German GP marks start of 2nd half of F1 season
July 22, 2010 by The Associated Press
MADRID — The second half of the Formula One season starts Sunday at the German Grand Prix, with Red Bull looking for calm after a driver dispute, McLaren intent on maintaining its championship lead, and Ferrari out to prove it’s still in the title race.
Red Bull insists it has cleared the air with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel after a front wing swap left eventual British GP winner Webber fuming.
Webber will get the first look at any car upgrade next time around since he is higher in the standings than Vettel, while the Australian driver has also backtracked over his strong comments following Silverstone when he questioned his future in the team.
Red Bull insists it will treat the drivers equally even if it damages its title ambitions, as the drivers have split the last two races to re-energize the team’s chances after McLaren overtook it in the overall standings.
“I don’t want any favoritism,” Webber said earlier this week. “Just a fair deal.”
Lewis Hamilton leads McLaren teammate Jenson Button in the standings with 145 points to 133, while Webber’s third win in 10 races put him at 128 points — seven ahead of Vettel.
McLaren expects to recover from its development setback at Silverstone, where a new diffuser failed to provide the desired edge even though Hamilton was second and Button fourth.
Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said the constructors’ championship leader will have both its old and new diffusers available for Friday practice before deciding what to go with for qualifying on Saturday.
“I’m not sure we’ve been behind in the development race. It’s always nicer to be quicker, it’s always nicer to be more reliable, but I think we’re in a reasonable position,” Whitmarsh said. “But we know that we’ve got to continue to develop the car if we are going to win both championships this year.”
Ferrari will need a much-improved performance after two straight sub-par results have left Fernando Alonso fifth with 98 points and teammate Felipe Massa in eighth with 67.
Despite finishing 14th at Silverstone, Alonso was encouraged by his car’s performance.
“I think we still have the possibility to fight for championship,” the two-time world champion from Spain said. “We saw this year if you can have two or three good races it can change the picture. … We need to do two or three podiums in a row.”
Team principal Stefano Domenicali expected his team to respond to the challenges.
“Anyone who does not believe that we can win the world championship would do better looking for another job,” Domenicali said. “No one here is giving up. There are still nine races to go and anything can happen. We will have to do our job perfectly, that is to say the Ferrari way, and then the results will come.”
Whitmarsh said it was too early to dismiss Ferrari.
“Experience has told me that you can’t write them off,” Whitmarsh said. “Red Bull clearly are the principle challenge at the moment, but I don’t dismiss the others.”
Mercedes will hope to unsettle the leaders, with Michael Schumacher racing in his native country for the first time in his comeback.
But it’s teammate Nico Rosberg who has been the better of the German drivers, with 90 points to 36 for Schumacher, who expects “an emotional” homecoming.
“I will be extra motivated to give (the German fans) a weekend to remember,” the seven-time F1 champion said. “We will have some updates for our car which we hope will give us a step forward so we can look forward to an exciting race.”
Robert Kubica of Renault is seventh with 83 points, after having to retire for the first time this season at Silverstone.
Filed under Season Ticket
