German Grand Prix Preview
Hockenheim • Heidelburg • Germany
by Toby Waller
England

Circuit Length: 4.232 miles/6.815km
Race Length: 45 laps (190.558 miles/306.675km)

After last weekend's Hill Hysteria we are faced with a weekend of Schuey mania ,as the wunderkind's supporters welcome the Formula One circus to the curious, yet interesting, circuit that is Hockenheim. What the British crowds have in historical heritage, the Germans make up for in shear enthusiasm. That's not to say the Germans are Schumacher supporters and nothing else - far from it. The lack of German driving heritage in F1 is surprising considering the manufacturer's reputation, yet for the past few years they've had a talented driver to cheer as well; someone fast; someone talented and, more importantly, someone who can win - again and again.

All that said, though, Schumacher has a hard task ahead of him this weekend. Whilst Ferrari promise a number of 'go-faster' alterations to the car, the reliability of the overall package is still in doubt. For the sixth time in three races the scarlet chargers fell at the first hurdle. Whilst all the failures have been attributed to different problems - mostly unusual ones - the overwhelming feeling in the paddock is that Ferrari is in a state of total disarray. It was best summed up in a cartoon in this week's Autosport: The Ferrari management on the gallows, arguing amongst themselves about who's to blame, whilst Eddie Irvine finds that the release lever breaks off in his hand. Surprisingly, there were less reports of the usually over-passionate Italian media's reaction this week - perhaps they have finally realised that Ferrari will not always win (or complete the race). A personal note here: Whilst I, as much as anyone, appreciate the image and heritage that Ferrari has in Formula One, people are expecting too much from them all the time. It could be argued that Ferrari took a hell of a step back when Prost left in 1991, the same year as Jordan started in Formula One. Do we expect the Irish team to be winning or leading Grand Prix consistently this year. No. In Britain, less fuss was made when the Lotus team sadly quit. Whilst, in comparison to Ferrari, the British marque are less successful, they have a huge English motor racing heritage that compares well to Ferrari.

When it comes to this weekend, though, it will probably be the most successful British team of recent times that takes top podium honours. Whilst McLaren made dramatic improvements at Silverstone, the Benetton team continue to struggle on and Ferrari are getting there (slowly), the Williams team go from strength to strength. The remaining six races look like being extremely close between Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. Whilst I remain as fervent a supporter of Hill as ever, one can't help but wonder at his young Canadian team-mate's ability. After all, he is only fifteen points behind Hill - despite winning four less races than the Englishman. For once at Germany, there may be more fireworks on the track then in the grandstands.

Lap Guide
Whilst Hockenheim wasn't a popular track in it's earlier years, it has become something of an enigma in Formula One. Whilst the cars struggle to reach 180mph on most tracks, here they can stretch their legs and exceed 200mph on four of the tree-lined straights - Damon Hill describes it as being like the bullet in a gun. As the cars pass over the start/finish line, they are doing 180mph in fifth before braking to 120 mph for the Sachs Kurve right-hander. The drivers then have a few moments to relax, or pass an opponent, before braking heavily for the Bremskurve 1. Approaching at 205mph, the cars have to change down four gears and lose 140mph before negotiating this tight chicane. Since the drivers will have removed all unnecessary downforce for the straights, these twisty sections become doubly treacherous and the slightest slide can quickly turn into a bone crunching collision with the armco. The cars pass along another sixth gear straight, brake for another slow chicane, and continue another straight before entering the fast Bremskurve 3. This is one of the quickest chicanes in Formula One, despite it's alterations in recent years, and offers the better drivers a real chance to gain on an opponent before the stadium section. As the cars come out of the forest and enter the final series of turns, they are greeted by the packed grandstands and their fanatical occupants. This set of corners - a fast left hander, a right hand hairpin and a couple of slow right handers - require all of the driver's skill to hold an ill handling car before he engages another lap of this fast and challenging circuit.

What Happened Last Year?
Strangely enough, the main talking point of the race was a surprise spin by a certain D.Hill when he seemed to have everything in the bag. After starting on pole, everyone was expecting a dominant win, and return to winning ways, for Damon Hill after the controversial collision with Schumacher at Britain. Hill didn't disappoint, holding the lead and pulling out a 1.3s lead on the first lap despite a heavier fuel load. He appeared to throw it all away at the beginning of lap two, though, as his car snapped right and launched itself into the turn one gravel. Much to the annoyance of the British tabloids, eager to find another reason to denigrate the British hero, the cause of his spin was attributed to a worn transmission joint. Hill's team mate, David Coulthard, followed Schumacher home as the German scored a superb win in front of his adoring home crowd. Performance of the race, though, went to Gerhard Berger, as he struggled up to third from fourteenth place - the result of a stop-go penalty.

1995 Results
1   Michael Schumacher          Benetton-Renault             1h22m56.043s
2   David Coulthard             Williams-Renault                 + 5.988s
3   Gerhard Berger              Ferrari                        + 1m8.097s
4   Johnny Herbert              Benetton-Renault             + 1m 23.436s
5   Jean-Christophe Boullion    Sauber-Ford                     + one lap
6   Aguri Suzuki                Ligier-Mugen Honda              + one lap

Pole Position    Damon Hill          Williams-Renault    1m44.385s
Fastest Lap      Michael Schumacher  Benetton-Renault    1m48.824s

This year, the leading team is Williams-Renault, but can Michael Schumacher score another home win? Will Jacques Villeneuve dominate the race, or will Damon dominate as he has done so many times this season? For my guess, see below: For the real answers, see Sunday.

Ferrari
The monetary might of Ferrari was brought crumbling to its knees by a £5 part - expect the team to be taking few reliability risks on Schumacher's home turf this weekend, despite their multitude of new components. Irvine had a tough weekend at home, but expect him to attempt his best at catching his German team-mate. At a circuit that has tricky handling for everyone, the gap between the two might be closer.

Benetton-Renault
After a fairly promising race at home, the Benetton team will be keen to improve further. Continually they try to prove they can win without Schumacher, but a poor handling car and brake problems pestered drivers Alesi and Berger throughout the race. After last weekend's unnecessary protest, expect rival team owners to be paying close attention to the finer points of the Benetton cars.

Williams-Renault
After dominating another weekend, it was surprising to not see Damon's name at the top of the score sheets. Another superb performance - ignoring his somewhat cautious departure from the grid - saw him fall by the wayside with mechanical gremlins. Having said that, Villeneuve's performance was without fault - a dominant win from lights to flag. Expect the pair to be closely matched at Germany with its long straights and twisty chicanes.

McLaren-Mercedes
Several races ago, I predicted that the McLarens would be continuing with their short wheelbase spec car after its superb showing at Monaco. It took several races, but I guess Ron Dennis finally listened to me! With a superb qualifying performance by Mika Hakkinen, the team started one car fourth and finished it third. Coulthard had a less satisfying weekend, finishing fifth from ninth on the grid, but will hopefully be closer in Mercedes country with the squatter McLaren.

Ligier-Mugen Honda
A tough weekend for the French team ended with two retirements, yet they might just bounce back with a pair of good finishes at Germany. The Mugen Honda has plenty of top end grunt - a necessity at Hockenheim - and is fairly reliable. If Panis and Diniz can get the aerodynamic balance right, the team could be placed to take advantage of everyone else's retirements.

Jordan-Peugeot
Another promising qualifying performance left the pairing of Brundle and Barrichello well poised to challenge the front runners. Brake problems for Barrichello and a puncture for Brundle spoiled the day though. With the Peugeot engine now being acknowledged as Formula One's most powerful - and somewhat reliable to boot - expect Jordan to do well in Germany.

Sauber-Ford
Another disappointing weekend for the Sauber team, despite new found power from their Ford engines. The pair battled between themselves in qualifying and the race, but were well down the field. They'll probably do the same this weekend.

Footwork-Hart
Understeer was the story of TWR/Arrow's weekend yet again. Unfortunately, it spoiled the debut of Brian Hart's air valve engine. The unit was apparently an improvement, and will probably be run again this weekend. If the team can get to grips with the car, they'll be back on form soon.

Tyrrell-Yamaha
After engine problems on Friday, the team were expected to disappoint come Saturday. Katayama provided the most pleasant surprise of the weekend, however, using a revised seating arrangement and consequent improved handling to good effect - even outqualifying team-mate Mika Salo. The Japanese driver retired from the race, though, whilst Salo went on to finish seventh. Expect more improved form this weekend if the engine holds.

Minardi-Ford
Lacking power, the Minardi cars couldn't match the pace of the front runners, despite good handling. They qualified, though, and struggled gamely during the race. They'll probably qualify again, but how long can they keep struggling at the back. This brings us nicely onto the sad tale of ...

Forti-Ford
After the bets had been 'Will they make the grid?', the question positively changed to 'Will they finish the race'. Sadly the situation has got worse, the team now appear to be on their way out and the question in the paddock is 'Will they make the next race?'. I sincerely hope they do.