Formula One: Drivers gear up for German GP at Hockenheim this Sunday, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren ready to battle it out
The track is once again on fire as the cars head towards Hockenheim for the first time in two years. Despite the rain showers that left the track slippery and greasy, the heat and rivalry of the competition could be felt all around.
McLaren, the current leaders of the Constructors’ as well as the Drivers’ Championship had been able to further ignite the fire, as they are to use their blown diffuser finally in the race this weekend. The British team was actually prepared to use it earlier this month at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix but due to some pre-race troubles, it was not worn on the final race day.
The team entered the Friday’s practice session in much fervour and optimism, however things did not turn out as good as McLarens expected them to be. The rain brought forward a rough and unwelcoming track which troubled many of the drivers including Lewis Hamilton, who struck the tyre wall in his early laps damaging his car at almost all the four corners. It took the team almost the entire day to get it repaired and Hamilton was able to run it again near the end of the second lap of the day.
With this situation, much of the responsibility went to Jensen Button, to have the blown diffuser checked. He was happy with what he found in the car, telling that the speed and the aerodynamics is superb and he is pleased with the team for what they had brought for the season.
However, despite the fact that he likes the car he still thinks that the team is going to have a tough time in beating Red Bull, as they have come up with further up gradations in their car, which is already the fastest one of the season. Following the practice time, Button talked to the Formula One official website expressing what he felt after the two practice sessions of the day.
The McLaren driver was sad to have ended at 15th place in the Friday’s practice, though it is true that the Friday’s session does not mean a lot in setting the pace of the final race day however, the day was still not a very encouraging one for the team especially for Button.
While commenting on the rack he said that he has always liked it here in Hockenheim and in the past, he has also had some great races but this time the weather makes it a tough one. He hoped that the weather would be better on Sunday and the racers would be able to drive in a better way. He added that if the sun comes out he thinks the weekend would be brilliant, and they would also be performing very well however. He added that the pace that Red Bull and Ferrari were able to set in some of the laps was really terrific and he doubts if they would be able to attain such a pace.
Button talked about the last few races of the season explaining that the team had been able to do pretty good, he was concerned about the fact that he had not been able to earn good positions at the qualifying, which made him push very hard on the final race day. He said that the probable reason was that he did not take a lot of pressure but he thought that he needs to take some so that he can get a good grid position here.
The title defender entered the German Grand Prix last year at the top position of the Drivers’ Championship, while this year he is at second place, following the tail of his teammate. Well, only one more night to go and we can witness how well he would be able to perform at this eleventh race of the year.
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