The championship arrives in Germany this weekend after a McLaren 1-2 in Austria, with only 8 points separating leader Mika Hakkinen from main rival Michael Schumacher. A McLaren 1-2 should be expected here too, but who can rule out Michael Schumacher in front of his home crowd. Hockenheim will also be a test for many teams when it comes to reliability.

A lap of Hockenheim

Although Hockenheim was not a popular track in its 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. As the cars pass the start/finish line, they do 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 teams remove all unnecessary car 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 its 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.

Circuit Length: 4.239 miles/6.823 km Race length: 45 laps (190.774 miles/307.022 km)

What happened last year?

The Field

Winfield Williams-Mecachrome Goodyear
Williams must be counting down the races until the end of 1998. With Both drivers apparently leaving the team next year, Williams will be reluctant to have them test newer modifications to the car, which renders the rest of the season quite useless. However, Germany may offer Williams a very possible points finish. They have shown pace in recent testing at Monza, which shows the Williams can be quick on a fast circuit. But Hockenheim has a few more corners than Monza, which may take time away from the current Williams car, as it is still struggling with its handling. It's hard to pick which Williams driver will outpace his team mate here - they may well be very close together. Heinz-Herald Frentzen will also be on home ground, so expect a little bit of extra speed from him.

Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari Goodyear
Ferrari's run of successive victories was ended at Austria by the McLaren 1-2 finish, but things could have been turned out different and I am sure that result will be seen by Ferrari as mere bad luck. Michael Schumacher certainly could have made the race very close indeed. The German track does not at first favour the Ferrari, when comparing them to the McLarens. However, they will be testing a new wheel base on Friday and decide whether this will be used for the weekend, so follow Ferrari's Friday performance as an indication of that. Michael will be at home here, so expect him to make a challenge for the race. Pole and the front row may be out of reach, but he will certainly be hoping for a good race. Eddie Irvine as usual will be playing the team game, and will be trying to split the McLarens, but I think that if anyone is to split the McLarens at Germany it will have to be Schumacher. Possible podium for both drivers, but most likely only Schumacher will make the steps. Schumacher will almost certainly finish ahead of Irvine.

Mild Seven Benetton-Playlife Bridgestone
After a successful qualifying performance in the wet session at Austria, Benetton failed to make use of it in the race. Germany has a history of being a very good track for Benetton, with victory for Schumacher in 1995 and for Berger last year, but I don't think this year will be so rosy. Again, a finish within the points is a possibility. Fisichella will also be keen to put Austria behind him after his collision with Jean Alesi.

West McLaren-Mercedes Bridgestone
McLaren ended Ferrari's successive run of victories at Austria in a very impressive fashion. This was a well-needed result for the drivers and the team. Mika Hakkinen will be aiming for both pole and the victory here, with David Coulthard in 2nd place, to give McLaren another maximum result. This task shouldn't be too hard for them here, and I expect a slightly dominant 1-2 from the team. However, McLaren will need to keep in mind that Austria was not exactly a walk-over, and not forget the Ferrari threat for one minute. Expect Mika Hakkinen to win the race, pole position however could go to either of the drivers, possibly more weight towards David Coulthard.

Benson & Hedges Jordan-Mugen Honda Goodyear
Jordan celebrated after Ralf Schumacher came home in 5th place at Austria, Hill just missing out in 7th. Ralf will be looking for another points victory at his home circuit, to boost his chances of signing a good contract for 1999, which after this week could possibly be with Williams. Damon Hill will as always be looking for the points, and to beat his teammate. Hill recently gave an indication he is happy at Jordan. As in Austria, points will be the team's goal here.

Gauloises Blondes Prost-Peugeot Bridgestone
Prost are still in trouble, and at Austria Prost showed yet again signs of slipping towards the tail-enders of the field, as they struggle along. Furthermore, recent tests at Monza do not foretell any improvements lying ahead. A top 10 finish will be good for Prost here, but that's all they should be expecting. Trulli should again be quicker than Panis.

Red Bull Sauber-Petronas Goodyear
Sauber is not a happy team. After the public 'bust up' between Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert, it is now almost certain Herbert will leave the team at the end of this year. Both drivers are close times-wise, and expect them both to be trying to outpace each other, Herbert especially as he is looking to sign for another team. Alesi will be eager to repeat his good qualifying performance, a 2nd place at Austria, but he will struggle to get in the top 6 here grid wise. The race should be good for both drivers, top 10 with a possible top 6 as always. In recent tests they showed they are capable of claiming a top 6 time. Their battle for the lead in mid-field continues.

Danka Arrows Bridgestone
Arrows come to Germany after a terrible Austrian Grand Prix. Both drivers out after 3 laps, Mika Salo lucky not to have taken Coulthard completely out of the race attempting to turn his car after a lap 1 collision, which both Arrows cars got involved in. They cannot really hope for that much in Germany and will again be part of the back markers group.

Stewart-Ford Bridgestone
Stewart are always looking for improvements, but sadly they do not arrive. Both cars suffered mechanical problems at Austria, which doesn't look good for Germany with regards to reliability. Like Arrows, Stewart will be amongst the back markers here, although they should be able to be leading this group. Rubens Barrichello should once again be able to beat Jos Verstappen on car experience.

Tyrrell-Ford Goodyear
As Max Galvin pointed out last time around, Tyrrell are sadly slowly coming to an end, and slowly sums up their speed at the moment. The end (of the grid) is also where you should expect both cars to be in Germany.

Minardi-Ford Bridgestone
Likewise, Minardi can only expect to be around the back here and sadly for the remaining races to come, unless they manage to improve greatly. Like the Tyrrels, they lack engine power from the Ford and a good chassis design, which is preventing them from reaching the middle of the field.

Enjoy the race...