Drivers Baffled by Tricky New First Corner

A treacherous new corner designed to add thrills to the European Grand Prix had Formula One drivers struggling to find the best way to master the modified Nurburgring track on Friday.

A downhill hairpin turn into the infield section that puts an abrupt end to the German track's start-finish straight forced drivers to rapidly decelerate from speeds of 300 km/h to 80 km/h (180 mph to 50 mph) in practice before Sunday's Grand Prix race.

Some teams and motor sport analysts called the 600 metre-long chicane a blessing because it opens new opportunities for passing and, at least in theory, may breathe life into a sport stagnating under the domination of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.

But others were still trying to figure out what impact the combination of two hard right and two hard left turns, known as the "Mercedes Arena corner" but dubbed by German media as the "double thunder curve", will have on their race.

"It's going to be quite tricky," said McLaren's David Coulthard, who excelled on the corner at Friday's practice session and posted the day's fastest lap time, 1:31.886, 0.155 second ahead of Michael Schumacher.

"It's very bumpy, so bumpy that it's a bit ridiculous, and that is most likely the point this year for an incident," he added, using the preferred euphemism for a crash. "I was a fan of the old corner. It was a challenge."

Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn said the team was studying the results of Friday's two sessions, especially the impact of the first corner, to determine which tyres to use.

"The new section of track is quite interesting and demanding, and the drivers don't yet seem to have found the right way to tackle it," he said.

Managers Hoping

Eager to inject some excitement to the Championship as well as raise revenues with the addition of 8,000 seats to give the track a new total of 150,000, Nurburgring managers are hoping the new loop in front of the 7.5-million euro Mercedes Arena will fulfil both aims.

"The new arena is an added attraction for the most important thing we have - our spectators," said Walter Kafitz, managing director of the Nurburgring. "More excitement in this Formula One season certainly wouldn't hurt."

Williams' Ralf Schumacher, who is tied for second with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya 43 points behind his brother, said he liked almost everything about the new Mercedes corner.

"I just don't like the name," the BMW driver joked. "But otherwise it's a nice part of the circuit. It's enjoyable. But it is difficult to find the right braking point. It's slower than I expected and not good for our car yet."

Schumacher said that, contrary to the hopes of its architects keen to add challenges that spectators love, the corner might not turn out to be a great place for overtaking.

"I think passing is still going to be difficult," he said. "It's very, very slow and you can't quickly make a mistake."

But former German driver Hans-Joachim Stuck, a columnist for Bild newspaper, said he expected there to be many attacks on the corner, where the asphalt had been widened to 25 metres to facilitate the challenges from behind.

"It's the sexiest new corner on the Formula One circuit," Stuck said. "There's room to pass and here's where you can attack. This is where the drivers' courage can be rewarded. It's tailor-made for aggressive drivers."

He singled out Montoya as the most probable benefactor. But the Colombian said he was not so sure after finishing fifth in Friday's practice, 1.236 seconds behind Coulthard.

"It's much too slow for me," he said.