New-look Hockenheim will test teams

Rather than the long tree-lined straights followed by chicanes of the previous layout, the new track is more akin to the others on the modern day F1 calendar. That, according to Williams-BMW's chief operations engineer Sam Michael, means a totally different approach to the German GP weekend.

"The changes made to the Hockenheim circuit means the downforce and set-ups we will use are completely different to those used in the past," said Michael. "Likewise, it will change tyre selection and strategy. We will have very few changes to the cars because of the short amount of time between the two grands prix.

"The new circuit appears to be high downforce with a lot of slow speed corners, however, there are still two or three high speed corners and a long straight. Traction will be important because of a lot of accelerating from slow speed in low gears. We will have to do a lot of work during Friday practice to check brake performance, which is another unknown quantity on this new track," he added.