After having returned to the "doubles" in the GP of Great Britain, Mercedes presents itself in the GP of Germany with high confidence. In addition to racing at home and showing a good moment of form (which has continued since the beginning of the season), the German team is still the only one that has been able to win there since F1 adopted hybridization.
However, not everything is in favor of Mercedes. Firstly, the German team has been struggling with problems with overheating its engines (as happened in Austria) and the truth is that the weather forecast does not seem favorable to Mercedes. Still, Helmut Marko believes the problem has already been overcome.
Secondly, Sebastian Vettel will not only want to clean up the bad image left at this Grand Prix last year (if you remember that was where the rider's break in form started) but also to leave behind the incident of the British GP at the which crashed into Max Verstappen. Speaking of which, it is once again a name to be taken into account.
The Hockenheimring Circuit
At a time when a lot is said about the possibility of not having a German GP next year, the Hockenheimring is once again home to the reigning discipline of motorsport. Altogether, German GP has already been played on a total of three different circuits (one of them with two different layouts): Nürburgring (Nordschleife and Grand Prix), AVUS and Hockenheimring.Subscribe to our newsletter
With a total of 17 corners, the German circuit extends over 4,574 km and the fastest lap belongs to Kimi Räikkönen who, in 2004, driven a McLaren-Mercedes, covered the circuit in just 1min13.780s.
Lewis Hamilton is the only driver in the current Formula 1 squad who knows what it's like to win at the Hockenheimring (won in 2008, 2016 and 2018). At the same time, the Brit is, along with Michael Schumacher, the driver with the most victories in the German GP (both have four).
What to expect from the German GP?
In a race in which it presents itself with a special decoration on its cars to commemorate its 200 GP and 125 years of motorsport, Mercedes starts ahead of the competition.
CLASSIFICATION: END OF FP1
THE @ScuderiaFerrari 1-2, with Sebastian Vettel setting the early pace on his home race weekend #F1 #GermanGP ?? pic.twitter.com/eYXxwl7idt
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2019
Still, as proved in Austria, the Germans are not unbeatable and on the lookout will be, as always, Ferrari and Red Bull. Another of the expectations for the German competition is to see how the duel between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc will unfold.
In the second platoon, Renault and McLaren promise another lively duel, especially after the French team managed to place two cars in the points at Silverstone. As for Alfa Romeo, it seems closer to Renault and McLaren than to the back of the pack.
Speaking of the back of the pack, Toro Rosso looks a little better, especially given the less positive phase Haas is currently in, proving capable of little more than battling Williams and making mistakes behind errors.
The German GP is scheduled to start at 14:10 (mainland Portugal time) on Sunday, and for tomorrow afternoon, from 14:00 (mainland Portugal time) is scheduled for qualifying.