Rosberg Feels At Home With German Grand Prix Pole

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

A Formula 1 season officially overcame its halfway point last week in Hungary, the 2016 tour reaches the Hockenheimring in Germany. For only the third time since 1950 and just the second time occurring when part of the Formula 1 calendar, the German Grand Prix was cancelled last year as plans to alternate the race with the Nürburgring fell through.

Returning to the 16-turn, 4.574-kilometer Hockenheim track, home country favourite Mercedes AMG has been fast but the final Saturday practice presented a time differential of just 0.164 seconds between the top four drivers. The two Mercedes AMG cars held a minor gap on Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari in the tune-up ahead of Saturday's qualifying. Despite the close laps set by a Red Bull TAG Heuer and Ferrari, the fight for the pole position ahead of Sunday's 67-lap main event was maintained between Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosberg throughout the time trial session.

As qualifying commenced on the Hockenheimring, the Mercedes AMG immediately demonstrated their supremacy in front of a welcoming German audience. Hot off his fifth victory of the season in Hungary, Lewis Hamilton led Q1 and Q2 sessions of German Grand Prix qualifying. Holding an advantage of 0.242 seconds in Q1 over Nico Rosberg, the lap time interval shrank to just 0.091 seconds after Q2. In the deciding Q3 session, Rosberg overcame an electrical problem to post one meaningful timed run. Recording a 1-minute, 14.363-second lap time, Nico Rosberg was victorious in qualifying to claim the German Grand Prix pole. This year's pole setting time in Q3 is almost 2.2 seconds faster than the 2014 qualifying time. That last German Grand Prix pole was captured by Nico Rosberg en route to a 2014 win. With a fast lap 0.107 seconds slower than his teammate's car, Lewis Hamilton's secures a front row start allowing Mercedes AMG to cement their 7th front 1-2 domination in 2016 Formula 1 competition.

The top-10 that proceeded into Q3 was represented by both drivers of five teams. While Mercedes AMG locked-up the front row, Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, Force India and Williams Martini Racing make up the first five rows of Sunday's race in Hockenheim. The second row of the 2016 German Grand Prix will be dominated by the Red Bull Racing team while the third row is an all-Ferrari matching. Daniel Ricciardo leads Max Verstappen while Kimi Raikkonen found his advantage over 2013 German Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel.

While Nico Hulkenberg posted a 7th fastest time in the final qualifying session, the driver for Force India was demoted one position after a mistake with tire labeling led to a penalty. On the grid, Hulkenberg will start 8th while the Williams-Mercedes driven by Valtteri Bottas receives the 7th place spot. The second Force India-Mercedes is found in 9th place. The difference in Q3 qualifying times between the 7th place and 9th place cars were just 0.027 seconds. Rounding out the top-10 for the German Grand Prix is the Williams race car of Felipe Massa.

Along with Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz Jr and Romain Grosjean have also lost grid positions after the time trial session had ended. Sainz Jr was penalized to a 15th place starting position when it was ruled the Toro Rosso impeded Felipe Massa's on-track momentum in Q2. Placing 15th after the Q2 session, Romain Grosjean driving for Haas F1 Team has suffered a costly transmission issue in the track's final practice. The gearbox problem required the team to swap it out ahead of qualifying resulting in a five-grid place penalty for the Frenchman.

The 12th race on the 21-race Formula 1 schedule for 2016, the German Grand Prix is set for a 2 PM local start time (8 AM in the eastern time zone.

2016 Formula 1German Grand PrixStarting Lineup

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine
1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
4 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
5 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
6 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
7 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
9 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
10 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
11 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
12 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
13 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
14 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault
15 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
16 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
17 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz
18 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
19 98 Rio Haryanto Manor Mercedes-Benz
20 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
21 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
22 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari

A Deutschland Dream: Vettel Captures First German Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Earlier in the Formula 1 season, Fernando Alonso accomplished an eye-catching feat of worthy of patriotism. At the Spanish Grand Prix in May, crowds were thunderous with the sight of Alonso's Ferrari passing the start/finish line first at the Circuit de Catulunya. It because evident right off the bat at the 2013 German Grand Prix the Nurburgring could serve as the next moment where fans will be applauding with national pride.

On Saturday, a Mercedes AMG race car driven by Lewis Hamilton claimed the pole ahead of the 60-lap main event. In addition to the star badge belonging to Germany's more prominent auto company, the German Grand Prix's front row also featured the country's famed superstar athlete Sebastian Vettel. Despite 29 wins and 3 world driving titles in Formula 1, Vettel was still seeking his first-career German Grand Prix.

When the lights went out to signify the German Prix Grand Prix on Sunday, the front row battle of the grid matched the winless in 2013 driver against a reigning champion wanting to claim victory at his nation's highest-ranking motor race. A mix between a bad start for Hamilton and Vettel's quenching desire to delight his home crowd ended with the Red Bull-Renault taking the lead into turn one. Vettel's teammate Mark Webber was also able to carve his way around the pole-sitting Mercedes AMG car. Falling to third on the first lap, Lewis Hamilton would never exist as a force for victory on Sunday.

The Ferrari handled by Felipe Massa participated in a short 2013 German Grand Prix. Despite a good start, Massa veered off track on lap three stalling his engine. Unable to return to action, Massa became the first retirement of the race.

Unlike the British Grand Prix, Pirelli tires held together on the race track. However, a tire would become a source of a scary incident in Germany. During Mark Webber's first pit stop on lap 8, a right-rear wheel wasn't properly attached to the hub of the race car. When Webber left his pit, the tire flew off his Red Bull-Renault and was launched into a cameraman filming the pit crew actions for another team. A violent-looking hit, the cameraman named Paul Allen was knocked to the ground. Requiring medical attention at both the on-course infirmary, Allen was later transported to an off-site hospital. Formula 1 stated that Allen remained conscious and that the trip to a hospital was for observation. 

The Red Bull Racing team was immediately fined 30,000 euros for the pit road incident. Christian Horner stated after the race, "We need to understand what went wrong in that first pit stop for Mark, but as I said, our main concern today is knowing that the cameraman is okay.”. As a result of the incident, Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault lost enough positions in the race to place the Australian one lap down. However, with a safety car period caused by a firey blow-up of the Marussia-Cosworth driven by Jules Blanchi on lap 23, Webber was able to regain a lead lap position. Mark Webber was surge his way back into the points ending up with a seventh place result after 60 laps at the Nurburgring.

Despite Sebastian Vettel leading for almost the entire German Grand Prix, the Lotus-Renault of Kimi Raikkonen maintained hot pursuit of the blue Red Bull race car. However, Raikkonen's best efforts would not be enough to deny the German of his 30th victory. His fourth Formula 1 event win in 2013, Vettel proudly celebrated the honour of winning a major grand prix on home soil. Sebastian Vettel becomes the first national driver to win the German Grand Prix since Michael Schumacher in the 2006 season. The win also erases another grand prix from a list of races not won by the three-time world drivers' champion. A month ago, Vettel added his first Canadian Grand Prix to his career tally.

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

For the Lotus-Renault race cars, the Nurburgring served as a major confidence builder for drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. Starting fourth, the Lotus F1 Team's lead driver Raikkonen was almost able to steal the home country victory away from Sebastian Vettel. Kimi Raikkonen finished second by a mere one-second gap. Importantly for Grosjean, his third-place finish is the Frenchman's first championship points since the Bahrain Grand Prix. Ironically, the podium order for the Bahrain Grand Prix mirrors the Grand Prix finish in Germany running Vettel, Raikkonen and Grosjean. After the strong start for the Lotus F1 Team, the Formula 1 group had been suffering a gradual downfall until the results at the Nurburgring.

Missing the podium, Fernando Alonso's Ferrari accepted a fourth place finish after 60 laps at the Nurburgring. A three-time winner of the German Grand Prix, Alonso crossed the starter's stand 7.7 seconds behind the winning Red Bull piloted by his championship adversary. Despite gaining ground in the points after Silverstone, the Ferrari driver saw the gap grow 13 points with the conclusion of German event. Sebastian Vettel now holds a 34-point advantage over Fernando Alonso after nine Formula 1 races.

In fifth place, Lewis Hamilton trotted home in the Mercedes AMG with disappointed. The unfortunate start and a set of Pirelli tires that proved incompatible with his race car's handling were mentioned as set-backs. From 11th to 9th, the second Mercedes team car of Nico Rosberg collected an additional two points proving handy for keeping the team in second-place in the constructors' standings. Mercedes AMG is only three points ahead of Ferrari for the position behind the out of reach Red Bull Racing lead.




Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

After two Formula 1 rounds concluding with finishes outside of the top-10, McLaren rebounded somewhat at the German Grand Prix with both cars scoring point-paying positions. With Jenson Button in sixth and Sergio Perez settling with eighth, the Mercedes-powered McLaren race cars executed a two-pit stop strategy involving a long stint on Pirelli medium compound slick tires. However, the McLaren organization is still far from the competitive team of seasons past. After the German race, the British based team is trailing Force India by ten points in the constructors' championship standings.

In tenth place, there was a reason for German driver Nico Hulkenberg to celebrate. For the second race in a row, Hulkenberg and his Sauber-Ferrari collected useful points.

For the tenth race on the 2013 Formula 1 schedule, teams race once again in three weeks taking part in the Hungarian Grand Prix.



2013 Formula 1
German Grand Prix
Race Results 

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
2	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	Renault
3	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault
4	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
5	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
7	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Renault
8	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
9	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
10	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	Ferrari
11	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
12	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
14	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari
15	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams F1	Renault
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	Renault
18	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	Renault
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	Cosworth
20	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
21	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Cosworth
22	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Ferrari

Hamilton Hottest in German Grand Prix Qualifying

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Racing on back-to-back weekends, the Formula 1 teams of the 2013 world championship tour left the United Kingdom for Germany to run the storied Nurburgring race track. Despite the turmoil resulting from some high profile tire problems at the British Grand Prix, Mercedes AMG driver Nico Rosberg gained headlines for the race victory. Staged in the home country of Mercedes-Benz, the German Grand Prix is the perfect place for the Mercedes-AMG to continue their recent emergence as a consistent Formula 1 front-runner. Qualifying for the German round of the 2013 Formula 1 season, one Mercedes-AMG car has delivered a patriotic display.

Taking pole for the German Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton outran Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel with a lap time of 1 minute, 29.398 seconds. The German Grand Prix pole position for Hamilton grants the Brit his second-straight race starting from the prime grid spot. The Formula 1 at the Nurburgring will also be the fifth consecutive event where Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes AMG car is starting on the front row. As for the team, Mercedes-AMG has become a real force to be reckon with in 2013 Formula 1 qualifying. Six of the last seven Formula 1 events have involved one of the Mercedes-Benz so-called "Silver Arrows" starting from pole for Sunday's main race. While Lewis Hamilton was at the top of the time sheet after Q3, Mercedes AMG teammate Nico Rosberg is positioned 11th after just missing the final 10-car timed session.

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

While the 2013 German Grand Prix will feature a national manufacturer in on the pole, the front row contents an additional German presence. Three-time and reigning Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel was a little more than a tenth of a second short of Hamilton. Despite failing to finish the British Grand Prix last week, the German Red Bull-Renault pilot continue to preside over a 21-point lead in the 2013 Drivers' standings.

One-tenth of a second slower than Vettel, the second Red Bull-Renault of Mark Webber will start 3rd. Webber is starting alongside Kimi Raikkonen. With Raikkonen in fourth and Lotus F1 Team partner Romain Grosjean in fifth place are quickly trying to regain the early season promise in the organization.

From sixth through eighth place, Ferrari engined vehicles featured one of the Italian car company's customers gaining an advantage over the factory effort. Taking sixth in Q3, the Toro Rosso-Ferrari wheeled by Daniel Ricciardo was half a second faster than Fernando Alonso's Ferrari race car. Felipe Massa joins teammate Alonso creating an all-Ferrari fourth row for the start of the German Grand Prix Sunday.

Sunday's running of the 60-lap German Prix Grand Prix is expected to take place in warm, sunny weather.


2013 Formula 1
German Grand Prix
Qualifying Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Renault
4	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	Renault
5	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault
6	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
7	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Ferrari
8	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
9	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
10	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	Ferrari
11	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
12	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
13	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
14	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari
15	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
16	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
17	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
18	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams F1	Renault
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	Renault
20	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Cosworth
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	Renault
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	Cosworth

Alonso Takes Hockenheim Honours in German GP Race

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

After 9 rounds of 2012 competition, the Formula 1 tour's top spot on the race podiums has been a game of musical chairs. In fact, it was only in the past two races where a driver repeated as a grand prix winner (Fernando Alonso at Valencia and Mark Webber at Silverstone). The second headline for the 2012 Formula 1 season has been the suprising performance of the Ferrari F2012 race car after many people wrote-out the team in opening race in Australia. While Felipe Massa's season campaign has been a serious of highs and lows, Alonso enters the Hockenheimring for the German Grand Prix with a 21 race points-scoring streak.

In qualifying, the Ferrari F2012 in the hands of Spain's Fernando Alonso found stability in the wet to win pole for the German Grand Prix. With Sunday's main event taking place on a dry race track, teams such as Red Bull Racing and McLaren were a little more confident that they could pursue the Alonso's Ferrari at prime race speeds.

Lined up on the starting order Sunday, Fernando Alonso launched perfectly from his pole-sitting grid position at the start of the German Grand Prix. While one Ferrari soared at the front, the second Scuderia Ferrari driven by Felipe Massa would collide with the rear of the Toro Rosso-Ferrari of Riccardo before reaching turn 1 on the opening lap. The chards of debris from Massa's front wing littered the Hockenheimring frontstretch creating havoc for a number of unfortunately positioned competitors. The Williams-Renault of Bruno Senna and Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes were a few caught by the carbon fiber front wing debris of the Ferrari race car. While Felipe Massa and Bruno Senna were able to soldier on in the German Grand Prix, the McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had to withdraw from the event after 56 laps when the damage suffered early in the race was too severe to continue.

Maintaining a thin margin on other race cars, Fernando Alonso kept all other challengers well outside of the 1-second DRS interval throughout the 67 lap event. With the leaders adhering to a two-stop strategy through the Hockenheimring Formula 1, the fight in the race was truly for second and third. Into the later stage of the German Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel was anxious to regain his 2nd place position he had held at the beginning of the race occupied by Jenson Button.

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Pulling off a daring corner pass that resulted in Vettel overshooting the curbing, the Red Bull-Renault shot past the McLaren-Mercedes the runner-up spot. At the checkered flag, Fernando Alonso win the German Grand Prix by 3.7 seconds over Sebastian Vettel. However, a decision by Formula 1 stewards assessed Vettel a 20-second penalty that stripped the Red Bull Racing driver of a podium finish. Vettel was dropped to 5th while Jenson Button was promoted to second place and Lotus-Renault driver Kimi Raikkonen was awarded with a podium position. 

In fourth place, Kamui Kobayashi placed his Sauber-Ferrari firmly in the points claiming a position ahead of the penalized Sebastian Vettel. Kobayashi's teammate Sergio Perez placed the second Sauber race car into 6th place. German driver Michael Schumacher brought his Mercedes GP car across the Hockenheimring start/finish line 7th.

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

The win for Alonso was the Spaniard's 30th victory in Formula 1 and extends his points-scoring streak to an impressive 22 races. This allows Fernando Alonso to claim a growing advantage over nearest points rival Mark Webber by 34 points.

Next weekend, the Formula 1 cars return to action at the Hungarian Grand Prix.


2012 Formula 1
German Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Car
1	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
2	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
3	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
4	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
5	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
6	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
7	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
8	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
9	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
10	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
11	11 Paul di Resta Force India
12	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
13	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
14	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
16	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
17	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
18	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
19	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
20	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
21	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
22	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
23	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
24	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes

Aqua Mastery in Germany GP Qualifying Nets Pole for Alonso

Photo credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Staging the 2012 Formula 1 season's German Grand Prix, the 4.574-kilometer Hockenheimring supplied some tricky conditions weather-wise for the 24 cars competing this weekend. On Friday, one practice session took place in dry conditions while a second transpired on wet pavement. Saturday's qualifying for the Grand Prix of Germany would make experience from both Friday sessions crucial.

Q1 was started on a dry Hockenheim race track with the Lotus-Renault of Kimi Raikkonen posting a top time of 1-minute, 15.693-second lap. As rain began to fall, Raikkonen's time would be the quickest in qualifying but the several stage time trial layout of Formula 1 meant that slower times in the Q2 and Q3 sessions on wet weather Pirelli tires would shape the German Grand Prix grid.

Almost 22 seconds slower than Kimi Raikkonen's Q1 time, the Q2 session was led by Lewis Hamilton driving his McLaren-Mercedes followed by the Mercedes GP team's Michael Schumacher. In 1995, Schumacher became the first German driver to win the German Grand Prix since its inclusion on the modern Formula 1 circuit.

In the final Q3 session, the 10-car field fighting for the pole position Friday continued to jet around the Hockenheimring on wet weather tires. Recording a 1-minute, 40.621-second lap time, Fernando Alonso took the pole for Sunday's German Grand Prix. The last German Grand Prix at the Hockeneimring was won by Fernando Alonso in a most controversial fashion in 2010. When Alonso was able to pass Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa for the lead on the race track, it was highly expected team orders came into play for the finish.

In second and third place at the end of Q3 was the Red Bull Racing pair of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. While Red Bull Racing has won the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, the team has yet to win at the Hockenheimring track. German drivers Micheal Schumacher for Mercedes GP and Nico Hulkenberg for Force India-Mercedes rounded out the top-5 in Formula 1 qualifying at the Hockenheimring.

The Grand Prix of Germany is set for Sunday at 8 am Eastern time (2pm local time).

2012 Formula 1
German Grand Prix
Qualifying Results

1	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
2	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
3	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
4	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
5	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
6	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
7	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
8	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
9	11 Paul di Resta Force India
10	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
11	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
12	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
13	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
14	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
15	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
16	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
17	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
18	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
19	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
20	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
21	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
22	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
23	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
24	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1