early85944

Only a couple of days away ladies and gents. I think Hamilton is going to own it but that is my opnion. I have only been a Mclaren fan since 1988 or so. It just sucks that it is on fox again and delayed by a couple of hours. At least they brought over the announcers from speed so we dont have to listen to those turds from a couple years back that did the commentary.

potent951turbo

I thought the announcers from Speed were a couple of turds also?! If David Hobbs would get out of Hamilton's bed for a few minutes and stop with the terrible jokes it might be bareable.

Anyways my predictions:

1. Massa
2. Raikkonen
3. Kovalainen

Hamilton screws up....

DanR

Hamilton 1st
Kimi second

f8vr993

Hockenheim Ring is a power circuit foremost, I'll say BMW win#2/Kubica!!!!!

mdrums

1- Hamilton
2- Kubica
3- Masa

PTurbo965

No Rain
1. Kimi
2. Louise
3. Massa

Rain
1. Kimi
2. Louise
13. Massa

paradisenb

Kimi
Massa
Kubica

or

Kimi
Kubica
Massa

That's how I hope it turns out.

Hobbs needs to get his head out of LH's a$$. His brown nosing is getting VERY old.

ltc

Rain and Massa finishes 13th......I think you're being generous. I'd be surprised if he finished. Horrible in the rain.

ltc

Clearly the horror of listening to the CBS broadcasts has diminished with time.
I still recall the look of amazement on my son's face when Derek Daly explained what "brakes do on these cars".....

mitch236

Or every time someone went off the racing line to hold off an overtaking Daly would start yelling about blocking! It got so bad that he had to be corrected finally.

Shine:
1-Massa
2-Kimi
3-Kubica

Rain:
1-Kimi
2-Kubica
3-Alonso

I agree that Hammy is due for a meltdown...

Veloce Raptor

..

early85944

That and Derek Daly used to explain the differences between NASCAR and F! cars ever frickin lap. Hey wasnt it the last race at the hockenheim where Kimi lost his rear wing or was that two races ago? I bet the Ferrari fans won't be cheering if it happens again.

Scootin159

Germany doesn't like Kimi:

2003 Nurburgring – engine failure while leading
2003 Hockenheimring – eliminated in start line crash
2004 Nurburgring – engine failure while fifth
2004 Hockenheimring – rear wing wailure
2005 Nurburgring – flat spots tyre causing suspension failure on final lap while leading
2005 Hockenheimring – hydraulic failure while leading
2006 Nurburgring – fourth
2006 Hockenheimring – third
2007 Nurburgring – misses pit lane during rain shower, retires while third

early85944

Ah it was 04 when he lost his wing. Yeah Kimi has bad luck in Germany

multi21

Hockenheim technical preview
16 July 2008


The revisions to the Hockenheimring in recent years have transformed what was once a flat out burst through the forests into a medium downforce circuit, with the teams having to balance the demands of a long back straight and a low-speed stadium section at the end of the lap. The teams therefore have to adopt a compromise with the set-up. The benefit of such a diverse track usually gives an exciting race with plenty of overtaking opportunities.

Aerodynamics
Like the latest generation of Tilke tracks, Hockenheim is characterised by long straights followed by slow corners and hairpins, designed with overtaking in mind. With such a long back straight, a good top-speed is essential to fend off competitors in the race, but this has to be balanced with the grip needed in the medium and low-speed parts of the lap. Downforce settings are therefore a compromise, requiring the teams to adopt a medium downforce set-up and leaving the drivers short of grip in the low-speed stadium section, but allowing a reasonable top-speed on the straights.

Brakes
The circuit is one of the hardest tests of the year on brakes, being similar to the demands of Bahrain. Braking stability is vital, especially into the hairpin at turn 6, where it is easy to lock a wheel, and even more challenging following the removal of electronic braking assistance. The teams therefore play close attention to finding the optimum braking and cooling solutions, which was one of the priorities at the pre-Grand Prix test.

Suspension
The long straights and low-speed corner mix of Hockenheim requires contrasting suspension set-ups. Mechanically, teams are able to run the cars quite soft as there are no significant high speed changes of direction on the circuit. Front to rear, teams run a forward mechanical bias ie: a stiffer front end, in order to get good traction out of the slow and medium speed corners and keep the rear stable under braking. Indeed, with the braking zone into turn 6 being the main passing opportunity, braking stability is something teams work hard to get right.

Tyres
The demands on the tyres are quite severe and so Bridgestone will supply the hard and medium options from its range. The stress does not come from the lateral load of the corners, but is due to the traction zones and heavy braking required at this circuit. It will be the first time we have raced in Hockenheim with this generation of Bridgestone tyres and so the teams made the most of the test last week to begin its tyre evaluation work. Hockenheim in July is also a place were we can expect high track temperatures and, coupled with the heavy traction demands, the teams need to keep a close eye on wear rates for the rear tyres and beware of blistering which will make the car unstable.
Engine
The engine requirements at Hockenheim are not as demanding as in the past, but, with 63 per cent of the lap spent on full throttle, it's still a challenging workout and about average for the season. With a lack of high-speed corners, the main demands come from the long back straight. Good torque is essential and so the engine needs to work well at low revs to help the cars get a good exit out of the low-speed corners. The potential for high temperatures in Hockenheim also means the teams must pay attention to cooling to avoid overheating, but the latest generation of V8 engines are capable of running at peak revs in high temperatures.