Paul Henman formula1 Grand Prix of Germany – Qualifying

Grand Prix of Germany – Qualifying

The race weekend started on an inauspicious note when a single-decker bus collided with the starting light gantry during pre-race activities at the track on Thursday; the crash caused heavy damaged to much of the structure. [racefans.net]

Mercedes have painted the nose of their cars white to celebrate 125 years in motorsport and their 200th Grand Prix appearance [FIA – photos and more info]
VET is sporting a new helmet design – a tribute to DTM (touring car) driver Bernd Schneider who VET calls “one of the best German drivers in history”

  1. FP1: VET (1:14.013), LEC, HAM, VER, BOT
    The track temperature hovered around 50°C – high temps and a short pit lane could mean multiple scheduled stops in the race
    MAG’s Haas lost power (apparently due to a sensor error) and stopped on track, bringing out the red flags while he was towed back to the pits
    BOT ran wide in Turn 13, across the gravel but stopped just before the tyre wall
  2. FP2: LEC (1:13.449), VET, HAM, BOT, VER
    VER had a brief problem with a lack of power
    RAI complained about the traffic… just as he did in FP1
    GAS hit the tyre wall in the final turn, damaging his car and bringing out the red flags with about 15mins left [video]
  3. FP3: LEC (1:12.380), VER, VET, BOT, MAG (HAM=P6)
    There was rain overnight, washing away some of the rubber that had been laid down yesterday
    Cooler temps for FP3, and the forecast for the race says there might be rain
    The Williams mechanics had to work overnight to replace KUB’s chassis with the spare
    HAM complaining about his gloves – he couldn’t get the retro style ones on!
    BOT runs wide; some drivers had their times deleted (including HAM’s best lap) for having all four wheels off the track, mostly at Turn 1 and the final turn – could make Quali interesting
    GAS on a quick lap catches GRO on a slow one, but then GRO speeds up and they’re wheel to wheel for a couple of corners
    Williams call RUS into the pits to check for floor damage; that’s the end of his session

No penalties (as far as I know) going in to Quali

Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Air temperature 28°C; track 45°C; risk of rain in Quali 60%
KUB 1:16.225
RUS 1:15.682
STR 1:13.393
SAI 1:13.221
RAI 1:13.066
Radio from VET complaining of a power loss; he’s told to pit without setting a lap time
KUB’s lap time deleted for exceeding track limits
VER 1:12.594
LEC 1:12.229
Ferrari mechanics removing the engine cover of VET’s car to give them access to investigate the problem
Slow lap from HAM – P16!
(BOT P4)
5mins left of Q1; bottom 5 are NOR, HAM, KUB, RUS, VET
VET’s car still in pieces; he’s getting out of the car
HAM P3, bumping ALB to P16
NOR P15, GIO P16
Unsafe release of KVY, right into the path of GRO – will be investigated after the session
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are GIO, ALB, KUB, RUS, VET
GIO P8, NOR P16
RUS P18
Back of the grid: NOR, ALB, RUS, KUB, VET*
*No time from VET so he’ll have to ask the stewards for permission to race

Qualifying session 2
HAM is first to leave the pits; he’s on medium compound tyres
LEC and BOT are on mediums too
HAM 1:12.149
(BOT P2)
LEC has backed off and aborted this lap
Replay shows LEC ran wide in Turn 1 and his time is deleted, which is why he didn’t bother putting in a quick one
It’s VER’s turn to radio in complaining of power loss; he’s told to pit
(LEC P2)
5mins left of Q2; bottom 5 are HUL, KVY, RIC, STR, VER* (*no time from VER)
VER on track now; he’s on softs; taking it very slowly on the out lap
VER goes P4, bumping PER to P11
Big lock up from MAG
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are PER, HUL, KVY, RIC, STR
HUL P7, RAI P11
RAI P6, MAG P11
PER P10
Very messy lap from STR
Middle of the grid: GIO, MAG, RIC, KVY, STR

Qualifying session 3
Top 10 shootout is between HAM, LEC, GAS, BOT, VER, RAI, SAI, HUL, GRO and PER
Green light and the Mercedes pair head out
Ferrari mechanics are working on LEC’s car in the garage
BOT 1:12.2
HAM 1:11.767
SAI P3
LEC getting out of the Ferrari – he’ll be P10
VER P2
GRO P4
GAS P4
Order after the first run: HAM, VER, BOT, GAS, GRO, SAI; no time from RAI, HUL, PER or LEC
PER P6
RAI P5
Chequered flag
HUL P9
HAM P1
BOT P3
VER P2
GAS P4
Front of the grid: HAM, VER, BOT, GAS, RAI, GRO, SAI, PER, HUL, LEC

BOT parks in the P2 spot for the interviews; someone from FIA has to swap the P2 and P3 boards

Provisional grid: HAM, VER, BOT, GAS, RAI, GRO, SAI, PER, HUL, LEC, GIO, MAG, RIC, KVY, STR, NOR, ALB, RUS, KUB, VET

2 thoughts on “Grand Prix of Germany – Qualifying”

  1. “Lewis Hamilton has revealed that his team was preparing to put Esteban Ocon in his car today after Briton felt unwell ahead of FP3.” – https://www.pitpass.com/65290/Ill-Hamilton-was-nearly-substituted

    “I wasn’t feeling good this morning, I had a bit of a sore throat,” the world champion told reporters. “So we prepped just in case I wasn’t going to be able to do the session.

    “I did the practice and we were prepared to be able to put the second driver in, that was the worst case scenario,” he added. “We got through, good.”

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