The German Grand Prix was a chaotic one on-track but off-track there was plenty going on throughout the weekend. Take a quick look behind-the-scenes with Motorsport Week.
Mercedes Marks 125 Years of Motorsport
Mercedes marked 125 years of motorsport – and its involvement within – across the weekend at Hockenheim, with the event also doubling up as its home race – for which it acted as title sponsor – as well as its 200th F1 race start as a manufacturer. On July 22 1984 21 drivers lined up in Paris to compete in a 127km endurance race on the roads to Rouen – regarded as the first motor-race in history. Nine of the 17 finishers were powered by 3.5hp two-cylinder V-engines that had been invented by Gottlieb Daimler, while a 5hp Benz vehicle was among the finishers. Daimler’s engine was regarded by the jurors at the race as “turning petroleum, or gasoline fuel, into a practical solution” for the future of the-then nascent automotive industry. Motorsport, thus, was born. Mercedes ran a special peel-effect livery, with a nod to its 1930s white-liveried heritage, and also decked out its garage and motorhome to reflect the occasion. On Saturday and Sunday its team members also wore an array of vintage clothing as if from the 1950s, though there was certainly a little hubris post-race after the team’s disastrous result.
Netflix Part II
During the build-up to the German Grand Prix it was finally confirmed that season two of the Netflix documentary ‘Drive to Survive’ is in the pipelines, for transmission in early 2020. The crew have been present since pre-season and the contract was officially signed in April; last week’s announcement was mere official confirmation that all 10 teams, including Ferrari and Mercedes, will be involved. Mercedes was the subject of Netflix’s focus throughout the German Grand Prix weekend, and the company probably could not believe their luck considering the manner in which the race unfolded. But was 2019’s breakout star Guenther Steiner bothered by news of season two? Not really. “I told you I’m not going to watch it. My wife did. My daughter didn’t. My daughter is not allowed because daddy is saying the F-word a lot.”
Bottas Goes Rallying
Valtteri Bottas has dabbled in rallying – he participated in the Arctic Rally in January – and in-between the British and German Grands Prix he got behind the wheel of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s WRC Yaris in his native Finland. “It’s fun and I do it because I feel it’s good for me, I always learn something more about driving,” reflected Bottas. “I believe that, as a racing driver the more different cars you can drive, the more different surfaces you try it’s always going to be a benefit. Car handling skills are good for your coordination, reactions, general feel of the car. And it’s super-fun, that’s the main reason I do it, but there are also benefits. That’s the thinking behind it and I had never driven beforehand a proper car in gravel, so it was a new experience and it went all very well. So, you can see I’m in one piece, no broken bones, so it was all good! By the end of the day I managed to be on the same pace as Kris Meeke, who had been sometime earlier on that same stage and that was quite encouraging for a first day in gravel.” Sadly for Bottas those skills didn’t help at Turn 1 on lap 58.
Vettel’s Helmet Tribute
Sebastian Vettel used to change his helmet with such regularity that the FIA brought in a regulation to restrict colour schemes being altered so much. There is still some leeway and for his home grand prix Vettel ran with a tribute to Bernd Schneider, the German sportscar legend who won five DTM titles and 43 races through his distinguished time in the category. Vettel enlisted usual painted Jens Munser and the result was a beautiful lid for his home round.
Norris & Verstappen Team Up
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen as team-mates? It isn’t happening in real life, but instead in the virtual world. During the weekend between the previous two grands prix the pair teamed up, along with Max Benecke and Max Wenig, to participate in the virtual Spa 24 Hours on the iRacing platform.
“We had to really work on our driving and on our pace a lot,” said Norris. “It wasn’t like we were just easily quick enough and so on. We had to go in and look at data, speak to them about how to go quicker, which was cool as it was a big challenge for us. Everything went very smoothly and we were closer to the pace for the race.”
But it wasn’t completely plain sailing as Verstappen’s final stint in the car was compromised when the brake mechanism on his gaming set-up broke.
“I thought Max was joking about all of it – I was like ‘yeah right’! But you can hear it. I was streaming it and you can hear the bearings and everything fall off. We got quite nervous because he stopped at the side, get towed back to the pit-lane – it all took 3 minutes, driver swap took 30 seconds. So I had to get in. Everything was optimised for my streaming and not my driving, so it was a bit hectic. But we did what we needed to.”
Lights Out & Away They Go…
There was an unusual incident on Thursday at Hockenheim as a coach struck the start/finish lights, causing extensive damage to the system. It is not unusual for vehicles to be passing along the circuit at the end of each day – usually undertaking minor repairs to the circuit or transporting marshals – but on this occasion the coach driver evidently misjudged the lower height clearance of the start lights compared to the overall structure. A ‘low clearance’ warning light appeared soon after while the system was repaired in time for Friday’s action.
Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot
Europe baked in a heatwave for much of last week, with record-breaking temperatures being set in several countries. Benelux was the worst affected region and, with Hockenheim not too far to the south-east of the most intense heat, it meant for very unpleasant working conditions for all involved until the weather finally broke. Even some of the journalists more accustomed to warmer climates were struggling as the mercury peaked at 39c – and that’s before factoring into the equation the heat emitted by team trucks and the like. On Thursday evening the fans still present were given a welcome cool-off by the fire brigade, who sprayed water from a hose towards the grandstands, while the empty seats on Friday were hardly a surprise, as people sought shelter from the sun. However, it was then back to normal – more like Silverstone weather – for the rest of the weekend.
2020 Calendar
There were yet more ruminations surrounding the 2020 calendar with the surprise development that, according to a well-respected local economy-led publication, the Generalitat de Catalunya has given the green-light to fund a 2020 grand prix in Spain. The event had widely been expected to be discontinued, with 2019 the last year of its contract, but a 2020 race has now moved a step closer, with the short extension allowing more time for long-term negotiations. That would ostensibly lead to a 22-race calendar, one more than this year, and a new record. The teams were informed by Liberty Media that a 21-race schedule would remain for 2020 but that was not set in stone. Four teams need to agree to another race before the calendar can be expanded from 21 to 22 races, though as long as it is logistically possible – and this is another factor – this will be done. Only Australia has a confirmed 2020 date, which is March 15, with Bahrain expected to follow two weeks later, followed by China and Vietnam. Given Vietnam’s newness to the sport is it anticipated it will act as a standalone round, to alleviate any concerns over delays importing and exporting freight from the country. This may force Spain to seek a new date, with Zandvoort having already been promised its early-mid May slot. Baku, as already reported, is set to shift into June, potentially back-to-back with Canada, though various sources disagree over the order of that double-header. Germany is still expected to drop from the calendar.
Different Support Packages
Formula 2 and Formula 3 were not present at Hockenheim and that gave a couple of other series some time in the limelight. In ADAC F4 Red Bull junior Dennis Hauger took the Race 1 win while in Race 2 it was the turn of a more famous surname to triumph. Younger brother of Charles Leclerc, Arthur, claimed his maiden win in the series, and was greeted in parc ferme by his Ferrari driver sibling. In the Porsche Supercar event McLaren simulator driver Rudy van Buren made his real-life international debut and acquitted himself well, coming him in 17th place in a 32-car race that was halted when a downpour struck.
Schumacher on Track
One of the highlights of the weekend came on Saturday lunchtime when Mick Schumacher demonstrated the Ferrari F2004 with which his father claimed his seventh and final Formula 1 title. Two Ferrari F2004s were present in a makeshift garage – courtesy of the goodwill from the car’s careful owner – and Schumacher took to the track in-between FP3 and qualifying to deafen Hockenheim with the sound of the V10 engine. “It was great,” said Schumacher. “It was amazing to be able to drive the car around here, it was my Dad’s seat and everything, I fitted perfectly so that was even greater. From going out of the pit lane until coming back I never lost the smile the whole time, even when I was locking up! It was really cool.” On Sunday lunchtime Schumacher went out again in the rain and this time saluted the crowd at Turn 1 after bringing his run to a halt. They responded by chanting ‘Schumi, Schumi’. Goosebumps and lumps-in-throat all round.
