Formula 1 is set for a dramatic weekend of hot weather and thunderstorms at the Hockenheimring.
The mercury could hit 40C during today’s media activities at the track. Friday, the first day of track action, will barely be any cooler, with a daytime peak of 39C forecast.That is not the kind of temperatures Mercedes, who struggled in the heat (and humidity) at Austria, are hoping to encounter. Asked after the British Grand Prix whether they had a solution for the cooling problems which dogged it at the Red Bull Ring, team principal Toto Wolff said: “The fix is to hope that it’s not 32 degrees.”
“We haven’t got the right answers yet,” he continued. “We know what we can do and what is possible with the current architecture of the car. But you can’t redesign it in a way that would give us great comfort.”
However the heat should cease to be a problem after Friday. Saturday will bring a risk of thunderstorms and a growing chance of rain from around noon. This will bring respite from the scorching weather.
By Sunday the air temperature will be no higher than the mid-twenties. The prospect of rain during race day is also considerably higher, and thunderstorms are a possibility throughout the day.
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For more updates on the track conditions during each session keep an eye on RaceFans Live and the RaceFans Twitter account.
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Nitzo (@webtel)
25th July 2019, 7:30
Was playing F1 2002 yesterday…
Hello there…welcome to Germany, for round 11, of the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
The weather, as so often is the case here, is just wonderful.
Anurag
25th July 2019, 14:53
Alan McNish is out of the race.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
25th July 2019, 7:42
seems like Friday Practice won’t be relevant at all, given the big difference in weather conditions, but it will be interesting to see the pace of the Mercs in the heat. Also, a wet qualy might finally give Max a real chance of his first ever pole in F1.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
25th July 2019, 9:38
@gechichan In the wet the Mercedes AND Hamilton are usually quite strong.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
25th July 2019, 10:17
That’s a nice gift for Mercedes to have a test session for their cooling issue which is not determining for the race.
The best we can hope for is a mix of dry and rain on Sunday. Changing conditions usually lead to good races. The worst would be happy rains leading to very long interruptions.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
25th July 2019, 7:49
Mercedes have a cooling upgrade scheduled right?
If it rains I bet on Hamilton, if it does not and heat is heat wave capable somehow I believe Vettel will get the job done.
Chaitanya
25th July 2019, 8:12
Lewis might take win but Max will be very close on tail with Bottas and both Limping horses struggling to keep up with Lewis and Max.
Jonathan Parkin
25th July 2019, 14:54
But only if he can qualify on the front row and get a good start
Jonathan Parkin
25th July 2019, 14:55
Vettel that is
BoRa (@bnwllc3)
25th July 2019, 8:40
Weather will give us a great chance for the rest of the season. If Vettel takes the chance to get a solid result despite rain -which is his weakness- it doesn’t matter if Lewis wins, it may mean a start of a comeback for Vettel and a high level of competition for the oncoming races. But, somehow if Leclerc wins or finishes ahead of him, will help shaping the end of Vettel.
GeeMac (@geemac)
25th July 2019, 8:49
So it’ll go something like this for Mercedes:
Friday: Mercedes are P5 and P6 in FP1 and FP2, Toto Wolff says: “We are really struggling with the high temperatures. we just haven’t got a complete solution for the issues that first came to light I Austria yet. We just have to limit the damage over the weekend.”
Saturday: Mercedes qualify P1 and P2 and cooler temperatures: “We truly weren’t expecting this great result, we improved the car overnight and Valtteri and Lewis put in great performances today.”
Sunday: Mercedes cruise to a dominant 1-2 in even cooler temperatures: “This was a miraculous turnaround and is a true testament to the hard work put in by all the people in our team”.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
25th July 2019, 9:25
yeah, pretty much spot on… so rain is our only hope.
CHIKANO (@chikano)
25th July 2019, 10:21
@gechichan
Well, Hamilton is lighting in the rain as we saw last year
GechiChan (@gechichan)
25th July 2019, 10:35
@chikano yes, but so is Max, and the PU advantage Mercedes has over Honda in the rain should be less of a factor than in normal conditions. What I was saying was that rain is our only chance to prevent a dominant 1-2 from the Mercs.
Chaitanya
25th July 2019, 10:38
feels like Deja Vu
JohnH (@johnrkh)
25th July 2019, 9:11
Good.
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th July 2019, 1:00
God is an F1 fan !
cookie71 (@paulcook)
25th July 2019, 10:16
Would be good if the scheduling of the races allowed for a little more umpredictable weather, we seem to have so few wet races these days. Although keep Silverstone where it is, I’ve been sat there in the rain and cold weather and its pretty grim!
I don’t mind them changing the others though ;-)
Only Facts!
25th July 2019, 10:18
In mixed conditions, rain on and off, I’d put my bet on HAM, MAX and RAI as the star performers no matter what track position they find themselves in. In heavy rain (full wets) then downforce at mid and high corners is Premium, so RBR, MERC and MCL (!?) are strong, at least from the data I’ve seen lately. LEC status is still “let’s see how he does” and VET at this time does not know which god to pray to: rain or shine…
pSynrg (@psynrg)
25th July 2019, 12:59
Who’s MAX. You think he will be quicker than VER!?
At least be consistent with the abbreviations…
Only Facts!
26th July 2019, 16:08
MAX is also good driver by the way. Some people even say he’s at Verstappen level!
Andy Bunting (@wildbiker)
25th July 2019, 12:14
The weather definitely favours Mercedes.
Yet another of SV’s Achilles Heels. RAIN!
Here’s an excellent site for every F1 race.
https://www.windy.com/49.330/8.576?rain,49.304,8.576,12
Milansson (@milansson)
25th July 2019, 12:48
Toto Wolff: “Guys, it looks like it’s going to be freakin’ hot in Germany. Are we done yet with the cooling stuff on our car?”
Team: “No boss, this would take too long”
Toto: “Hm.. We need another solution”
Toto taking out the phone. “Jupiter? (using the ancient Rome figure here). We have a problem. Could I ask you to send some rain to Hockenheim for the GP, so that we do not suffer from the heat disadvantage? You know, 125 years of Mercedes, special livery, it would look awkward if we would be fighting for 3rd place or lower”
Jupiter: “Sure thing mate, you know I always help where I can”.
NeverElectric
25th July 2019, 13:14
Rain means we get to witness another Hamilton Masterclass in the wet.
Or another Vettel cock-up in the wet.
Or, likely, both.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th July 2019, 13:23
What is it with these heatwaves in parts of Europe now? For the second year in a row, some parts of Europe have been hit by higher-than-normal temperatures. Austria, (parts of) Germany, and France (although not Paul Ricard during the race weekend), and Silverstone last year.
Milansson (@milansson)
25th July 2019, 13:38
I would say global warming right there. It really is damn hot also in Slovakia right now, 35+ Celsius, definitely not the standard 5 years ago..
us-brian (@us-brian)
25th July 2019, 15:57
We have not had a wet race this year. When was the last time we had a wet race.
But if it really rains, I hope that we don’t just get a train behind the safety car for 50 laps.
Usually someone whines about it’s too wet. Robs us of any excitement and Hamilton ends up winning again.
Another snooze fest.