How Barrichello matches Fangio at the Nurburgring

It may come as a surprise, but Rubens Barrichello really is a match for Juan Manuel Fangio when the statistics are reviewed, at least those concerned with the history of the Nurburgring in the Formula 1 World Championship.

Williams driver Barrichello's five podium finishes at the Nurburgring have come through a combination of German and European Grand Prix performances and have him tied in second place on the list of all-time rostrum finishers on the various layouts that have been used at the track since 1951.

Level with him are five-time world champion Fangio and David Coulthard while only Michael Schumacher - Barrichello's team-mate during his most successful spell in F1 - has a better score with eight podiums.

For the record, Fangio's podiums came via three wins and a pair of second places while Barrichello has taken a single victory - at the 2002 European GP - a runner-up spot and three third places.

In the wider context of the German GP, Barrichello has also performed well and took his first F1 win at Hockenheim in 2000 for Ferrari. However, he has only taken one points finish from the last seven German GPs.

Germany personal scorecard

• Sebastian Vettel has always qualified inside the top 10 for the German GP, and has never failed to score a point in the race. He finished third at Hockenheim last year behind the Ferraris - after starting from pole position - and was second in 2009.

• The Nurburgring holds happy memories for Mark Webber as it was the scene of his maiden F1 pole position and victory two years ago. He has scored points only three times from his eight German GP appearances and has retired four times. Last year he was sixth at Hockenheim.

• Lewis Hamilton has never started lower than sixth for a German GP. His best performance came in 2008 when he started from pole, dropped into the midfield after McLaren messed up his pit strategy behind the safety car, and charged back brilliantly to win. He was less successful in 2009 when he was rammed at the first corner at the Nurburgring, causing a puncture. He was fourth at Hockenheim last year.

• Jenson Button has scored points eight times from 10 German GP starts, but has usually gone better at Hockenheim than at the Nurburgring, his best result being a runner-up spot at the former venue in 2004. He was actually on the Nurburgring podium the same year, but that result came in the European GP rather than the German race. He has started fifth or better for five of the last six German GPs, the exception being in 2008 when he was 14th for Honda.

Alonso beat Massa at the 'Ring in '07 © LAT

• Fernando Alonso won the German GP at Hockenheim in 2005 and 2010, but also triumphed at Nurburgring in 2005 and 2007 (when the circuit staged the European GP). Last year's victory was the most controversial, coming after his Ferrari team-mate moved aside for him at half-distance after receiving the now infamous radio call: "Felipe, Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm that you understand the message?" Alonso has scored points six times in eight years at the German GP.

• Felipe Massa has always gone well in Germany. He has finished on the podium and qualified inside the top eight every year since 2006 - his record stretching across both Hockenheim and the Nurburgring. However, he has never won.

• Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver both at the Nurburgring (including European GPs) and Hockenheim, with five and four wins respectively. He has scored points 12 times from 15 German GP appearances and only failed to qualify inside the top 10 for the first time last year. At the Nurburgring he has outqualified his team-mates 10 times from 11 appearances, the one exception being when Barrichello got the better of him in 2005.

• Nico Rosberg has only scored points in the last two German GPs with a best finish of fourth in 2009. Last year marked his first start inside the top 10.

• Nick Heidfeld has had little success at the German GP, finishing in the points only in 2002 and 2008 and only making it into the top 10 in qualifying on three occasions. He has had more luck in European GPs held at the Nurburgring and scored his only F1 pole position there in 2005 before adding a second place in the race for Williams.

• Vitaly Petrov was 10th on his German GP debut last year and took a pair of fourth places in GP2 at the Nurburgring in 2009.

Maldonado has raced in GP2 at the Nurburgring © LAT

• Pastor Maldonado was sixth and fourth at the Nurburgring in GP2 in 2007, but had a best finish of ninth there in 2009.

• Adrian Sutil has a 100 per cent finishing record in his home grand prix, but has never even come close to a points finish; his best result being a 15th spot. He started seventh at the Nurburgring in 2009 and made it as high as second place before his first pitstop, but touched Kimi Raikkonen as he exited the pits, ruining his race as he pitted for a new nose.

• Paul di Resta collected a pair of second places from his four DTM starts at the Nurburgring, although those 2008 and 2010 results came on the short version of the track.

• Kamui Kobayashi finished ninth and third in the two GP2 races run at the Nurburgring in 2009.

• Sergio Perez had an eighth place and a retirement in the Nurburgring GP2 races in 2009, the Mexican spinning out of the latter race after starting from pole on the reversed grid.

• Sebastien Buemi has never scored a point or qualified inside the top 15 in Germany. Last year he was rammed by his team-mate Jaime Alguersuari during the race.

• Alguersuari qualified and finished 15th for last year's German GP at Hockenheim, but did take fifth and sixth places in the Formula Renault 3.5 races at the Nurburgring in 2009.

• Heikki Kovalainen qualified in the top six for the German GP during his McLaren years and took fifth and eighth-placed finishes.

• Jarno Trulli scored his maiden F1 podium finish at the Nurburgring, that result coming in a Prost in the 1999 European GP. His one other podium in Germany came at Hockenheim in 2003, although he has not scored a point in the country for five years. Like Michael Schumacher, he has a 10-1 qualifying score against his team-mates at German GPs, the only man to beat him being Olivier Panis in 1999.

Ricciardo will make his German GP debut © LAT

• Daniel Ricciardo raced at the Nurburgring just a month ago in Formula Renault 3.5, the Australian taking second and fifth places. The man that beat him to victory in race one was Virgin reserve driver Robert Wickens.

• Neither Vitantonio Liuzzi nor Timo Glock have qualified inside the top 10 or scored a point in Germany.

• Jerome d'Ambrosio finished 10th and seventh in the 2009 GP2 races at the Nurburgring.

Germany teams' scorecard

• Red Bull scored a one-two finish at the Nurburgring in 2009 with Webber overcoming a drive-through penalty to beat Vettel to victory.

• McLaren has won four times at the Nurburgring, the last success coming via Alonso at the 2007 European GP. The team's first victory at the track came in 1976 courtesy of James Hunt on the same day that Niki Lauda suffered his horrible accident at Bergwerk.

• Ferrari has a record 14 wins at the Nurburgring, the last success coming in 2006 with Michael Schumacher. The Italian team has scored 40 podiums at the circuit, the last three via Felipe Massa in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Its 20 German GP wins is an F1 record for success at a single event. McLaren's 15 Monaco wins is second on the list.

• Mercedes has only finished on the podium once as a full constructor at its home grand prix, that result being a win for Fangio in 1954.

• Renault has only been on the podium twice at the Nurburgring, those results being an Alonso win in 2005 and a second place for the Spaniard the following season.

• Williams recorded its maiden World Championship podium finish at the Nurburgring in 1975 with Jacques Laffite second in an FW01 behind Carlos Reutemann's Brabham. Its last rostrum at the track came courtesy of Heidfeld in 2005.

Laffite gave Williams its inaugural F1 podium in Germany in 1975 © LAT

• Force India has never had a top 10 finish at the German GP, but did manage a seventh place on the grid via Sutil in 2009.

• Sauber has never been on the podium at a German GP (even during the BMW Sauber years). Its last points at the track came via Heidfeld and Robert Kubica in 2007.

• Toro Rosso has never had a top 10 finish at the Nurburgring, although it did manage a German GP point at Hockenheim in 2008 courtesy of Vettel.

• The last four World Championship grands prix held at the Nurburgring have been won by four different constructors; Renault in 2005, Ferrari in 2006, McLaren in 2007 and Red Bull in 2009.