Setting the scene for Germany

Spare a thought for Hockenheim. It is the poor relation of the Nurburgring, which is only a couple of hours down the road, not because of any great failings on its own part but because it can never match the majesty of the history of the Nordschleife.

Ever since the Hockenheimring staged its first German Grand Prix in 1970 - the result of drivers demanding safety changes at the Nurburgring - it has had the air of an interloper. But for all that, it is an atmospheric venue with a rich racing heritage that stretches back to 1932.

Those early races were on two wheels, and Hockenheim, just down the road from Stuttgart, was best known as a Mercedes track.

It wasn't until well after the war that it became a regular haunt for car racing of any international standing, with Formula 2 machinery headlining its single-seater events. It was in an F2 race - the Deutschland Trophy - that Jim Clark perished on April 7 1968, casting a dark cloud over the track that remains to this day.

Once F1 outgrew the Nordschleife for good after 1976, the year that Niki Lauda came close to losing his life, Hockenheim started to build a grand prix tradition of its own.

Although the Nurburgring reclaimed the race in 1985 and 2009 (its other world championship races have all been dubbed the European or, more curiously, the Luxembourg Grand Prix), Hockenheim gradually found first acceptance and the respect. So much so that when the track's iconic straights that plunged through the forest were dug up almost without trace ahead of the 2002 German Grand Prix, there was widespread moaning.

Not bad, considering that the longer track configuration had once been considered dull as an F1 venue!

Even the truncated track configuration has found acceptance. The Nurburgring might still have the edge in terms of heritage and atmosphere, but what Hockenheim promises is overtaking. That, and rain, judging by the amount of water sloshing around the paddock this afternoon.

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in the pre-German GP press conference © LAT

But most importantly, this weekend promises to be the latest chapter in the rivalry between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber at Red Bull. Every move the pair make and every quip and quote will be analysed to the nth degree, especially with the Australian doubtless hoping to put one over his young team-mate on home soil. The topic even dominated this morning's press conference held by watch-maker Casio at Red Bull.

"They were both given the watches at the same time," confirmed Horner when asked about any favouritism when it came to watch allocation for his two drivers. "We also have plenty of spares and they are all in the same specification so I can't see there being any issues with watches this weekend."

The stopwatch will be of more concern.

With McLaren now committed to running both of its MP4-25s in latest-specification with the exhaust blown diffuser set-up, having intimated earlier in the week that it would back-to-back the new and conventional designs, Red Bull will unquestionably be under more pressure than at Silverstone where admittedly the team had a massive performance advantage.

Germany and Hungary run back-to-back before the August break, so what happens in the next 10 days could have a potentially decisive say in whether the world championship heads to McLaren or Red Bull.

Hockenheim may still have a little way to go to match the history of the Nurburgring, but when the time comes to look back at the 2010 season, it might have a chapter all of its own.