German Grand Prix
Qualifying Preview
Tight margins
With FRIC systems banned for what appears to be the rest of the season, the competition is expected to tighten up on track. Although Mercedes have thus far headed all Practice sessions, Red Bull and Ferrari have been slowly encroaching, suggesting that the advantage enjoyed by Mercedes in the first half of the season may soon be nullified. In fact, the entire field has been constricted since the decision to abandon FRIC was taken: just six tenths separated the top five cars in second practice.
However, the track itself will also likely play a part in bunching up the field. As one of the smallest tracks on the calendar, lap times differ little, as was seen in qualifying for the last race held at the circuit, in 2012. In Q1 (the drier session), 17 cars were within one second of the 1.15.693 best posted by Kimi Raikkonen for Lotus. While the Pirelli super-softs have not yet reduced lap times to such a figure, the margin between drivers is expected to be minimal.
More Improvement from Button
Jenson Button’s British Grand Prix was more than encouraging. After a number of trying races with the McLaren MP4-29, everything clicked into place at Silverstone, as the Briton qualified third on the grid and finished fourth in the race. This form has stayed with him into Germany, with a fifth place finish in FP1 and a seventh in FP2.
While Button told formula1.com afterwards that ‘looking at the timesheets, you’d say we look quite good; but we’re finding it a little bit tougher in the long-runs’, he’s still displaying some much improved pace. Button’s team-mate Kevin Magnussen struggled during practice, as his rear wing set up was different to the 2009 world champion’s. Still, Button is on the crest of a wave right now, so another Q3 appearance would certainly be attainable.
Ricciardo Pushing the Mercs
He has been the shining light for many this season, but Red Bull’s new boy has been displaying plenty of grunt at Hockenheim thus far. By the end of Friday’s sessions, just 0.102 seconds separated the Australian and the Silver Arrows, suggesting that 2014’s dominant team may not be able to cruise to a qualifying 1-2 on home turf. Ricciardo has constantly out-performed his team-mate Sebastian Vettel so far this season, and (aside from the Williams pairing) has been the only driver to realistically challenge Hamilton and Rosberg in qualifying. Will he split them? Unlikely. Will he get close? Almost certain.
Qualifying gets underway at 14:00 local time on Saturday, with climatic conditions expected to be as hot as those experienced on Friday. 32 degrees Celsius and 45% humidity have been forecast for the Rhine Valley.
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