Description
German Grand Prix preview – Mercedes to emulate World Cup glory?
Hot on the heels of his timely victory at the British Grand Prix, which saw him close the gap on his team-mate and championship rival, Lewis Hamilton will be looking for his sixth win of the 2014 Formula One World Championship at the German Grand Prix this weekend. Last week, in front of his home crowd, the partisan support was all for Hamilton. This weekend at Hockenheim the roles will be reversed and it will be the German Nico Rosberg who will be garnering the support of the home-town spectators.
Rosberg leads the championship by four points after Lewis closed the gap by an uncontested 25 points at Silverstone; Rosberg failed to finish. But they say all good things come in threes, and Rosberg will be looking to cap a great week with a win to consolidate his title aspirations. Married to his long-time girlfriend at the weekend he then watched the national side win the FIFA World Cup by seeing off Argentina in Rio on Sunday night.
On home soil Mercedes is the form team and expect a massive support for the “Silver Arrows” this weekend. The other teams may as well join the 100,000 plus spectators on Sunday and watch the Mercedes duo disappear into the distance from the grandstands.
Sunday’s race will be watched by a sizeable number of spectators who, by a quirk of extremely good fortune, purchased their tickets at a bargain price. The Grand Prix organisers came up with a wizard ticket sale promotion taking advantage of the publicity attached to the Germany versus Brazil semi final match. An 11 Euro reduction times the number of goals Germany scored in the match against World Cup hosts Brazil was the incentive. Imagine how happy the ticket purchasers were when Germany put seven goals past the Brazilians! One imagines that the final whistle could not have come quickly enough for the promoters!!
Qualifying: Rosberg on Pole – Hamilton in the wall
Nico Rosberg took pole for today’s German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring as Mercedes drivers enjoyed and endured the highs and lows of Formula One racing. Local hero Rosberg starts at the very front of the grid as his team mate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton contemplates life at the very back.
A high-speed accident during qualifying, that left the Englishman battered and bruised, ensured that the two “Silver Arrows” start at opposite ends of the grid in a race that will undoubtedly see their championship aspirations continue to change. The championship is at a captivating point; half way through the year and the two drivers are locked in their own, exclusive, battle for supremacy.
Race day -German clean sweep at Hockenheim
What a week for the Germans. Last Sunday they won the World Cup; seven days later the iconic German manufacturer Mercedes with a German driver at the wheel wins the German Grand Prix!
Nico Rosberg had an easy day at the office as he won from flag to flag this afternoon in a race that was full of drama and overtaking. It was action from the start with Felipe Massa entering turn one up-side-down after running over the front of Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren. Massa’s race finished there and then, but Magnussen went on to bring his car home in ninth place, one behind team-mate Jenson Button.
Valtteri Bottas drove a storming race for Williams from second place on the grid to finish second despite being chased-down right at the end by a hard charging Lewis Hamilton. Lewis was left battered and bruised in a qualifying accident that left him in the wall and starting from the back of the grid. He drove a typically gritty race with a superlative performance to finish third but was clearly disappointed to have lost points to Rosberg after gaining all 25 by winning at Silverstone two weeks earlier as Rosberg failed to finish.
Sebastian Vettel was fourth, Fernando Alonso fifth and Daniel Ricciardo sixth.
Rosberg consolidated his lead at the head of the Championship and now has a 14 point advantage over Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas, following his third podium in row, moves up to fifth in the championship only six points behind Alonso.
The Championship now moves to Hungary in a week’s time where Hamilton will be determined to grab pole position on a track which is notoriously difficult for overtaking. Having clawed back the points in Silverstone, Hamilton can not afford to lose more points to his German team-mate.