2019 German Grand Prix Thread

[FullMetalJack]

Thought i'd open this thread. Sebastian Vettel using his home grand prix to modify his helmet and pay tribute to...

Bernd Schneider!!!

[Faustus]

I spoke to a Pirelli engineer I know who is embedded with McLaren (who happens to be the son of a bloke I work with) and he says there is a good probability of rain for saturday and sunday. 36C ambient yesterday so they esimate at least 55C track temperature. McLaren is looking good, according to him.

[Aislabie]

Bernd Schneider!!!

Now there's somebody who should have been given a non-shitbox to drive in F1

[Miguel98]

Meanwhile, Haas - Kevin Magnussen more specifically - already broke down in FP1.

I'm also very curious to see how most teams will perform around here - seems most of them brought updates for Hockenheim.

[FullMetalJack]

Bernd Schneider!!!

Now there's somebody who should have been given a non-shitbox to drive in F1

Definitely. Merely qualifying that Zakspeed Yamaha at Suzuka, let alone in 21st is a great achievement. I wonder what he could have managed with a half decent car that weekend.

[Nuppiz]

Bernd Schneider!!!

Now there's somebody who should have been given a non-shitbox to drive in F1

Definitely. Merely qualifying that Zakspeed Yamaha at Suzuka, let alone in 21st is a great achievement. I wonder what he could have managed with a half decent car that weekend.

Well, his F1 Rejects profile was subtitled "A 'what might have been' story of the highest order". Most definitely he would've been a decent midfielder in a proper car, perhaps even better in a race-winning car.

Then again, if we start to think "what might've been" based on Schneider's tintop career, we should probably think about Gabriele Tarquini as well...

[CarloSpace]

Well, his F1 Rejects profile was subtitled "A 'what might have been' story of the highest order". Most definitely he would've been a decent midfielder in a proper car, perhaps even better in a race-winning car.

Then again, if we start to think "what might've been" based on Schneider's tintop career, we should probably think about Gabriele Tarquini as well...

On that note, does WTCR/WTCC count for superlicense points? I'm sure he would be faster than Badoer was!

[Nessafox]

Well, his F1 Rejects profile was subtitled "A 'what might have been' story of the highest order". Most definitely he would've been a decent midfielder in a proper car, perhaps even better in a race-winning car.

Then again, if we start to think "what might've been" based on Schneider's tintop career, we should probably think about Gabriele Tarquini as well...

On that note, does WTCR/WTCC count for superlicense points? I'm sure he would be faster than Badoer was!

Badoer wasn't that bad though?

[Aislabie]

Badoer wasn't that bad though?

Stop, I'm still sad about his Nurburgring retirement. And had he not retired, I'd still be sad about his botched pit stop in the same race. Must be one of the all-time great non points-scoring drives

[mario]

I spoke to a Pirelli engineer I know who is embedded with McLaren (who happens to be the son of a bloke I work with) and he says there is a good probability of rain for saturday and sunday. 36C ambient yesterday so they esimate at least 55C track temperature. McLaren is looking good, according to him.

An interesting comment, though I would like to clarify something - did he mean that he thought the team looked good for the wet weather that was expected later in the weekend, or was he referring to the hotter conditions on Friday (it has to be said McLaren did look competitive yesterday in those hotter conditions)? Or was he suggesting that McLaren looked good in general for the entire race weekend, come rain or shine?

[Miguel98]

CAN FERRARI STOP GIVING FREEBIES TO MERCEDES?!

what the actual heck was this

[You-Gee-Eee-Day]

As Ferrari have essentially just forfeit the season race, which is a shame, lets acknowledge Kimi is 5th in an Alfa. And he's also technically the last Ferrari driver to win a race

[mario]

As Ferrari have essentially just forfeit the season race, which is a shame, lets acknowledge Kimi is 5th in an Alfa. And he's also technically the last Ferrari driver to win a race

And, with Gasly's best time being deleted due to a track limit infringement, he was only a few hundredths away from 4th too - Sauber have been surprisingly quick this weekend.

However, the downside is the news that the team have had to change his engine, turbocharger and MGU-H - he will not get a penalty for now, since he is still within his allocation for those components, but he might have one later in the season given that he is now up to his full allocation for a number of those components.

On a related note, Norris will now be starting in 19th place because he is having a new MGU-K, battery and control electronics fitted to his car - he will still start ahead of Vettel, since the rules state that any driver who fails to set a time must start at the back of the grid. There has been a suggestion that Vettel might start from the pit lane instead though, since that would allow Ferrari to make some adjustments to the set up of his car.

[Paul Hayes]

It feels like bloody AGES since the last proper wet race. This had better not disappoint!

[Barbazza]

There's being safe and mollycoddling and F1 is definitely the latter these days - those formation laps were a complete waste of time, they should have just started. And given that Perez was right by an escape road, why not throw a virtual safety car?!

[Barbazza]

Oh balls, just when it looked like Ferrari were getting some overdue luck. Here comes another Mercedes or Max win then, great.

[Henrique]

That Mercedes pit stop reminded me of that infamous Minardi stop on YouTube

[Barbazza]

That was very funny indeed - typical that Lewis had a similar accident to Charles but got away with it though.

Obviously Hulkenberg has my total support now, that'll stop the Dutch fans cheering.

[Londoner]

Mercedes there, paying homage to Irvine's horror-show pitstop 20 years ago at the Nurburgring.

[Barbazza]

That was very funny indeed - typical that Lewis had a similar accident to Charles but got away with it though.

Obviously Hulkenberg has my total support now, that'll stop the Dutch fans cheering.

That's it, I give up....

[Fetzie]

Somehow I don't get the feeling that we're done with safety cars this afternoon.

[Faustus]

Albon for a podium!

[Henrique]

THIS RACE

[Barbazza]

Shame about Max winning, but what a race that was! Seb did brilliantly to keep his head, Toro Rosso got everything right and Racing Point made a brilliant call.

2 drivers need to get the sack now - Gasly and Magnussen. The former is as useless in a decent car as I expected him to be and Magnussen continues to be an utter idiot.

Oh, and Driver of the day = Max. Sorry, what?!

[Londoner]

The redemption of Daniil Kvyat comes almost full circle today! Absolutely made up for the lad, he deserves that podium so much after the stuff he's had to go through.

Gasly though, that's gotta be a P45.

[Paul Hayes]

Yep, that'll do nicely!

I was gutted for Leclerc, as it would have been great to see him fighting Verstappen for the win, but it was his own fault. Also disappointed that Bottas didn't take a bite out of Hamilton's championship lead, but again his own fault.

Apart from that, great stuff all round. Plenty of people with plenty of reason to be pleased with that.

[Aislabie]

Looks like Red Bull is going to be Max and Dan again then. Surely there's no reason for Gasly to be retained?

[Pacific Edge]

What a refreshing race to watch, so nice to see a race where teams are having to improvise and having things go wrong, than just ideal conditions and the set plan race after race.

Was going to nominate Haas for IIDOTR for going through an entire race, (in difficult conditions!) and not hit anything, but yeah..

Hulkenburg.. The feels, man.... The feels.

[Waris]

Dr. Helmut Marko must be looking at Gastly with a very shifty look on his face now, surely. Especially considering Kvjat's brilliant drive.

[Londoner]

And there could be yet another twist to this tale, one which could bring Kubica a point....

Almost sounds like they're accusing Alfa of using launch control. Both Kimi and Gio made fantastic starts, from memory...

EDIT: Hamilton's still under investigation for driving unduly slowly behind the safety car. Williams could be on for a double points finish if everything goes their way!

[Fetzie]

No action taken against Hamilton, as he was actually driving to the max delta for following the SC.

[IceG]

Almost sounds like they're accusing Alfa of using launch control. Both Kimi and Gio made fantastic starts, from memory...

Sky were hinting that the pit wall were unsubtly coaching the drivers as to engine settings during the formation laps. Apparently it is legal to give such advice during the race but not during the formation laps.

[FullMetalJack]

Both Alfas have been given 30 second time penalties which means

WILLIAMS IN THE POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!

I do feel sorry for Giovinazzi though, best result of his career gone.

[CaptainGetz12]

Verstappen does what Nigel Mansell failed to do: Spin and Win.

Quite a madhouse of a race, from one of the more boring tracks too

[mario]

No action taken against Hamilton, as he was actually driving to the max delta for following the SC.

You are correct - it seems that the timing system became confused by Hamilton stopping for his front wing change, and therefore flagged him up as driving too slowly when the slow time was actually due to his pit stop.

And there could be yet another twist to this tale, one which could bring Kubica a point....

Almost sounds like they're accusing Alfa of using launch control. Both Kimi and Gio made fantastic starts, from memory...

Whilst maybe not quite traction control, the ruling by the stewards does indicate that the clutch response did have the effect of aiding traction.

The ruling states:
“In order to prevent the teams from using this tuning to affect the way in which the clutch engages at the start of the race in a way that could potentially mimic traction control or other advantageous schemes, the FIA requires that the torque in the clutch matches (within specified limits) the torque demand as the driver releases the clutch. This must occur within 70 milliseconds.

In the case of both cars of Alfa Romeo Racing, the time that it took for the torque to align with the torque demand was close to 200 milliseconds and 300 milliseconds respectively. This provided a more gradual application of the torque, which given the wet conditions was a potential advantage. Regardless of whether there was an actual advantage, the Stewards determined that this was a clear breach of the guidance given to the teams as to how this would be adjudicated."

https://www.racefans.net/2019/07/28/kub ... penalised/

The team have claimed that it was an accidental issue that occurred because they hadn't had a chance to calibrate the clutches, though the fact that it could have helped smooth out the initial power delivery might explain why both drivers seemed to have fairly good starts.

[Faustus]

The team have claimed that it was an accidental issue that occurred because they hadn't had a chance to calibrate the clutches

That old chestnut...

[Miguel98]

Apparently Vettel tried his best to loose second place on the final lap

Bear in mind, the TV direction overall during the race was below average (again). They missed Verstappen's overtake for the lead on Stroll, and seemed always a bit behind on what the heck was happening on the track (as evidenced by the Norris retirement cam when Stroll spinned in the background).