice, this is what we all enjoy most and if the spectators are great, if the atmosphere is great, so if there are plenty of Bulgarian race fans, it would be nice to go there.
Q: (MC) What would you want from a new circuit like this? Changes in elevation? Overtaking places?
NH: Nordschleife with more run-off. It would be nice to have overtaking opportunities but normally if you try to build those in, that doesn't make the track very exciting. What I found is that, as you just said, that elevation changes normally make it quite exciting. I think there are some or a lot of old tracks that have their own nature and are good fun but there are also some new tracks that are good fun. I don't think it's an easy job to build a track that is exciting to drive but I think the guys who are doing it have so much experience now that they should come up with a pretty good solution.
Q: (Peter Lausmann - Rhein-Zeitung) Question to Nick: you mention physical fitness and you worked very hard before the beginning of the season, you even lost weight which is quite easy for a chubby guy like me but very hard for an athlete like you. You did all this stuff and now the car isn't that competitive. How frustrating is it and would you subject yourself to this torture again before a season?
NH: Yeah, of course I would do it again. I assumed that we would be in a good position to really fight at the front but now, as we have cancelled KERS, I will go back to being fat!
Q: (Sarah Holt - BBC) Question for you, Sebastian: I guess that a third win this season might make a nice birthday present for you and if it continues to be quite cold that could make life more difficult for Jenson. What are your feelings on those two things?
SV: First of all, I think Germany is usually hotter than in the UK. I think this place is quite special, so we should be used to the heat, much more than an Englishman! No, as I said, it will be a very, very close fight until the end of the season and obviously they are in a better position than we are if you look at the championship placings. We will try everything we can. We will try at every single race, our target is to win, that's why we are here, to beat not just the Brawns but to beat everyone, because in the end, if you want to win, you have to beat every single person. A lot of things can happen quickly in sports.
You never know what is going to happen, basically. Maybe they didn't have such a good race in Silverstone, we had a great race and all of a sudden people are talking more about a closer fight and so on. If it is the other way around here again, then people will have a different opinion and if it continues to go in our direction it will be closer. There is still a long, long way. Right now we are more of less at half time, halfway through the season. Every single race is important. We didn't always do the best job possible in the first couple of races but we are still in a very strong position and there's a long way to go. We are here to fight.
Q: (Joris Fioriti - AFP) A quarter of the grid is German; don't you think that sometimes there are too many German drivers? And, especially for those at the back, is it good to have people talking about Sebastian right now? Nick and Adrian, you must suffer from that a little bit, or not?
NH: I guess you're not German, asking this question! I think if you look at the last twenty, thirty, forty years of Formula One there have not always been five Germans. There were times when there was nobody and maybe a third or quarter of the field was Italian or French. That's just the way it goes. I think most of us sitting here were lucky that Michael had such a strong impact in the world of motor sport, in the world of F1, which maybe made it a bit easier for us to come here. Nobody knows how it will go in the future but I think the teams always try to get the quickest driver and their nationality is not that important. Your remark about there being more attention on Sebastian at the moment than on most of us sitting here is just very natural, I think. He's had a very good season, he's still in a position to fight for the championship with Jenson. Who would expect anything else?
Q: (Mario Bauer - Berliner Zeitung) Nick, you've been in Formula One as long as Jenson has been. Does seeing him win now, having a car to do so, while you've both had ups and downs in your careers over all these years, does it make you a bit frustrated to see that you still don't have a car to win or does that give you confidence that you could do it as well, as long as you get the car?
NH: I like to see him winning, it rather gives me confidence, although it's not only because of that. I believe in myself anyway but I think all the people I speak to and know are happy for him to win because he was fighting with not a good car and now he's able to show what he can do and it probably shows people that are not so much into Formula One how important the car is, but that's just the way it goes.
Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) Sebastian, as it is your home Grand Prix, do you feel that it is an advantage, do you have more things to do as Jenson lost his home Grand Prix last race?
SV: I don't see this as a disadvantage. I think it's always nice to come here, as I said, for all of us. It's nice to see a lot of people mainly cheering for us. If anything it gives you more power and maybe that extra little you need but in the end, of course there are more people and maybe more attention but the thing that matters most is the racing, so you have to sometimes forget everyone and everything around you and just focus on what really matters. It might be a bit more difficult to keep the focus but that's the most important thing, the key I think, to focus on racing. In the end, you can get ten points, you can get ten points in England, Silverstone, or you could get ten points in Australia. It doesn't give you more points if you win here than anywhere else. Of course it's nicer to win your home Grand Prix but it's a long, long way and the race is on Sunday. First of all there is Friday, tomorrow, to prepare and then the qualifying. It's always a long way.
Q: (Carole Capitaine - L'Equipe) A question for all of you: what about your future? Do you know where you will be next year, in which team and are you already working on that?
SV: I know.
NH: As you probably know, at BMW we don't speak about our contracts, so there's not much I can say.
TG: Quite similar for me. These questions are sometimes quite difficult to answer but let's say the future doesn't look too bad.
AS: Same for me. It's too early to talk about it, half the season is over and so many things can happen. Things still haven't been solved, the talking about where Formula One is going and I think that as soon as it is decided what happens with Formula One, then we can concentrate on the drivers. I can't say anything about my position anyway.
NR: I'm looking at my options at the moment and that's it. There's not much more to say than that, other than I'm very, very happy with where I am at the moment. I'm very pleased with my team and it's working really well, working together with them, so that's the most important thing for now.
SV: I've said it already. I've said I know. I can also now say.... whatever you want to hear. I think everybody knows about my situation next year. I'm very happy. We are very, very strong this year which may be a surprise for some people but I think maybe the last couple of years weren't the best for the team but I'm very pleased that at the moment that I arrived we had the right car to finally be where I think we deserved to be.
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