German Grand Prix primer
July 9, 2009 by Negative Camber
Filed under Top Story
The German Grand Prix at Nürburgring will be one of the higher downforce circuits on the calendar. Look for difficult balance between high downforce and the stability needed under heavy braking in turns 1, 13 and 14.
Traditionally the Nürburgring has seen some understeer in the medium-speed corners but this years regulation changes have produced cars with more oversteer so it may be an interesting compromise.
The braking is not particular heavy at the Nürburgring so we shouldn’t anticipate any major concerns there and the engine is only at full throttle for 62% of the lap so it is not too stressed comparatively. The heaviest pull will be out of turn 7 and uphill to turn 10.
The altitude does play a factor as well with a reported 5% reduction in power at the 500m above sea level and the weather is changing by the minute.
If the cool weather bully’s its way in the the Eifle Mountains, Brawn GP may be looking at another British GP result if they haven’t sorted their tire temperature issues. Both Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing have brought upgrades this weekend and look to capitalize on their momentum.
The tire compounds will be fit tot he circuit now that Bridgestone announced they are forgoing the alternate compound step and will bring two contiguous compounds that serve the track, temps and cars better. Thank you for seeing the light!
Look specifically at the chicane at turns 13 and 14 for the best overtaking possibility.
Can Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber give Brawn GP a run for their money? Have the Brawn’s met their match in the development war with the brilliant Adrian Newey? Have the Red Bull’s passed Brawn GP in performance or was the cool-weather Achilles heel fluke just a ripple in the domination that has been Brawn GP all year long? What do you think? Let me know by commenting below.
The tire issue in more interesting here and will favor Ferrari and Brawn because both of them needed to get the harder tires to temp before. The problem with the “skip the optimun” plan before was that the tires were either too hard or too soft. In Germany, the two sets, optimum and soft, should play well for Brawn and with Ferrari, always light on the softer tire, we could see an increased performance. All the cars will run the qualifying on the softer tire.
On another note… a friend traveled from Milan with two Ferrari mechanics to Koln.. they were going to te circuit “to help with the new body parts” … is Ferrari back?
What the? A post about racing? Did I come to the right site? :)
I’m pretty excited about this race. It was actually on my “should I go” list, but Italy won out.
All eyes on the Brawn — RBR battle. I think we have to go with Ross, figuring he knows how to fix the problems, until proven otherwise.
I purposely posted this. :) I am sick of covering polemics. :)
My guess is that this race will be damp/wet. In which case Vettel is the man to beat. He is only getting better and this is his home race. I think RBR will close the championship gap to Brawn this weekend, with Newey working more of his magic on the car since Silverstone. RBRs only weakness is race strategy and need to be careful not to be outdone by the all-time master, Ross Brawn. Can’t wait.
So BMW has a new floor and diffuser for Germany, Toyota will have an aero package that they have high hopes for, and Vettel, with the team already having launched their new package, turned 22.