Germany

Tucked away beside a motorway in South West Germany, the Hockenheim circuit has changed in character over the years but is still a worthy F1 venue and a fitting host for the 2016 German Grand Prix. It is now 14 years since the long stretches of tarmac that disappeared into the woods were forsaken, and the current more compact layout may lack the echoes of high-pitched screaming engines being wrung within a few rpm of total destruction, but the stadium area remains a spectator’s delight and the sweeping DRS enabled section culminating in a hairpin inevitably encourages some dramatic overtaking. 
Ferrari have always gone well on the Hermann Tilke-modified version, having won five of the eight races held here, but right now it’s difficult to see that happening this weekend. Sebastian Vettel was first bombarded by the speed and sound of Grand Prix racing at this F1 circuit closest to his childhood home, but he has never won here, and nor has his twice pole-setting team mate Kimi Raikkonen. Ferrari have failed to deliver on their promise in recent months and continue to go through unsettling times as the departure of technical boss James Allison was confirmed just before the start of the event. Their lead over Red Bull has dropped to just one point in the Constructor’s table and even their electrifying starts seem to have been negated by the opposition. 
Mind you, Red Bull have never had a car classified in the top two at Hockenheim, even if Vettel did cross the line in 2nd place in 2012 before receiving a penalty. Ricciardo and Verstappen are able to make the most of the RB12 in qualifying, as we saw in Hungary, but their race pace is still vulnerable and if overtaking had been as achievable as it is here, it is unlikely that the points gap would be quite as close as it is. Max has recorded pole positions and a win in Formula 3 at this track, and Daniel had an entertaining dice with Alonso when he was last here in 2014, but straightline speed is a factor this weekend, and they are still giving away more than they would like.
Which brings us to the all-dominant Mercedes. Their performance in Hungary, where we expected them to be under pressure, was absolutely top-drawer. They controlled the race and could turn up the pace when needed, on a circuit which in theory suited some of their rivals better. It could have been a very different story if Hamilton had not scraped into the top ten by a tiny margin in that marathon of qualifying, but he did enough and sailed to victory on the Sunday; there’s always a drama with Lewis from track limits at Silverstone, to a broken brake disc here in qualifying in 2014 which left him 20th on the grid and fighting back to finish 3rd. His one previous win on this circuit was another charging drive, as different pit stop strategies in 2008 left him clawing his way back into the lead in the final seven laps. The chances are that Hamilton and Rosberg will be fighting this one out between themselves, as Nico attempts to take back-to-back victories at Hockenheim, and Hamilton aims to further extend his new-found championship lead. Just an hour and a half’s drive from Stutttgart, where the Mercedes-Benz story began, another chapter in the company’s history is about to unfold.