.:: 2009 German GP Thread ::.

2009 GERMAN GP

Welcome to the 2009 German GP Thread. cjek and mjk1 will keep the thread updated with the latest times as they happen.

RANDOM FACT

As a standalone event, only Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have won more than once at this circuit.

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

1. Which of the circuits do you prefer, this or the Hockenheimring? Or is there an alternative circuit you prefer from Germany?
2. Germany's Sebastian Vettel ruined the British party last time out in Silverstone. The question is, can Brawn find an answer so that Button can do the same back?
3. At what is pretty much the halfway stage of the season, what has your overall impression been of Sebastien Buemi so far?
4. What are your thoughts on the female driver(s) joining in Formula One next year?
5. And to date, what has been the best/worst moment of 2009 for you?

SCHEDULE FOR WEEKEND

Friday 10
First practice: 1000-1130 (0900-1030 BST)
Second practice: 1400-1530 (1300-1430 BST)

Saturday 11
Third practice: 1100-1200 (1000-1100 BST)
Qualifying: 1400 (1300 BST)

Sunday 12
Race: 1400 (1300 BST)

WEEKEND WEATHER

FRIDAY: Light Rain Showers, Max 14 deg. cent.
SATURDAY: Light Rain Showers, Max 18 deg. cent.
SUNDAY: Sunny Intervals, Max 19 deg. cent.

PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

THURSDAY: Timo Glock (Toyota), Nick Heidfeld (BMW), Nico Rosberg (Williams), Adrian Sutil (Force India) & Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull). 1PM GMT

FRIDAY: Paddy Lowe (McLaren), Sam Michael (Williams), Adrian Newey (Red Bull) & Pat Symonds (Renault). 2PM GMT

BBC PRESENTS THE GERMAN GP

PREVIOUS SESSIONS
Friday Practice 1
Friday Practice 2
Qualifying
Race
Forum

It's a hard choice between Nurbugring and Hockenheim as they're both equally unexciting really. Their mother courses, however, are something else.

I think Red Bull will be on top again here at the Nurburgring despite the fact that the circuit SHOULD suit the Brawns more. Red Bull have got the advantage in the cold and rain at the moment (being harder on the tyres) so should it be cold or rain... AND with Red Bulls shortened wheelbase it should be more responsive through the twisty first sector.

Buemi has done alright, mostly outpaced Bourdais and mostly done well. Hasn't stupidly written off multiple chassis like Sutil did in his rookie year. I don't see him being star potential but he'll perform consistantly given the car. Like Nick Heidfeld.

Cool, hasn't been a girl on the grid in my time!

Best moment - Winter testing and seeing Ferrari beat the snot out of McLaren from a standstill at Barcelona from a row behind while doing practice starts, was satisfying. (I am/was a fan of McLaren but just not a fan of Hamilton and Kovi hasn't been up to scratch, kind of like when I didn't like Ferrari in 2006 :lol: )

Worst moment? Not sure just yet. Probably seeing Ferrari mess up in Australia. 

1.  Both tracks are awesome and fun to watch but I'll have to go with the Nurburgring.  I don't why but I just like it.

2.  I'm pretty sure Button can come back stronger this time around.  He's been dominant this whole season and I have no reason to believe that he'll be back to normal in Germany.

3.  I'm surprised that he's doing better than Bourdais given his relative inexperience but other than that, his performance thus far isn't exactly shocking.  Not everyone can have Hamilton-ish rookie seasons.

4.  I think it's a great idea.

5.  Best: Smaller teams winning or at least doing better than the big boys.

     Worst: McLaren's poor performance :(

Classic German GP's... I guess I have to wait for Europe to see the 2005 and 2007 races.

1961 | 1982 | 1991 | 2000 | 2008

Extended Highlights

1982

Well it looks like there's a bit more optimism for Brawn now - Saturday looks like it's gonna be rain-free rather than heavy showers, and the temperature is up. Nothing like the blistering heat they'd love, mind.

...Or maybe not. Rain is now back for Saturday, and Sunday is now even worse. I love how the weather can't make its mind up.

THE RED LIGHT

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Force India to score points this weekend? Don't rule it out.

Thanks for the mention, Crofty :DRedders1989

I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard crofty mention you. maybe they will give you a job if Davidson gets a race seat next year.

Bad news for anyone who predicted Rosberg to pick up fastest practice lap:

Williams abandons low-fuel Friday runs

Williams has abandoned its early season strategy of low fuel running on Fridays after gaining confidence about the true potential of its car.

Nico Rosberg had been a regular at the top of the timesheets on the opening day of practice earlier in the year, with Williams choosing to run low fuel levels to get a better understanding of its car for the early stages of qualifying.

However, with the team having made good progress with its FW31 and now optimistic that it should be able to get into Q3 on a regular basis, the team has decided to devote more time to heavy fuel running.

As a result of the change of tactic, Rosberg ended up seventh and 13th in Friday's German Grand Prix practice sessions, and Kazuki Nakajima was ninth in both the morning and afternoon.

"We have changed our strategy so we are not looking at being first any more on Fridays, so that explains some of the things," Rosberg told AUTOSPORT. "Once you get more comfortable with your performance, you can change your strategy and adapt it a bit."

Although Rosberg headed into this weekend openly targeting a podium finish on the back of the recent speed of the Williams, the German thinks a top three finish will have to wait judging by the pace of his car so far.

"We struggled a bit with the conditions being very cold and windy and everything. The car was not going quite as well and we need to do some big set up changes to really understand a bit more tomorrow.

"But I am still confident with the temperatures coming up and the wind dropping a bit that we can still do very well - top six, top eight."

When asked about the possibility of a podium finish, Rosberg said: "That is maybe a bit optimistic no? But we will see.

"For that you have to be lucky anyway, but to achieve that this weekend you would have to be very lucky. So we shouldn't be targeting that anymore, we should be targeting top six I think."

Source: Autosport

For anyone that missed it/cares, my message is read out at about 46:13 on the Friday Practice 2 video.Redders1989

you correct then Redders ! 

Well I certainly can't read much from that.. but Red Bull definitely still with the edge over the Brawns who are struggling with the cold track. The rest of the field is looking rather more unpredictable.

Glad I picked Ferrari! It will be an interesting result in quali for sure.

Just some pictures from the paddock of the updates for some of the teams.

I may have commented on the old bridge wings looking like mouths, well... now it's the back ends turn to resemble the human face. Here let me demonstrate.

regular BMW's diffuser.

And now slightly edited.


McLaren's new diffuser seems to want to say DO NOT WANT! or maybe a big ol' Homer burp.


Whereas Force India seems to say, OH MY GAWDDD!!!!

Thrilling qualifying session, best of the season for sure. I'm really pleased to see Webber on pole, totally deserved.

Is everyone else missing Sutil in 7th? XD Supreme performance from him :)kipi19

And to add to that, check how much fuel he has:

Pos  Driver                             Weight (kg)
 1.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault       661.0
 2.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes         647.0
 3.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes         644.0
 4.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault       661.0
 5.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes       654.5
 6.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes       664.0
 7.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes   678.5
 8.  Massa        Ferrari                673.5
 9.  Raikkonen    Ferrari                674.0
10.  Piquet       Renault                676.0
11.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber             681.0*
12.  Alonso       Renault                668.2*
13.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota        683.6*
14.  Trulli       Toyota                 683.7*
15.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota        689.6*
16.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber             673.5*
17.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari     674.5*
18.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes   662.5*
19.  Glock        Toyota                 662.3*
20.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     689.5*

Very impressed by Sutil's performance, especially seeing the weights - a Force India genuinely out qualifying both Ferraris :) Doubley so because I also picked him for the race :D

The rain during Q2 certainly shook things up, and if there is rain during the race tomorrow we should get a fun race to watch. Really hoping Force India can get their first points, and this seems like their best chance yet. Let's just hope that Raikonnen doesn't "forget" to brake and take him out.

I can't be dealing with Red Bull being heavier than Brawn...

...Otherwise, a day of joy really. Great to see Webber take an overdue pole, brilliant to see Sutil beat both Ferrari's, and I'll pick up on the third point no one else has - congrats Piquet, you finally out-qualified Alonso!

(By the way, I just finished watching qualifying half an hour ago)

In some completely unsurprising news:

GLOCK SENT TO BACK OF GRID

Timo Glock has been relegated to the back of the grid for tomorrow's German Grand Prix for blocking Fernando Alonso in qualifying.

The Toyota driver was hit with a three-place penalty, albeit costing him only one place on the grid as he qualified 19th, after baulking the Spaniard while distracted by discussing strategy with his pit.

"I had just made a mistake on the lap and I was asking if I had to stay out or come in for new tyres," Glock told AUTOSPORT.

"They said stay out, I accelerated, looked behind me and there was Alonso in the mirror. I just didn't see him."

The German was also given a reprimand for the incident, as it was deemed to be "potentially dangerous" by stewards.

Glock also admitted that he could opt to start from the pit-lane for tomorrow's race.

SOURCE: Autosport

ED: Go for the pitlane Glock. Chaos is almost a certainty at turn 1.

Also to take place:

RED BULL FINED FOR UNSAFE RELEASE

Red Bull Racing has been fined and reprimanded for what the FIA stewards considered was an unsafe release of Sebastian Vettel in qualifying for the German Grand Prix.

The team has been fined €10,000 for releasing Sebastian Vettel unsafely during Q2, creating a "potentially dangerous situation" when Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima was running down the pitlane.

Red Bull has also been reprimanded by the stewards.

SOURCE: Autosport

Looks like another Quali day. As in, greasy track which will cause headaches for tyre choice. However, in reality it's nice and sunny and a dry line has appeared. It's going to be a weatherman's headache today.

Also, a little personal joy as today marks it - the 100th consecutive GP live for me. I want a Button win to make it sweeter, but I'm not getting too hopeful. Like I say, if it ain't Button, let it be Webber - not only does he deserve it, but it's the least damaging realistic option if Jens can't win.

Another thing: Did Legard take a subtle shot at me in qualifying? There was a discussion about the time in which they'd gone to the Nurburgring, and Jonathan said "Don't go there"...

Would I be taking a risk if I said - provided the rain is significant enough - with his strategy, Sutil might actually look good for a podium?

Ferrari once again ruining the race for Sutil - clearly pissed off that a Force India genuinely beat both Ferraris in qualifying.

Hopefully Raikonnen gets a penalty going into the next race.

My stream just got shut downKimisApprentice

AT LAST!

What can you say other than congratulations Mark Webber, superb race - even if he did pull a bad move at the start!

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Wow... I am THOROUGHLY disappointed with Barrichello. There was no need for that at all. If he's gonna be like that, let's have Bruno Senna in.Redders1989

He was very pissed off with how the race went. From being in the lead from the first corner, and Webber getting the drive through penalty the race was his to lose - so to end up finishing 5th under team orders behind Button is clearly going to upset him more.

WEBBER! Hell Yeah!

As a fellow Aussie, I've been following his career for about a decade now, since his F3 days, so I'm ecstatic at the moment. Just a fantastic drive by him (first corner excepted) and certainly gives Button and Vettel something to think about now.

Regarding Rubens, his comments weren't exactly tactful, but I can't say I blame him. Shafted yet again by Brawn.

WOW, Alonso fastest lap!! He came into his own in the second half of the race, gave rubens a scare with 4 laps to go!!

He just shows how good a driver he is even if the renault doesnt look up to much! :shock:

If you didn't see it, this was Rubens' reaction after the race:

"Well I guess it's the strategy on the pitlane, it was a good show from the team how to lose a race today. For me, I'm terribly upset with the way things have gone because... you know, I did all I had to do, I had to go first on the first corner, that's all I did, and then... they made me lose the race, basically."

What can you do from a driver's point of view, will you sit there with the team and talk about this because it's not the first time this appears to have happened?

"I don't know, I mean if it really is what's going on, we're gonna end up losing both championships and that's even more terrible so... I feel sorry for myself, I feel sorry for the team... to be very honest with you, I wish I could get on the plane and go home right now. I don't wanna talk to anybody in the team, because I don't wanna understand, there will be a lot of "blah blah blah blah blah" and I don't wanna hear that."

Are you saying the team is definately favouring Jenson?

"No, I'm not saying that, I'm saying there was a good show how to lose a race today. I'm not saying they favour anyone."

NO ACTION TAKEN ON RAIKKONEN/SUTIL INCIDENT

The clash between Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil in the German Grand Prix was deemed a racing incident by the stewards on Sunday evening, meaning neither driver faced any sanction from the governing body.

Raikkonen knocked off Sutil's wing at Turn One during their mid-race battle for position - an accident that cost Sutil a near-certain points finish after the German had run as high as second at one point of the race.

With both drivers believing the coming together was a pure racing incident, the stewards agreed.

Raikkonen said: "It was a normal racing thing. We both tried to keep the place and I tried to take him outside, and he kept trying keep the place. Unfortunately we touched and he lost the front wing. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was just a normal racing incident and a small touch, but for him it was not so good."

The coming together between Raikkonen and Sutil sparked memories of their clash at Monaco last year - although the Finn was keen to play down the coincidence.

"It was not my fault, not his fault," he said. "For sure last year (in Monaco) was my fault, but that is racing. We race against each other and unfortunately he lost the wing."

SOURCE: Autosport

28 years of painful waiting finally over...

Webber, on his way to victory, has broken (I believe) two records. For certain, he has broken Barrichello's record for longest wait before a GP win (Rubens was 123, Webber did it on his 130th race). From my understanding as well, Webber becomes the first driver to win a GP despite a drive-through penalty.