With only five races to go and with the imminent August break looming, the top teams face another race that could prove vital for their championship aspirations. Atlas F1's Craig Scarborough previews the German Grand Prix and the teams that will take place in the twelfth Grand Prix of the 2003 season

After a race with a deranged spectator walking onto the track, Formula One goes to the scene of the other most recent walkabout incident: Germany. Hockenheim seems a very different place from that where an ex-Mercedes employee wandered onto the straight a few years ago. Since that incident (but not as a direct result of it) the German organisers decided to emasculate the track of its long straights and focus the circuit around the stadium amphitheaters. The resulting track is no longer a flat-out blast into the forest and the scene of many a devastating accident; instead the track is now tighter but has retained a nice flow with some overtaking opportunities. The drivers were mixed in their response to the new circuit last year, but overall it was agreed a good track was created, if at the cost of the great one.

This year's race is no longer neighboured with the Belgian race at Spa and so it becomes closer to the end of the season, putting a greater focus on the championship battle. Ralf Schumacher's poor fortune and Kimi Raikkonen's fading race allowed Ferrari to win albeit with Rubens Barrichello, while Michael Schumacher claw back some points from a poor race. Overall the winners from all this in the Championship race are Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, the German keeping his lead to his Williams rivals and the Colombian leaping to third ahead of Ralf. Rubens was also able to pass Fernando Alonso in the Championship, who equally has a small lead over David Coulthard, himself nearly thirty points behind his teammate. Talk of who will be Championship winner is still premature; seven drivers have the mathematical chance with five rounds to go. Realistically it's down to four people, and each will need to finish ahead of his rivals regularly to win.

Set-Up and Layout

The track is medium in everything: it places demands on power, grip, downforce and brakes in equal proportions. Last year the new surface rubbered in well to provide lots of grip; a year on and many races later, this initial grip will be on the wane and many teams will be struggling for both tyre and mechanical grip.

The opening corner in third gear is relatively fast for the circuit, with a tricky exit but with the opportunity for overtaking. This leads on to a second gear corner and into a fifth gear curve that isn't really taxing on car or driver. The high speed on the exit of this curve allows for some heavy braking and may be some overtaking into a slow first gear hairpin that opens up into two stadium complexes made up of first to third gear corners that close off the lap. Weather can be unpredictable and the recent format of wet opening sessions leading into a much warmer race could be forecasted this weekend.

A Lap of Hockenheim with Alexander Wurz

Powering down the pit straight at the revised Hockenheim circuit, you reach 183mph/294kph in seventh gear before dabbing the brakes for the fast Nordkurve. Taken at 125mph/200kph, it is important to maintain your speed through this right-hander.

Jumping the curbs as you exit, you accelerate along to Parabolika, a tight right hander, which we believe will be negotiated at 68mph/110kph in second and marks the beginning of the new section of the track. A slight left hander immediately follows Parabolika and flicks you onto a long sweeping left curve. Taken flat out, it is estimated that you will reach speeds of 192mph/310kph in seventh gear, before braking dramatically for the right-handed hairpin that has replaced the Ostkurve.

Probably taken at some 43mph/70kph, it is the tightest corner on the track and sees you rejoin the old circuit momentarily. Accelerating out, it is estimated that you will reach 186mph/300kph in seventh before braking for the new Spitzkehre complex. This begins with a fast right hander that will probably see speeds of 62mph/100kph in second gear.

A quick burst of power follows along a short straight, before negotiating a tighter left hander. A slight left kink is followed by a sweeping right hander, which will take you back onto the original back straight. You will again build up speed at full throttle as you burst out of the forest and into the Stadium complex. The Mobil 1 Kurve marks the entry to the complex and this fast right hander is taken in fourth gear at 105mph/169kph.

Next is the long left hairpin of Sachs, shifting down into second it is negotiated at 65mph/105kph. The track then sweeps through a slight left-right kink on the approach to the final section of the Stadium complex and the lap, the Südkurve. This double apex right hand hairpin is taken at some 95mph/152kph in third and leads you back onto the start-finish straight to begin another lap.

Team by Team

Ferrari

A pair of errors through qualifying saw Ferrari struggle initially at Silverstone. Their ability to get back on terms with the leading Michelin runners was made possible by improvements in the Bridgestones tyres, as well the Ferraris nimbleness through the slower Bridge, Luffield and Woodcote complex. Although the Hockenheimring will not replicate Silverstone's curves or the upside down race, the car is expected to run well. Ferrari's ability to second guess strategy and conditions has not been a strong point this year, their reduced advantage has seen them race more conservatively. If conservatism has not brought race dominance it has certainly worked well at damage limitation and excellent reliability, and a forceful driving always sees Michael in strong points finishes, the effect of this can be seen in the Championship lead which was won during the team's strong spell early in the year and maintained through the recent races. Meanwhile, Ralf and Kimi have good and bad weekends, which has not allowed them to close the lead enough. Rubens had a good weekend in England, perhaps his first of the year, he needs to prove this was not a one-off outing and repeat his pace this weekend.

Tech update

Ferrari appeared with several revisions to their aero package at Silverstone. These centred around two areas: the bargeboards and front wing endplates, however their alterations both serve the same function, which is to channel the air in the most efficient way around the car. The front wing endplates adopted a variation on the Renault wavy lip along the lower outer edge of the plate. Ferrari's take on this design makes the channel form under the lip like an hour glass, narrowing at first then widening towards the rear. These lips flick up the air passing under the plate, adding a bit of extra energy to the flow passing around the inside of the front wheels. The bargeboards adopted several variations, the usual layout of large inner boards with smaller outer boards were modified with smaller inner boards and the outer pair of boards were extended forwards. One variation saw the outer board extended to under the front suspension necessitating a strut to steady its leading edge. These boards move towards the Geoff Willis (Williams, BAR) type forward mounted layout, as they pick up the airflow off the front wing earlier, making the boards more sensitive but not allowing better cooling as the main boards can be smaller.

Williams

After strong testing times at Silverstone and their recent race form, Williams's struggle at Silverstone was perplexing. Some of their problems were down to set-up problems, not an issue for Williams for some races. If this is down to the specific weekend or the cars suitability to fast open tracks it has yet to be identified. Hockenheim was once a flat out blast, but now more of a closed-in track. Either way the Williams FW25 has worked well at similar tracks, so a competitive weekend is in prospect. Ralf had an off weekend last time out, whereas Juan Pablo coped better. This was in contrast to recent form and this weekend could see the old form return or at least the drivers on a very level pegging.

Tech update

Williams continued the revisions to their car's aerodynamics, the recent adoption of smaller\shorter flip ups allied to cooling chimneys in order to slim the rear cross section of the car, has been successful. But the discarding of the vertical fences between the rear wheels reduces the cars lateral stability in fast corners; this has been cured by the addition of a small dorsal fin to the rear of the engine cover. Williams were careful to make the engine cover as small as possible in the car's original design phase, which has allowed the team to fill the gap between the dimension limit of the bodywork (as laid out in the rules) with a reasonably sized fin. This works to reduce the cars tendency to yaw.

McLaren

In terms of pace, McLaren were second only to Ferrari at Silverstone, Coulthard's heavily compromised race saw him need to pass many cars to get back in contention. This showed both his race craft and the car's poise through the closing corners of the lap. Allied to Kimi's race leading pace, this weekend should see the team once more up at the front and able to win if the set-up and luck runs their way. As a second home race for the McLaren-Mercedes team, pressure will be on to perform and engine failures are not an option, if the Mercedes top brass are to impress with the millions of euros invested in the F1 program. Between the drivers Kimi retains the upper hand, outdriving David all weekend, while David does need to receive luck, he also needs to make his own: poor qualifying times are ruining his races, while Kimi's all-or-nothing approach receives applauds whether he leads the race or throws it off the road on Saturday.

Renault

Renault surprised with their pace at Silverstone: it was always clear they would be near the top three teams, but to be amongst them was laudable. This weekend will reward downforce and Renault has never run well with lots of wing. Unfortunately Jarno reinforced his reputation as a top qualifier but a fading race driver; his command at the start of the race impressed, his subsequent fall to the rear was less entertaining. Fernando had a poorer weekend than the norm and suffered a huge moment as Michael Schumacher cut across him on the opening lap. This weekend the status quo should return, with Renault best of the rest and Fernando putting in the better result.

Tech update

Renault's race-by-race aero development had slowed of late: Silverstone saw the results of the work carried out since the last updates. Designated a "B" version, the new bodywork is based around revised protruding exhausts and cooling requirements. These changes have allowed the rear bodywork to wrap much tighter around the engine and gearbox and provided a larger cooling duct around the exhaust pipes, which is in additional to the usual cooling chimneys.

Sauber

Silverstone was another typical weekend for Sauber and little change expected in Germany, despite its near home-race status for the team. Technical updates on the car are still overdue, while problems with the windtunnel results are worked out The team's squandering of its engine supply will raise questions at Maranello and the supply of engines next year may come from another source or at a greater price.

Jordan

While both gaining great stature for their pace and motivation with a poor car, spirited driving from their two drivers is not enough for Jordan. It is surely finances and not technical know-how that is preventing the team from developing their car into a more worthy competitor. But for the rest of this year and the upcoming race Jordan appear to be stuck firmly at the rear of the grid.

Jaguar

The biggest change to the Jaguars this weekend will be the name on the side of the car: Justin Wilson replaced Pizzonia after rumours going all the way back to the start of the European season. Without the chance for testing, Justin faces a new car, a new engine, different tyres and, of course, a new team environment: the mercurial Minardi team are a million miles from the corporate presence of Jaguar. Forgetting the unfamiliarity of the situation for Wilson, this will be a chance for the former F3000 champ to show if he has got the skill he has been credited with; similarly for teammate Webber, who will have to cope with a more creditable driver than he has been used to. Although the car has gone well at most circuits, the slow layout of the Hockenheimring and the cooler temperatures suggests this will be a quieter weekend for the team, ideal for regrouping and for all the media attention they will receive.

BAR

Technical updates and a better performance from Jacques saw a good if un-rewarded weekend at Silverstone. Additionally, better tyres from Bridgestone appear to have helped. This weekend BAR can only expect to be amongst the midfield and challenged by the other team with developing cars, and a two-car assault from Jaguar.

Tech update

Almost unnoticeable is the revised sidepod shape of the BAR, the flip ups and the cooling outlets are much more undercut and then tucked in more tightly to the rear. This has been possible by the loss of the "T" shape rear exit of the sidepod and a reduction in the size of the cooling outlet in front of the wheels. These changes must have come as a result of revisions to the cars cooling requirements as the outlet area has been reduced substantially.

Minardi

One of the team's biggest assets, especially in the opening laps has been lost. Justin Wilson's move to Jaguar will no doubt have brought the team some more money and the chance to hire a top line young driver in Nicolas Kiesa. All this helps, but whether is will be reflected in the team's form this weekend is doubtful. The back row remains firmly Minardi soil, aside from qualifying errors from other teams promoting them.

Toyota

Jumping into the pits during the earlier safety car period showed Toyota's dependence on low fuel for qualifying, but also saw them lead a race on merit for the first time. Yet Toyota has not yet unlocked the door: they still need to run at leading pace all race and get heavy fuel qualifying understood. The technical updates to the cars have brought a long overdue hike in their performance and the chance for both drivers to show they have the ability to run at least as fast as the car will carry them. Olivier has never had his skills doubted, but getting the chance to see da Matta show his craft was a welcome sight. Germany is a home race for Toyota and they will be pushing to follow up the Silverstone form.

Tech update

Long overdue are the aero updates to the Toyota; troubles getting representative data from the wind tunnel have forced Toyota to retain the sidepod shape from the 2002 car. The new update sees the combined flip up\cooling outlets dropped in favour of a Ferrari-esque treatment. This uses similar coke bottle shape, cooling gills and cantilevered winglet. However, designer Gustav Brunner has used a low mounted winglet in place of a flip up in front of the rear wheel. This revision should allow more rear downforce for less drag, improving Toyota's problems of rear grip and enhancing their already mighty top speed. Less noticed was Toyota's adoption of Renault-like front wing endplate with the wavy bottom lip. This was matched with slightly revised wing elements.