As the FIA Formula One World Championship returns to Hockenheim for the first time in two years, the battle for the drivers’ and constructors’ titles could not be more finely balanced. With nine races left, the four leading drivers are separated by only 24 points, while in the team chase McLaren lead Red Bull by 278 points to 249.
Red Bull are the team back in form right now, with McLaren and Ferrari both honing revised aerodynamic packages intended to put them on an equal footing.
Things are calming down a little for Red Bull after the fresh upset at the British Grand Prix, and this is a hugely important race for the Austrian team as in many ways it is the closest thing to a ‘home’ race for owner Dietrich Mateschitz and really is home for Sebastian Vettel. The German has had a tough time of things since Valencia.
“The fact that the next race is my home Grand Prix doesn’t give me any extra pressure,” Vettel says. “If anything, it’s extra motivation so maybe I can squeeze an extra tenth or two out of myself and the car simply because of that support.” Formula 1
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton remains in the lead in the battle for the F1 2010 drivers’ championship following his runners-up spot finish at the British Grand Prix today.
Hamilton now has 145 points, extending his advantage over his McLaren team-mate, Jenson Button, who is his nearest rival, from six points post-Valencia to twelve ahead of the trip to Hockenheim.
Mark Webber moves up to third in the standings. Yahoo! Eurosport UK
“It’s strange,” said Hamilton on a trip to Italy with his popstar girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger. “I’ve had four solid races – two wins and two second places – and yet I’m only 12 points ahead. We’ll have to see how it goes but if I can increase that gap a bit I’ll certainly be happier.”
“I’m sure Jenson hasn’t given way to Lewis’s championship charge” team principal Martin Whitmarsh said. “He’ll want to win this weekend, he’ll want to move that momentum back in his favour – and that’s how it should be.”
“Jenson has proven he’s a great racing driver, a great reader of the race and also someone who can recover from 14th to fourth [at Silverstone]. He is phenomenally quick and someone who has a lot of determination.” Telegraph.co.uk
Pos Driver Team Points 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 145 2 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 133 3 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 128 4 Sebastian VettelRBR-Renault 121 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 98 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 90 7 Robert Kubica Renault 83 8 Felipe Massa Ferrari 67 9 Michael SchumacherMercedes GP 36 10 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 35 11 Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth 29 12 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 15 13 Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes 12 14 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 7 15 Vitaly Petrov Renault 6 16 Jaime AlguersuariSTR-Ferrari 3 17 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 2 18 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0 19 Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth 0 20 Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 0 21 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 0 22 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 0 23 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 0 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 0 25 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 0
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