German Grand Prix '08

The Hockenhiemring has made a successful return into Formula One with yet another action-packed race, mostly thanks to Timo Glock and McLaren. The race marks some significant changes in the seasons setup but lets take a look at all the action last week in Germany.

Free Practice One
Formula One made its return to Hockenheim in the rain. The rain stopped in time for the start of the session, but the track stayed wet. The usual routine began, Adrain Sutil was first out for an installation lap followed by most of the other drivers before they all dived back to the pits. The real action started quicker than normal, especially considering the conditions. Sebastain Vettel was keen to get started at his home race and set the first time of the day. He was shortly followed by Lewis Hamilton who promptly spun. Once most drivers were out, the wet conditions on track began to dry quickly making each lap a fastest lap. Nearly 15 drivers led the session at some point including all 5 home German drivers. BMW's Robert Kubica tried to restore some normality in the time but failed after spinning at the first turn and becoming the only driver of the session to make contact with a wall. Normality was restored, however, when the Ferraris left the pits and Felipe Massa came out on top. The Brazilian was still leading by the end of the session but a lap from McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen pushed Massa down to second. Lewis Hamilton then showed McLarens superiority taking first from his teammate and ending the session in a McLaren 1-2.

Free Practice Two
The track dried up and the weather improved for the second session of Practice at the Hockenheimring. Hamilton wasted no time in going strait back to the top of the time sheets with Kovalainen again slotting in behind. Honda's Rubens Barrichello attempted a fight with McLaren but spun on track. The Ferraris the headed out, with Kimi Raikkonen visibly struggling. He couldn't get enough pace to beat his Ferrari teammate who pushed his way into second. Barrichello then had another spin followed by a few problems at the last turn for Hamilton and German driver, Timo Glock. Glock caught a bit of air before hitting the ground with a bump. Massa was not nearing Hamilton's time, getting closer with each lap. He eventually took first but not by enough as Hamilton once again stole first place with his final lap. Massa and Raikkonen completed the session second and third with Kovalainen fourth and Webber coming out on top of Alonso in the battle for fifth.

Free Practice Three
The weather stayed dry for the final session of practice in Germany. Honda's Jenson Button set the first benchmark with the Toyotas following behind. Toro Rosso were next out and Sebastian Bourdais set the first time before leaving the track and letting Vettel through to go fastest. Hamilton quickly took the top spot before Vettel forgot he was in a Toro Rosso and beat the McLarens time. The Finnish drivers then left the pits, Kovalainen easily taking first whilst Raikkonen continued to struggle in fifth. The last 10 minutes were filled with action, Massa went fastest and this time Hamilton couldn't match the time but his teammate could. Kovalainen finished first and Massa, Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel made up the top five.

Qualifying
The wind picked up for the start of qualifying and the possibility of rain increased later on.
Session One
With five minutes of the session gone, Vettel set the first notable time in front of Rosberg and Glock leaving three German drivers on top. The Ferraris were on top for most of the session with Webber hanging on to third. Hamilton made a little error at the hairpin but still too first from Massa. The Brazilian fought back to first and stayed there with Raikkonen also beating Hamilton's time and ending up in second. Attention then focused on the battle for survival. Coulthard, Boudais, Trulli, Rosberg and Glock all made in into Quali two with some fast times. Nakajima scraped into 14th leaving Button with it all to do. He also could only manage 14th. Alonso moved up to tenth leaving and Button just made it though. Nakajima, Piquet, Barrichello, Sutil and Fisichella were excluded from the rest of Qualifying.
Session Two
Surprisingly, Ferrari were the first to head out in session two of qualifying with Massa still faster than a struggling Raikkonen. The McLarens then sandwiched Massa with Hamilton first and Kovalainen second whilst Raikkonen slipped to fifth behind Alonso. Vettel made his way into the pole shootout in eighth whilst Robert Kubica moved up to fifth. Coulthard also got through but Heidfeld, Button and Rosberg couldn't get out of the drop zone. Glock, Heidfeld, Rosberg, Button and Bourdais failed to make it into the pole shootout.
Session Three
Trulli was the first to set a time for the deciding 10 minutes of qualifying, faster than the Red Bull drivers and Vettel. Raikkonen was now visibly struggling to set fast times and only just went faster than Trulli. Massa then crossed the line nearly a second faster. Raikkonen's final and deciding lap put him in second right behind Massa. Massa then went even quicker. Kovalainen slipped in between the two Ferraris but Hamilton was going even faster and took pole. Trulli and Alonso took fourth and fifth pushing Raikkonen down to sixth and Vettel finished between the two Red Bulls in ninth.

Race
Massa pressured Hamilton of the the start but he turned defensive when Kovalainen tried to pass and let Hamilton go. Kubica had a good start and when the cars reached the hiarpin, Kovalainen hit the breaks early allowing Kubica to get past both Alonso and Trulli into fourth. Alonso was desperate to get past Trulli and when he reached the second lap he pushed to hard and ran wide allowing Raikkonen past. Coulthard had a terrible start and had dropped to 14th behind Button. He was right behind the Honda but Button was putting up a fight and not letting him through. After a few failed attempts Coulthard did get past. Hamilton had now built a big lead and entered the pits. It looked like he would come out in front of Trulli but the Toyota driver went defensive and Hamilton ended up behind. The Brit then overeacted slightly and nearly crashed into the back of the Toyota. Trulli pitted on the next lap. Within the next few laps everyone pitted except Piquet who was on a one-stop strategy. The race then settled down with Hamilton pulling away further each lap. As Glock attempted the final turn his right rear suspension failed and he hit the concrete wall on the other side of the track and crossed the track again. He was winded and debris was left all over the track. The Safety Car was deployed. Everyone entered the pits except Hamilton and Piquet. Piquet had left the pits just before the safety car was released and had moved up to third behind Hamilton and Heidfeld. McLaren said Hamilton would not pit during the safety car which caused confusion as he still needed to make his second stop. Button came out just behind Hamilton and when lapped cars overtook, he was unable to as he had not been lapped by the race leader. Mark Webber left the pits with smoke pouring out of his Red Bull and was forced to retire. The saftey car returned to the pits and Coulthard ended up behind the second Honda of Barrichello. They crashed and Rubens retired. Hamilton finnaly had his pitstop around 15 seconds ahead of Piquet. It wasn't enough and he rejoined in fourth behind Piquet, Massa and Kovalainen. He easily passed Kovalainen in what looked like team orders. Massa didn't put up too much of a fight and was passed. Piquet was happy to settle for second. Hamilton won the race in front of Piquet, Massa, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Kubica and Vettel.

Championship
The Championship order stays the same but the points stretch out with Hamilton on 58, Massa on 54, Raikkonen on 51, Kubica on 48 and Heidfeld on 41. Piquets season changes for the better. He is ahead of the Williams and Toro Rosso drivers plus Coulthard and Button McLaren once again close up to BMW, two ponts behind.