A last minute Thursday night obligation
and a manic Friday kept me from completing a pre-qualifying write up,
so here is a first ever, one of a kind, limited edition, post
qualifying/pre-race write up.
A wild weekend of practice sessions and interesting updates, most notably the Lotus super DRS system found on
Kimi Raikkonen's car, got kicked up a notch due to a wet third
practice and dry/wet qualifying session. There were winners and
losers throughout, and some truly dramatic moments that made the
qualifying for the German Grand Prix a roller coaster of excitement.
Here's how that brilliant session played out, how Narain Karthikeyan
put in a time quick enough for pole position, and how this may effect
raceday tomorrow (12pm est on FOX in the USA).
Q1
From the get go it was obvious that
rain was looming so teams hit the track ready to put up whatever time
was possible. As per the norm the bottom three teams of HRT,
Marussia, and Caterham hit the track on the softer compound while the
rest of the field tackled the track on hards. One of the most
impressive reveals from the first session was the one lap pace of the
McLaren boys on the hard tire. The team appears to have begun
reeling the car back in and winning some pace compared to their
rivals.
As the halfway mark came and passed the
first session, McLaren pitted feeling both drivers were safe and it
became clear that top drivers with times in the 1'16.4-1'16.9 range
were in danger of getting knocked out by midfield teams on soft
tires. Lewis Hamilton's top time on the hard tires was slaughtered
by Kimi Raikkonen who dropped well into the 1'15's while also on
hards. Meanwhile Micheal Schumacher found himself in the regulation
zone and so came back with barely enough time to accomplish two laps,
and unlike the other drivers clamoring to set a time took the track
on hard tires. Schumacher not only had to beat his old hard tire
best but had to contend with drivers on fresh soft rubber. Luckily,
Schumacher has been on his game these past races and with the track
rubbering in since the green start of qualy, was able to put down a
spectacular lap right as time expired to move on.
Vergne, Kovalainen, Petrov, Pic, Glock,
la Rosa, and Karthikeyan were eliminated, Narain having set a
1'20.230.
Q2
Right as Q1 ended rain struck
Hockenheim hard and heavy. Within minutes of the start of Q2 the
track was thoroughly saturated, all cars on intermediate wet tires.
As the rain progressed the window to set a time on inters closed, and
after a thrilling display of wet weather driving by all participants Ricciardo, Perez, Kobayashi, Massa, Groshean, Senna, and Rosberg were
left out of Q3.
Q3
Even before the drivers took the track
for the third and final part of qualifying there were calls for it to
be delayed due to the downpour causing a track so wet the full wet
tires were at their limit of effective range. The stewards dismissed
these worries and started the session on time and the dangers of the
track soon became clear, with aquaplaning through the fast Parabolika
a major worry.
Hamilton started off strong, and
eventually the rain stopped, though the track remained soaked with
rivers of water running across certain areas. Halfway through some
drivers switched over to fresh full wets, which paid off as Alonso
claimed pole on his fresh set with a time of 1'40.621. Kimi
Raikkonen had no such luck on either set of wet tires, remaining
tenth and well off the pace of his competitors
Do note that with tomorrows race
predicted to be dry the majority, if not all, of the cars completed
qualifying with dry weather set ups, and Kimi's brilliant pace in Q1
shows that the Lotus is extremely quick over a single lap, and the
rest of the grid will shuffle at the start. Like the British the
starting top ten will be free to choose their tire since the grid was
set in wet weather conditions.
Alonso Vettel
Schumacher Hulkenberg
Maldonado Button
Hamilton Webber (5 place gearbox
penalty)
di Resta Raikkonen
Ricciardo Kobayashi
Massa Senna
Vergne Kovalainen
Perez (5 place blocking penalty) Petrov
Pic Grosjean (5 place gearbox penalty)
Glock Rosberg (5 place gearbox
penalty)
la Rosa Karthikeyan
Some quick thoughts before tomorrows
running of the 2012 German Grand Prix as I am pressed for time (gotta
watch The Dark Knight before getting to the theater early for Rises):
The modern Hockenheim is a short lap
with tight technical turns. The Hockenheim of old had teams setting
up with low downforce to maximize straight line speed leading to
driver struggles and fan entertainment in the stadium section. With
those tears through the forest long gone high downforce cars will
find favor. Look for the Red Bulls to put up a strong showing do to
their aero prowess. Alonso is always a safe bet, especially from the
pole, and after Ferrari attempting to mix up their starting tire
choice in Britain (they used hards while the closest rivals used
softs) costing Fernando a victory a more traditional setup is most
likely. Alonso showed again that both he and the F2012 are great in
the rain so if the 20% chance of precipitation does come to fruition
he will be on top of the world.
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McLaren looked good in the dry with the
new updates but not so good in the wet. If the race remains dry the
duo will be able to start turning their seasons around; if the race
gets wet, it does not look as promising. Mercedes have two hungry
German drivers but with Nico starting so far back his race will be
one for low points at best. Michael on the other hand starts third
and has been showing more and more of his seven time side since
Monaco. The questionable pace of the Mercedes at Hockenheim in the
dry is the only question mark for the teams chances.
The Lotus in the hands of Kimi
Raikkonen showed awesomely in Q1 but fell apart on full wets. The
team have high hopes this weekend, as usual, and really feel they
have a shot at a win, as usual. This weekend looks more like the
start of the season with Kimi as the most likely Lotus driver to
score their first win after Grossjean taking that standing the for a
bit. Sauber do not look to hot, with poor qualifying pace in both
the wet and dry. Perez starting so far back opens up his strategic
options, and he is a wonder fighting through the field. Kobayashi
needs a strong result as there are rumors that his “underperformance”
this season could cost him his seat.
Williams are very happy to have
Maldonado ahead of both McLarens and both the team and the Venezuelan
want to prove they're here to stay and truly top of the field
competitors. Force India have both cars in the top ten and need a
strong result from each to put up a fight for the midfield
championship. Hulkenberg starts a stellar fourth and as a German
driver is chomping at the bit at putting in a solid result, while his
teammate di Resta is just as hungry, especially since he is a former
DTM Champion and would be overjoyed to see his former German
conquests wash over into F1 this weekend.
My wishful picks are: Schumacher,
Hulkenberg, Raikkonen
My realistic picks are: Vettel, Webber,
Raikkonen
What say you?
