German GP: Toro Rosso preview

Jul.18 (YallaF1.com) The German Grand Prix marks the start of the second half of the season and it’s shaping up to be an extremely newsworthy event.

For the first time since Canada, there will be no World Cup to distract sporting attention and there are all sorts of other reasons why this should be a high profile weekend. Even if Michael Schumacher is not having the greatest comeback season, his presence is bound to ensure a huge crowd and no doubt his loyal fans will be dusting off their old caps with the snappy “Deutsche Vermogensberatung” slogan to recall Schumi’s past glories.

On top of that, there are four other German drivers on the grid and this will be the first time that a Mercedes F1 team has raced on home soil since the Fifties. Factor in Vettel-mania and you have a recipe for a sizzling weekend, sizzling in every sense, given that the middle of Germany in the middle of summer is usually a hot and sticky place to be.

Hockenheim now alternates with the Nurburgring as the home of the German round of the world championship and this year’s event is the fortieth anniversary of the first ever German GP to be held here. That race produced a thrilling duel between Jacky Ickx and Jochen Rindt, with victory going to the German. Back then, the track featured those infamous straights through the forest, but on safety grounds, they no longer form part of the circuit, although the current layout is still an interesting challenge.

It also retains the Motodrom section, which is the nearest thing we get in Europe to an American oval in terms of atmosphere, with huge grandstands bordering the track where fans compete among themselves to see who has the loudest air-horn, producing a noise only slightly less irritating than a Vuvuzela. Hockenheimring boasts its own motor museum which is worth a look, but it is possibly not quite as entertaining as a brief (preferably very brief) trip through the campsite which is nothing more than a free advertisement for the hotel trade.

According to pre-historians, “Heidelberg Man” was one of the earliest examples of Homo Sapiens and he built a very nice city about 15 minutes from the track, famous for its university and duelling students. It is packed with restaurants which seem to specialise in enormous portions. Cuisine Minceur has not reached Germany and if it did it would probably be called “kucken fur der skinnypeoplemidderkleinebelly,” as you can never have too big a meal or too long a word in Germany. Print This Article