Following an enthralling race at Silverstone which saw a home win for Lewis Hamilton, the 2014 Formula 1 season reaches its midway point with round 10 at Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix, exclusively live on Sky Sports F1.
Hockenheim will be a major weekend for Mercedes, and in particular Nico Rosberg, as the German looks to stage a home soil fight back after seeing his world championship lead over team mate Lewis Hamilton slashed to just four points following his retirement in Great Britain.
But as the Silver Arrows prepare to take centre stage in front of thousands of partisan fans, Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams and the rest of the field will be looking to derail the Mercedes juggernaut.
The Hockenheimring presents teams with a number of tricky challenges, especially in terms of this year’s new technology.
While the long, power hungry, forest straights of the old circuit were consigned to history in 2002, the current layout, which see the cars reach almost 190mph on three occasions in the opening section alone, continues to provide a stern test for powerplants.
In Formula 1’s last outing here in 2012 drivers were at full throttle for two-thirds of every lap, meaning that power units are likely to be severely tested here.
Fuel consumption could also be a concern this year as not only are cars at full throttle for long periods, but the heavy braking needed for the hairpin and the twisty nature of the infield section mean that the circuit is a thirsty one.
With drivers limited to 100kg of fuel for the race, clever race management could play a crucial part in the outcome this weeken, but that shouldn’t mean a lack of excitement, however.
The track has two inviting overtaking points at the hairpin of turn six and at turn eight, with two DRS zones in place at the circuit for the first time, meaining this year’s race could prove to be action-packed.
Last year’s race, held at the Nurburgring, saw Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel claim his first ever victory on home soil and the 30th win of his career, passing passed pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton before the first corner and held off Kimi Raikkonen to finish in first place.
Hamilton will be hoping to improve on his fifth-placed finish from 12 months ago when he faded badly in the race as he struggled with his tyres, which looks a certainty provided he can remain out of trouble on the track and in terms of car reliability.
As the season reaches the halfway mark, the battle for the drivers’ title is delicately balanced between the two Silver Arrows’ drivers.
Lewis Hamilton’s win on home soil at Silverstone a fortnight ago drew him to within four points of team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg.
The German will be hoping to emulate his team-mate’s Silverstone feat by winning in front of his home fans and re-establish a gap at the top of the standings with 25 points for himself and Mercedes.
Buoyed by his fifth victory of the season, Hamilton will be doing everything in his power to claim that home Silver Arrows’ win for himself in Germany.
Follow all the action from the tenth round of the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season live on Sky Sports F1, or by watching extended free-to-air highlights of qualifying and the race on BBC TV.
OFFICIAL F1 WEBSITE TRACK GUIDE LIVE TIMING
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FORMULA 1 2014 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
Sky Sports F1 is the only place to see the whole German Grand Prix weekend live as the championship moves into the second half with round 10 at Hockenheim.
The race will be shown live and uninterrupted on Sunday afternoon, along with the qualifying session on Saturday, plus there will be full coverage of the Friday and Saturday morning practice sessions.
Simon Lazenby will anchor Sky Sports F1’s live coverage throughout the weekend where he will be joined by regulars Damon Hill, Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert.
Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham will provide the latest news and reports and from the pit lane, while commentary on all sessions comes from David Croft.
Martin Brundle will join Croft in the commentary box for both qualifying and the race, with Anthony Davidson calling the practice sessions, as well as providing his unique insights via the Sky Pad during the weekend.
During the race, a host of interactive additions, including on-board cameras, pit-lane feeds, the latest race stats and much more available via the red button and the Sky Sports for iPad app.
For those who won’t be at home, every second of the action can be seen via computers, laptops, mobiles and tablet devices on Sky Go.
Further information, news and video content can be found at skysports.com/f1, and viewers are encouraged to interact with the live programmes via Twitter – @SkySportsF1, #SkyF1.
In addition, Sky Sports F1 will also screen the GP2 and GP3 Series races in Germany with the qualifying sessions and races live over the weekend. Commentary is led by Will Buxton.
Friday 18th July
Free Practice 1 – Start: 09:00
LIVE: 8.45am-11.00am Sky Sports F1
Free Practice 2 – Start: 13:00
LIVE: 12.45pm-2.50pm Sky Sports F1
The F1 Show: Mercedes Special
LIVE: 5.00pm-6.00pm Sky Sports F1
Saturday 19th July
Practice 3 – Start: 10:00
LIVE: 9.45am-11.15am Sky Sports F1
Qualifying – Start: 13:00
LIVE: 12.00pm-2.35pm Sky Sports F1
Sunday 20th July
GERMAN GRAND PRIX – Race Start: 13:00
Track Parade: 11.30am-12.00pm Sky Sports F1
RACE LIVE: 12.00pm-3.30pm Sky Sports F1
Paddock Live: 3.30pm-4.15pm Sky Sports F1
Highlights: 6.30pm-7.30pm Sky Sports F1
The BBC will broadcast free-to-air TV highlights of the 2014 German Grand Prix from Hockenheim as the second half of the season begins.
Suzi Perry presents all the action from the Hockeheimring alongside regular analysts David Coulthard and Allan McNish, who will all provide their unique take on proceedings from the pit lane and paddock.
Extended highlights of both qualifying and the race will be shown in primetime on BBC TV over the weekend.
The qualifying session will be broadcast on BBC One on Saturday teatime at 5.25pm, while due to BBC One’s live coverage of The Open Championship golf on Sunday, the 90-minute race highlights show will air on BBC Two at 7.00pm on Sunday evening.
Commentary on qualifying and the race comes from Ben Edwards and David Coulthard, with Tom Clarkson providing regular updates and interviews from the pit-lane.
With regular reporter Lee McKenzie working on the Commonwealth Games, 5 live’s Jennie Gow will take on an expanded TV and radio role over the weekend, where she will be on hand to conduct interviews with the drivers and team personnel.
In addition, Inside F1 on BBC News Channel will preview and review the weekend’s action on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The BBC Sport website will have live streaming of BBC TV’s broadcasts, as well as additional video content including highlights of practice sessions, qualifying and the race, plus interviews and analysis.
All of the BBC’s TV coverage will be available to view shortly after transmission on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Radio 5 Live will also have live audio commentary of every on-track session from Hockenheim with James Allen and Jennie Gow.
Saturday 19th JulyGerman Grand Prix – Qualifying Highlights: 5.25pm-6.40pm BBC One Sunday 20th July German Grand Prix – Race Highlights: 7.00pm-8.30pm BBC Two
