Eifel GP

Losses of power, tyre temperatures and tangles made for a thriller of an Eifel Grand Prix. As for Valtteri Bottas, who started on pole, he was hit with reliability issues giving Lewis Hamilton less of a hassle fending off Max Verstappen. The six-time champion was able to bring it home for a record-breaking 91 race wins, matching the mighty Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton is now level with Michael Schumacher on 91 Grand Prix victories in Formula One – courtesy of Mercedes Media

A clean getaway for the field meant it was not until lap 9 that the first events took place as Charles Leclerc’s attempt to tame the charge of Ricciardo was swiftly halted and the Monegasque was forced to pit straight after for fresh tyres. The other Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was having another dismal weekend and was not able to compete with his teammate nor the rest of the field, spinning the car into the first corner for good measure.

A costly lock-up relegated Bottas to second as Hamilton capitalised on this opportunity and took first. Not long after it was to get worse for Bottas as he retired and unluckily, after the momentum he was on from last race, saw the the gap increase to 69 points to Hamilton in the Drivers Championship.

George Russell was a sitting duck when Kimi Raikkonen locked up and sent the Williams onto two wheels, ending the race for Russell and bringing out a Virtual Safety Car. Kimi also indirectly impacted the race for Romain Grosjean as the Frenchman reported on team radio that he thought his finger was broken after Raikkonen’s car spat gravel towards the Frenchman’s cockpit.

George Russell was aiming for a competitive race before contact with Kimi Raikkonen ended his afternoon – courtesy of Williams Media

Alex Albon also endured a tough weekend having been pipped by Leclerc on Saturday and he eventually retired the car early. This will be a weekend to forget for the Thai driver who is in a ruthless Red Bull driver market and he will be looking towards Portugal to set more pointers to retain his seat for next year.

Nico Hulkenberg, after jumping in last minute for the unwell Lance Stroll, had a relatively calm weekend following his call up. The German came away with a brilliant 8^th, place taking Driver of The Day. This will be valuable in his efforts to get a seat back in Formula One, and the result proved valuable to Racing Point as well. His finish, coupled with Sergio Perez’s fourth, placed them ahead of McLaren and now into 3^rd place in the constructors’.

Nico Hulkenberg earned a fantastic eighth-placed finish, deputising for the unwell Lance Stroll – courtesy of Racing Point Media

There was a late safety car as Lando Norris pulled to the side to take to the deck chairs as his “Default Zero 3” wheel setting was not able to get the car home. This however was timely for the rest of the teams and brought forth a new strategy as they jumped into the pits to grab extra points.

The restart gave exciting skirmishes in the midfield and Ricciardo attempted a move up the side of Verstappen to further cement a trip to the tattoo parlour with Cyril Abiteboul. It wasn’t necessary though as he will be looking to his friends back in London after taking 3^rd to get one done for Renault’s Managing Director.

It looks like Cyril Abiteboul will be getting a tattoo of Daniel Ricciardo’s choice after the Australian’s podium

The top three crossed the line all improving on their start positions with a surprise podium for the Renault who have not seen the top steps since Malaysia 2011, and Ricciardo’s return to the steps since Monaco 2018.

Renault earned their first podium since Malaysia 2011 with Nick Heidfeld – courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

A celebration of Hamilton’s achievements was met with Mick Schumacher handing over his father’s iconic helmet in honour of matching the record—rather fittingly at the German’s home Grand Prix with the Schumacher S being named after him. He added in his post-race interview that he remembers playing against the seven time world champion on Grand Prix 3 aged around 13-14 and now it looks ever promising that he will complete his climb to being the most successful driver in Formula One.

The next stop is Portugal, where Formula One has not landed since Damon Hill’s win at Estoril in 1996. The Algarve International Circuit in Portimao will host the Grand Prix on the 25^th October. And two weeks on from the Eifel Grand Prix the F1 Drivers’ Championship is shaping to be heavily contested in the midfield and the Autodrome will hopefully maintain the enticing battle with 6 confirmed races in this season still to go!

#KeepFightingMichael

Feature Image Courtesy of Pirelli Media

Following Valtteri Bottas’ much needed win at the Russian Grand Prix, Formula 1 heads to the Nurburgring, set to stage the ever anticipated 2020 Eifel Grand Prix.

LOOKING BACK

The German Grand Prix has played host to F1 under a variety of names which include the Luxembourg and European Grand Prix. This year the race was named after the towering Eifel mountain range that straddles the famous circuit and stretches between Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia and three nations in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.

The Eifel played host to the German GP up until 1976 on the longer Nordschleife configuration. The demanding 23-kilometre-long track was abandoned after the horrific crash involving Niki Lauda on the 1^st August 1976 when his Ferrari 312 T2 clipped the earthy bank at Bergwerk corner, collided with the wall and burst into flames. Lauda narrowly escaped the inferno with his life after quick and decisive actions by fellow drivers: Guy Edwards, Harald Ertl, Brett Lunger and Arturo Merzario who pulled him from the wreckage.

The most recent iteration of the race came in 2013, won by Sebastien Vettel in the Red Bull, a race where Romain Grosjean nearly claimed his first win in Formula One until an unfortunate safety car meant he had to settle for 3rd. No hard feelings Romain?

A safety car and a late Kimi Raikkonen pit stop denied Lotus the win in 2013, with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel winning his home race – courtesy of Red Bull content pool

THE TRACK

The Nurburgring is a fast and flowing circuit. The 15 corners and 5.5 kilometres of tarmac is expected to test the drivers and cars to their very limits. Expect plenty of overtaking into the heavy braking zones of Turn 1 and Turn 13, both preceded by long DRS Zones. The first sector of the lap provides a significant challenge due to its twisty nature while many liken the final right-hand corner as ‘Hungaroring-esque’.

Interestingly, this will be the first time seeing this current generation of V6 turbo hybrid, high downforce cars at this circuit. The big stops and sensitive traction zones will be great fun for the current crop that now have significantly swifter power delivery than their predecessors.

Expect wind, cold track temperatures and low levels of grip to play a factor. We have seen certain manufacturers such as McLaren make no secret that they have a sensitivity to wind, while getting heat into the harder compound tyres may prove tricky.

While not as technically demanding as the Hungaroring, cars with quick cornering speeds will be rewarded in sector two and three.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

Given that F1 has not visited the circuit in years, determining a winner would be difficult in any other circumstance. However, the W11 has looked strong at most circuits this year and would be expected to continue their dominance here this weekend. Lewis Hamilton can make history by matching Michael Schumacher’s all time win record of 91 victories in Formula One to cement his legacy as one of the sport’s most successful drivers.

Lewis Hamilton is aiming to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins this weekend – Courtesy of Mercedes Media

Further down the order, the fight for third in the constructors will be as tight and enthralling as we have seen all season. McLaren and Racing Point head into the weekend separated by two points while Renault are hot on their heels a further five points behind.

The Eifel Grand Prix will also be a historic one for a couple of young drivers currently in Formula 2. Championship leader Mick Schumacher will be rewarded an FP1 outing in the Alfa Romeo for his successes this season, including two victories and a plethora of podiums. It marks the first time a Schumacher will set foot in a Formula 1 car since his father Michael’s retirement in 2012. The Ferrari junior academy driver is touted for a full-time seat in 2021 allegedly alongside Kimi Raikkonen and will be looking to impress.

Mick Schumacher currently leads the F2 Championship – Courtesy of F1 Media

Additionally, championship hopeful Callum Illot will also be given an FP1 outing with Haas after rarely featuring outside the top two in the championship for most of the season. With Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen’s future in doubt, there is a big possibility that he could also be handed a full-time drive next year and will be one to watch closely.

Of course, following the news of Honda’s withdrawal from Formula One in 2022, expect media coverage to follow this news with fervent interest. Speculation is already happening as to what Red Bull’s options are in terms of their future engine supplier. Do they return to Renault? Will they build their own? Will this hamper their 2022 car development? And will this prompt the beginning of the end of the Red Bull – Verstappen love story?

This weekend’s race comes after the news that Honda will pull out of F at the end of next year – Courtesy of Red Bull content pool

Lastly, if weather forecasts are anything to go by in Formula One this year, disregard them entirely. However, rain could play a big part in this weekend with the Eifel Mountains particularly prone to cold and changeable conditions during this time of year. The weather forecast indicates there is strong possibility of rain across the entirety of the weekend which could shake qualifying up magnificently.

With all this in mind the Eifel Grand Prix should be a brilliant event. Make sure not to miss the race which is scheduled for 2:10pm local time, an hour earlier than usual. Set your reminders!

And as ever, ThePitCrewOnline will be here to keep you informed, entertained and up-to-date on all things Formula One throughout the weekend.

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