German GP Preview

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FINALSECTOR

NURBURGRING 2011 FINALSECTOR GERMAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

JULY 22/23/24, 2011

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GERMAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

EDITOR’S LETTER Here we are again with our second preview of the 2011 season, it is time for the German Grand Prix. It is the home race for many of the drivers on the grid, the main focus will be on the 2010 world champion. Sebastian Vettel has never won a German GP so far. He will be looking to change that stat more than ever, whilst his team mate will be looking to prove he is not a number Original cover image by pjtierney.net two driver. The German Grand Prix will be at the Nurburgring but not full 147 corners just the GP Track. Most teams are bringing some updates to the car trying to get the maximum out of every car before the summer break. In this Preview we have reviews,previews and a blast from the past. We also take a look at the latest team by team news from the British GP until now. Since the last preview we have launched a new site just made for the previews finalsectormag.com We have been looking at working on a version for the phones so you can read it on the move.

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NURBURGRING JULY 22/23/24, 2011

Laps: 60 Circuit Length: 5,148 KM Race Distance: 308.863 KM Lap Record: 1:29.468 - M. SCHUMACHER (2004) 2010 Winner: FERNANDO ALONSO (FERRARI)

This was one of the most talked about races in the 2010 season, this was the race in which Ferarri proved that Felipe Massa was the second driver. It was a radio call from Rob Smedley to Felipe saying “Fernando is faster than you� this led to Felipe slowing and letting Alonso past. Fernando went on to win the race but not without some critism over the ban of team orders, which led to the ban being lifted for 2011.

GERMAN GP

PREVIEW BY GARY MARSHALL

WILL VETTEL BE ON THE TOP SPOT ? © OCTANEPHOTOS.CO.UK

GERMAN GP

PREVIEW

The German Grand Prix returns to the Nurburgring for the tenth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It’s hard to think about the Nurburgring without picturing the drivers in the fifties, sixties and seventies flying around the ‘Nordschleife’ where Niki Lauda set the lap record in his Ferrari of 6.58.6 around the 14 mile, 160 turn circuit. Two years later, F1 at the Ring was ended due to safety concerns following Lauda’s near fatal crash in 1976. A shorter circuit at the site was commissioned and racing on the new , much shorter ‘GP-Strecke’ commenced in 1982. The GP-Strecke layout has been on the calendar for many years but this year will be only its second as the German GP. In 1997/98 it was billed as the Luxemburg GP only to be changed to the European GP between 1999 and 2007. The first German Grand Prix hosted on the new course was in 2009 in a deal that sees the races shared with its sister circuit, Hockenheim. This year’s race marks the start of the second half of what has been one of the most exciting seasons on record thanks to the new Pirelli tyres, KERS and DRS. There are three conclusions to be drawn from the first nine races of the year • Sebastian Vettel/Red Bull are the class of the field • No one driver seems to mount a consistent challenge to him • The FIA don’t know if they’re coming or going! It looks as if the diffuser row has now been diffused. After the teams agreed to run the new off throttle rules at SilSil verstone. In a hope of finding a compromise for this weekend’s German GP, the FIA offered the teams the chance to revert back to the engine mapping configurations they were running in Valencia (minus the qualifying mapping setting) but only if all the teams were unanimous in the decision. Ferrari and Ferrari powered Sauber voted against making the possibility of further infighting very likely in the run up to the German GP. Old hand and wise head Jarno Trulli described the ongoing dispute perfectly “As the season progresses, it’s not right to change everything and modify the rules we’ve lived with for years. It’s unthinkable , it creates huge confusion and team bosses need to reach an agreement, pick a common line and not change anything until the end of the season”. He added “Let’s stop ruining everything at a time when F1 shows spectacle and overtaking. Let’s stop bickering!” These wise words may have had an effect on Ferrari and Sauber as they reversed their decision, meaning a return to the Valencia specification engine mapping rules. With the German Grand Prix being the home race for no less than six Germans this year, two of which have won the drivers world championship, there will be plenty for the home crowd to cheer on. As strange as it may sound. Re-introducing the original EBD rules could give us a closer race at the Nurburgring. It’s fair to say that the revised rules did nothing for the performance of the McLaren once the circuit dried out, Ferrari have been closer to Red Bull in recent races with some strong podium finishes. We’ve seen some great battles in the closing stages of recent races, most of them for the lead like in Spain, Monaco, Canada, Valencia and Silverstone either the Ferrari or the McLaren have had the race pace to push the Red Bulls and keep them honest. For the midfield runners, the time is fast approaching whether to switch attention to next year’s car or continue with this years. Mercedes have been the best of the rest and along with Renault should benefit greatly with the u-turn on the EBD ruling. Mercedes in particular will want to put on a good show in front of their home fans. ‘Team Germany’ will feel the pressure on home soil to get some solid points in the bag. With Michael Schumacher, they have on board the driver who has won the German GP more times than any other driver on the grid today, winning the event four times. Fernando Alonso, a two time winner here is looking for back to back wins following his success at Silverstone and also back to back German GP victories thanks to his team orders win last year! As for Mclaren they would just be happy with an incident and mistake free weekend after two races full of woe since Button’s epic victory in Canada. A smooth, competitive race would be just what the doctor ordered for Martin Whitmarsh who’s position as team principle has been rumoured to be under threat in recent media reports. I hope that the politics and engine mapping issue can be put to rest so we can go back to enjoying the best on track action Formula one has seen for many a year. German Grand Prix Timetable • Friday, FP1 09.00-10.30, FP2 13.00-14.30 • Saturday, FP3 10.00-11.00, Qualifying 13.00 • Sunday, Race 13.00

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|pmh Having redesigned the track in 2010, and building a whole new pit complex; The Wing, Silverstone has cemented itself in amongst some of the greatest circuits around the world. The multi-million pound investment into the circuit has proven very much a success from the perspective of the fans and teams alike. It proves that there is a definite long-term plan for the British GP to be raced at Silverstone – and why not, having been here for the past 60 years. The building is wonderfully designed, with a very modern-styled roof, lots of glass and a raised section adjacent to the racetrack for the teams. The pit area itself is quite low compared with the rest of the track, and it does prove quite difficult for the fans to see the pit action – one of the most important factors in racing, which is a shame. The pit exit leads into the exit of Farm curve which is where I sat during the race, at International Pits Straight during Practice 1, Luffield during Practice 2 and Abbey during Practice 3 and qualifying.

¤ h<h Before practice had even begun there was talk about the changes to the engine mapping settings, about the off throttle blown diffuser issues, and what they would mean to the different team’s performances. It was thought that Red Bull would suffer the most, having designed their car around the exhaust, and McLaren were thought to have one of the biggest gains from the changes. This however was not the case. During FP1, it was apparent that changing the settings did not have as much of an effect as people had thought; Red Bull still seemed to top the timings and there was uproar about the different engine styles and how the changes had affected the different manufacturers and teams. The Great British weather proved to be its usual annoyance as the drivers tried to setup their cars, do the aerodynamic testing they needed to do, and learn the track. The rain had most effect on Kobayashi who ran wide into the international pits straight, running onto the astro off the apex, spinning the car 90 degrees and nearly flipping it as he hit the grass/gravel join. Subsequently he slid into the barrier, losing his rear wing, right rear wheel and causing some serious damage to the car.

¤ h=h Leading into Practice 2, a meeting was held by the FIA and some technical staff of various teams to discuss the impact of the changes to the off-throttle engine mapping settings and it was decided to revert back to the settings as they were in Valencia. Martin Whitmarsh was one person that was clearly not a fan of this decision, and to be frank – I don’t think the changes should have been brought in during the race weekend, but either at the end of the weekend or even at the end of the season. Such a big change The different style of engines different manufacturers has means that there is no easy way to unify a solution that will have an equal effect on every team. For example, changing the settings on the Renault engines resulted in not a 90% reduction, but a 50% reduction, and because of the way the engine works – it acrually works out at about a 32% reduction in off-throttle behaviour, while Mercedes engines have a fuel over-run meaning the off throttle settings affected them less than it did Renault – who cannot have the same fuel over-run because their engines will basically blow up. All very confusing, as confirmed by Tony Fernandes who came out of the conference stating that he had no idea what the others were talking about! As I was sat at Luffield for Practice 2, I wanted to listen out for the different engine noise that you would expect to hear with the off throttle engine mapping changes – but could honestly hear very little difference between any of them. Lotus-Renault still had the loudest off throttle engine noise, closely followed by the Red Bulls – showing that the changes had little difference to the teams performance. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa topped the timesheets in this session – showing that the upgrades Ferrari had brought to the table were very much working well.

Š MCLAREN.COM

Christian Horner strolling down the paddock.

¤ h>h For Practice 3, I sat at Abbey – so had a fantastic view of the pit complex, the straight, and through Abbey into Farm curve. Here, it was blatantly obvious that the Red Bulls still had the best aerodynamic package of any team. Not once did they lift as they came through Abbey – whereas every single other team lifted through that section of track; wet or dry. It was amazing to see the speed they carried through the corner, barely touching the apex where even though the others had to slow, they were using the apex as much as they could. Is that down to driving style, or car performance – a bit of both I would think, but it certainly showed the dominance Red Bull appeared to have at this track. It was anticipated that this track would very much suit the Red Bulls, with the high speed corners and some quick straights meaning that the aero’ package of the team would be absolutely pivotal in the performance over the weekend. As a result of this aero package, speed and the lack of the off throttle situation, Red Bull were again quickest in the practice session.

y}itqn qvo The wonderful British rain had been ever present in bursts over the weekend thus far, and there was an expectation for more rain at the start of qualifying, so when the cars took to the track, they did so on intermediate tyres. After setting a few banker laps, the main teams headed for the pits, while the likes of Lotus, Virgin, HRT, Williams fought it out for that all important P16 and above. Maldonado of Williams had a brilliant qualifying session, staying out of the bottom 17, and also within the top 10 to start P7 on the grid. Michael Schumacher appeared to somewhat struggle in the conditions, finishing the session only in P13. Heikki Kovalainen had a very good session – staying out of the bottom 7, and securing himself P16 for the race, while team-mate Trulli only managed P21.

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© teamlotus.co.uk

The biggest shock in the qualifying session was Lewis Hamilton – who on home turf should have performed much better than he did. Lewis said that he had started Q3 on an old set of tyres, thus not being able to get a good banker lap in and then the heavens opened, so he was not able to better his time. Lewis started P10, while team-mate Jenson Button started in an amicable P5. Paul di Resta of Force India was also a pleasant surprise qualifying in P6 behind the former world champion. Once again however, the Red Bulls dominated the front row, but this time Mark Webber just tipped Sebastian Vettel to pole position by 4 hundredths of a second. They were closely followed by the Ferrari’s. Daniel Ricciardo rounded off the grid in 24th at his first race for HRT since switching from his test/reserve driver role at Torro Rosso.

|pmhzikm After a sunny Sunday morning, came the early-afternoon race. The session was preceded by a few laps of the circuit by Fernando Alonso in a 1951 Ferrari race car to celebrate 60 years since the first Ferrari win at Silverstone in that very car. Shortly before the race came the all important rain shower. This led to the teams having to decide whether to run the slick tyres or intermediates for the start of the race. The decision was made even more difficult by the fact that the track was slightly wet on one side, but not at all on the other! The teams decided it appeared wet enough to warrant the intermediate tyres and this was certainly the right choice judging from the amount of spray lifted by the cars as they passed through the National Pits Straight and Copse into Becketts. And so the cars lined up on the grid, waiting for what must seem like an eternity for those 5 red lights to come on one by one, and then disappear. As the lights go out, the roar of engine noise and tyre squeal is incredible as they all dart away into Abbey. By the time they get there, it’s all change at the front; Vettel has overtaken Webber for first position, Button is up to 4th position ahead of Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton is up into seventh from tenth on the start grid. By the third lap, Lewis has taken two further positions; past di Resta on lap one, and then his team-mate Button on lap 2. Kovalainen retired with a gearbox problem. At the first phase of pit stops, the teams opt for a change to slick tyres from the intermediates used to start the race in the wet conditions. The top drivers switch and change positions during the pit stops and by racing each other in the case of Alonso vs Hamilton at lap 15. Vettel holds his steady lead over his team-mate Mark Webber. Some good racing action by all the field, with di Resta battling with Buemi which resulted in di Resta breaking his front wing, but Buemi suffering much worse damage with a punctured tyre which ruptured and cost him his race as he nursed the car back to the pits from Becketts. Kobayashi unfortunately also had to retire due to an oil leak causing plumes of blue smoke from the rear of his car at Farm curve. Vettel then had a terrible pit stop which cost him first position to Fernando Alonso, and to make matters worse – Lewis Hamilton slotted in between the two after they exited the pit lane. Hamilton then had to pit himself, putting him back into third position ahead of Mark Webber. Button also had a problem during his pit stop in that he didn’t wait for the engineer to secure his front right wheel after being changed before leaving the pit box. His lollypop man showed Jenson that it was ok to leave the box and he did just that – despite one of the engineers having to change wheel nut guns and not securing the wheel. Jenson managed to get to the end of the pit lane where he Mark Webber however had a better idea toward the end of the race, and with Lewis Hamilton’s tyres coming away from him, Webber was able to easily pass Lewis on the straight out of Village. Some of the most exciting aspects of the race happened in the last two laps; Webber decided to take on Vettel for second place, and had a fantastic battle around the complete circuit before being told by Horner to ‘maintain the gap’, gifting the position to Vettel. Lewis Hamilton then was scrapping with Felipe Massa on the last lap for 4th position. The tyres on Hamilton’s car were completely shot by this point, and Massa knew this, so kept pressing him. It wasn’t until the final corner, and some contact between the cars that Massa ran wide, allowing Lewis to finish in 4th position by only one tenth of a second! The race was won by Fernando Alonso of Ferrari an almighty 16 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Mark Webber claimed the third and final spot on the podium. Scotsman Paul di Resta finished in a disappointing 15th after his front wing damage for his first home grand prix in Formula 1. Sergio Perez had a great result holding on to seventh position, securing him 6 championship points. All in all a very entertaining weekend – partly because of the unpredictability of the weather, partly because of the fantastic racing shown by some of the best racing drivers in the world.

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We take a look at the 1968 German Grand Prix which was held at the world famous Nordschleife.

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hroughout its history the German Grand Prix has been held in many locations, but none as treacherous and revered as the famous Nordschleife, situated in the roaming Eiffel Mountains. Although the 14.7 mile track would stage many dramatic races throughout its time on the Grand Prix calendar, the 1968 edition is often considered to be one of the most memorable – a race which ran in awful conditions and featured one of the greatest drives of all time. Whilst many drivers held great affection for the challenges posed by the circuit, all were well aware of the life-threatening risks that it posed. Sir Jackie Stewart would later christen the Nordschleife ‘The Green Hell’ and how apt a title this would be for the eighth round of the championship and the events which played out over the weekend. On arrival the drivers were greeted by horrendous conditions, with thick fog and howling rain thundering down throughout the region. Despite the concerns of the entrants, Friday practice would go ahead as scheduled at noon, although many would wait until towards the end before venturing out. Of those who did decide to complete a competitive lap time, only six men would manage to break the ten minute mark – with Belgian Jacky Icyx scrambling a lap of 9 minutes 04 seconds at the end of practice, over ten seconds faster than Ferrari team-mate Chris Amon, who would be followed by Jochen Rindt (Brabham), Graham Hill (Lotus), Vic Elford (BRM) and John Surtees (Honda) on the final time sheets. With the weather continuing to deteriorate officials were forced to cancel Friday’s afternoon session and all running on Saturday, leaving a hastily-organised final practice to be scheduled for Sunday morning. Nevertheless the rain refused to relent and it soon became clear that if the race was to take place as scheduled then it would have to be run in these conditions. One man who did improve in the short practice session was Jackie Stewart, whose Tyrrell-Matra had suffered problems on the Friday, meaning that he had failed to get out earlier when the track had been drier. Writing in his autobiography, Winning Is Not Enough, the Scot recalled that he had shared a heated discussion with team boss Ken Tyrrell, with the latter insistent that he ventured out on track; despite Jackie Oliver having just spun off at Adenau corner and damaged the front and rear suspension on his Lotus 49B. > > > >

After much persuasion, an angry Stewart eventually took to the course and set a time of 9 minutes 54.2 seconds, enough to put him sixth for the race and ahead of Surtees. In a move to limit the chances of a crash at the start, race organisers changed the grid layout from the traditional 4-3-4 to 3-2-3 and as the twenty cars lined up on the grid to embark on a fourteen-lap journey in to the unknown, the thirtieth German Grand Prix was ready to begin. All of the front row would hesitate on the line, allowing Graham Hill to shoot through from the second row and lead, as the drivers got up to racing speeds for the first time and battled to keep their aquaplaning vehicles on the road. Heading up to the South Curve, the Englishman led Amon’s Ferrari, Rindt and Stewart, who had also made a wonderful start to rock up the order. But rather than hold position and bide his time the Matra driver would not stop there, making full use of the specially cut Dunlop tyres on his MS10 to pass Amon at Adenauer before closing right up on the back of Hill. In the days before rear blinking lights, the drivers could only judge where their competitors were around them, with fog limiting visibility to less than 40 metres and spray rising up all around. Remarkably only Elford would fail to make it round the first lap, losing control of his Cooper at the Schwalbenschwanz bends moments after Stewart had managed to find a gap and rocket past Hill in to the lead. From then on the Scot began to extend his advantage, managing to pull out nine seconds at the end of the first lap over the Lotus – with Amon, Rindt, Gurney (Eagle) – who competed in the race wearing a full face helmet; the first time ever in the history of the sport - and Ickx rounding off the top six. Meanwhile there was trouble for John Surtees, who had to take to the pits after only one lap when his Honda encountered ignition issues. Despite returning to the track after a repair, the 1964 world champion would only make a handful or tours before being forced to call it a day.

Back at the front and Stewart continued to master the conditions at an unremitting pace, stretching his advantage to 34 seconds over the battling Hill and Amon. Elsewhere Rindt was also beginning to be pressurised by Ickx, who had managed to squeeze by Gurney after the American had picked up a puncture on lap 3 and dropped down the order.

However Hill was fully aware of the threat posed by the Austrian and not only held on to second place, but actually pulled out over six seconds as he crossed the line for six valuable championship points. Behind, despite his visibility issues, Ickx was fourth with Jack Brabham and Pedro Rodríguez (BRM) distantly rounding off the point’s finishers.

By the halfway stage Stewart was now over a minute and a half clear of Hill and Amon, who remained only seconds apart. Whilst the Tyrrell star left the field in his wake, Rindt was now finding his fourth position more and more secure, after Ickx had lost more than 12 seconds after spinning on lap 6 at the North Curve and had been forced to pit twice to change his visor. By now the field was starting to whittle down, with Lucien Bianchi’s Cooper suffering a fuel leak on lap 7; Jean-Pierre Beltoise skidding off at Hohe Act on lap 9 and Amon crashing into a ditch, three circuits later.

But ultimately the day belonged to Stewart, who danced his car through traitorous conditions to finish an astounding 4 minutes and 3 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger. Although the modest Scot would later claim that his victory had been just as much about his team and the tyres, his drive that day exceeded all expectations and would put him alongside the likes of Fangio, Moss and Clark in being remembered as one of the few men to have ever tamed the circuit in such a way.

However it was not plain sailing at the front when on lap 10 Stewart hit a deep river, two corners after the famous Karussell corner, and careered off the circuit in the path of a helpless track marshal. Remarkably the Scot would regain control just at the last moment and manage to steer back on to the road and continue unabated. Whilst Stewart continued out in front there was late drama behind as Hill, who had finally found himself some breathing space, lost a minute after spinning shortly after Amon’s accident and stalling his car. Despite a push start, the Englishman now faced the challenge of Rindt who had closed right up to the 49B and was within a second as they crossed the line for the final lap. > > > >

And for Stewart, all of this had been completed whilst driving with a broken wrist that he had sustained in a F2 race in Jarama – extraordinary! 1968 German Grand Prix, August 4 Results: 1. Jackie Stewart (Matra-Ford) 2:19:03.2 2. Graham Hill (Lotus-Ford) + 4:03.2 3. Jochen Rindt (Brabham-Repco) + 4:09.4 4. Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) + 5:55.2 5. Jack Brabham (Brabham-Repco) + 6:21.1 6. Pedro Rodríguez (BRM) + 6:25.0 7. Denny Hulme (McLaren-Ford) + 6:31.0 8. Piers Courage (BRM) + 7:56.4 9. Dan Gurney (Eagle-Weslake) + 8:13.7 10. Hubert Hahne (Lola-BMW) + 10:11.4 11. Jackie Oliver (Lotus-Ford) + 1 Lap 12. Kurt Ahrens, Jr. (Brabham-Repco) + 1 Lap 13. Bruce McLaren (McLaren-Ford)+ 1 Lap 14. Richard Attwood (BRM) + 1 Lap Ret Chris Amon (Ferrari) Accident on Lap 12 Ret Jean-Pierre Beltoise (Matra) Accident on Lap 9 Ret Jo Siffert (Lotus-Ford) Ignition on Lap 7 Ret Lucien Bianchi (Cooper-BRM) Fuel Leak on Lap 7 Ret John Surtees (Honda) Ignition on Lap 4

The Teams Ferrari

Following a superb race in Britian on their 60th anniversary of their first win, Ferrari have promised not to get too ahead of themselves, but are readying the team to mount a similar comeback as we saw last year. Felipe Massa has faith that Ferrari can start clawing their way up the massive deficit between them and Red Bull. The aerodynamic upgrades they brought to Silverstone are predicted to have an even bigger impact around the NĂźrburgring, but there are understandable questions surrounding the return of the off-throttle blown diffuser.

Force India

The upgrade packages the team have implemented have come into their own on tracks where aerodynamics are key, Britain being the first and now Germany, since Barcelona. Force India are bringing a set of smaller updates to try out around the Nurburgring.

Hispania The team were pleased with Daniel Ricciardo's performance in Silverstone and he's raring to go for a spin around the NĂźrburgring, a circuit he's familiar with from his Formula Renault 3.5 years. Having mroe issues with the blue flags and tyres than the physical aspect, the team now aim to help him understand them further to enable him to close the gap in Germany.

Renault

Both drivers have acknowledged the need for the team to regain the early season pace that saw each of them on the podium. In order to tackle their prolonged dip in performance they are bringing a series of upgrades to combat the issue, those not ready for Silverstone will be brought to Germany aiming to improve overall pace. Nick Heidfeld revealed that there are bigger and more interesting developments to come that should get them back in contention for podiums. .

Mclaren

The team is looking forward to bouncing back from the disappointment they experienced at Silverstone, and both drivers have taken a step back from some of their commitments to better prepare for their races. Button concedes that the team lost some momentum afterwards but is confident that the ground lost will be regained quickly, and like many others it's a race he wants to win saying, "People don’t drive around with Nordschliefe stickers on their bootlids for nothing!"

Mercedes

Mercedes count this as their second home race of the season, joining Silverstone and as a works team the support in Germany represents a 'special occasion' according to Ross Brawn. Pleased with the improvement shown in Silverstone once they implemented their new exhaust system, the team are looking for a rise in performance from their new aerodynamic package..

The Teams

Red Bull

It was here that Mark Webber took his first win here in 2009 and will of course be hoping to emulate that form again, Sebastian Vettel on the other hand will be eager for his first win at home. As one of the many German drivers on the grid this year he will be going home to a rapturous reception. The championship leader has called upon his team to refocus after Alonso took a victory with a considerable lead.

Sauber The team continues to use the successful upgrades they brought with them to Silverstone, but will also take a small diffuser and rear brake duct upgrades to Germany. Kamui Kobayashi is looking forward to the challenge the circuit provides and confident that the car will perform well in high speed corners and therefore suit the N端rburgring.

Team Lotus Heikki Kovalainen has admitted that Team Lotus were too optimistic this year in their aim to gain entry into the midfield. However he believes that patience will pay dividends and he isn't worried as long as they improve their facilities, and with Jarno Trulli struggling with his steering, reliability is a top priority.

Toro Rosso The team are on the verge of switching their attention to the 2012 challenger, having already brought two major upgrades to their cars already this year, they will be bringing smaller updates from Silverstone onwards. This is not to say that they are completely abandoning the STR6, as they are keen to continue their improved scoring record.

Virgin Racing Another team with a a German driver racing in front of their home crowd, and all involved are aiming for another double finish. The future of Jerome d'Ambrosio will be up for discussion at the race as his manager Eric Boullier will be talking to an 'unnamed F1 team', the Belgian rookie appreciates the improvement in reliability but would like more speed to challenge the midfield.

Williams The British outfit struggled on the intermediate tyres at the start of the race and this is something the team are placing under review in Germany. A new suspension set up and disrupted practice sessions left Williams with insufficient time to fully understand the affect on the cars.

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