Pre-GP Stats Analysis: Germany

Kimi one step away from all-time glory

Since the Spanish Grand Prix one driver has set the fastest race lap for six consecutive races, and that driver is Kimi Raikkonen.

The Ferrari driver is only one fastest lap shy of the longest all-time sequence of fastest laps, set by Alberto Ascari back in the 1952-1953 seasons, when the Italian achieved the feat between Belgium 1952 and Argentina 1953.

In the 1952 Italian Grand Prix Ascari shared the fastest lap with Jose Froilan Gonzalez. Ascari's sequence ended with the 1953 Indianapolis 500, a race Alberto didn't enter. He was back in the 1953 Dutch Grand Prix, but the fastest lap went to his team-mate Luigi Villoresi.

Fisichella for seventh

Giancarlo Fisichella at the moment counts 203 race starts and he is only one race short of reaching Nelson Piquet at the seventh all-time spot.

Half-season balance

The British Grand Prix marked the halfway point of the season, and a quick look at the past season after nine races can reveal how the drivers are performing.

There's no question that the one living with the most difficult slump in performance is Fernando Alonso, who last year scored 58 points, two wins and a total of six podiums. Now Fernando has 13 points (down 77 percent) and has not finished on the podium during this season.

Robert Kubica has practically taken his place, as this year he has so far recorded a win and a total of four podiums (none last year), with an amazing 109 percent increase as far as points are concerned. The Pole currently has 46 points and last year had 22.

Among the world championship contenders there's a marked downturn for Lewis Hamilton, who has scored -31 percent of the points he recorded last year (48 vs 70). Hamilton this year has recorded five podiums and three races without scoring points, whereas last year he was always on the podium. But the number of wins has increased from two to three.

The Ferrari drivers have more or less the same pace of 2007, with Massa scoring the same number of podium finishes and only a five percent decrease in points (48 vs 51), while Raikkonen has a seven percent decrease (48 vs 52) and he, too, has the same number of podium finishes that he recorded in 2007.

The prize for the best improvement goes to Mark Webber, who so far this year has recorded nine times the points he had in 2007 - 18 versus two.

Ferrari aim for 20 wins in the same race

Ferrari have recorded 19 wins at the German Grand Prix, an absolute record for a manufacturer on a single Grand Prix, and thus the Italian team can be the first to reach 20 wins on the same race.

These are the previous Ferrari wins in Germany:

Year  Driver              Car model
1951  Alberto Ascari      375
1952  Alberto Ascari      500
1953  Nino Farina         500
1956  Juan Manuel Fangio  D50
1959  Tony Brooks         246
1963  John Surtees        156/63
1964  John Surtees        158
1972  Jacky Ickx          312B2-72
1974  Clay Regazzoni      312B3
1977  Niki Lauda          312T2
1982  Patrick Tambay      126C2
1983  Rene Arnoux         126C3
1985  Michele Alboreto    156/85
1994  Gerhard Berger      412T1B
1999  Eddie Irvine        F399
2000  Rubens Barrichello  F1-2000
2002  Michael Schumacher  F2002
2004  Michael Schumacher  F2004
2006  Michael Schumacher  248 F1

Heidfeld aims for 20 race classifications in a row

At Silverstone Nick Heidfeld was classified for the 19th straight time and could be the fourth driver of all time to be classified in at least 20 consecutive races.

At the top of the list Michael Schumacher, with 24 straight finishes between the 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix and the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix. In this time Schumacher recorded 14 wins, 21 podiums and was always in the points.

In the second spot is Rubens Barrichello, with 23 classifications (Spain 2005 - Great Britain 2006) and in third Fernando Alonso with 22 (France 2005 - Germany 2006).

Heidfeld retired in the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, but due to the distance completed was eventually classified.

Nick Heidfeld, Sauber C21 Petronas, 2002 German Grand Prix © LAT

Germany personal scorecard

• Kimi Raikkonen faces the next Grand Prix with a terrible scorecard at Hockenheim - he retired five straight times from 2001 to 2005, three times with mechanical failures and twice due to race accidents. In his last appearance he was able to get on the podium in third. Raikkonen started from pole both in 2005 and 2006.

• Felipe Massa has finished in the points three times out of four starts, and was on the podium in 2006 behind his team-mate Schumacher. 2006 was the only year when Felipe qualified in the top 10 (third).

• The home race hasn't been very rewarding for Nick Heidfeld up until now. He only scored points in 2002 with a sixth place and his best qualifying result is a seventh scored in 2001 and 2005.

• Fernando Alonso won in Germany in 2005 following Raikkonen's retirement and was on the podium with a third place in 2004. The Spaniard has never qualified on the front row - his best grid position was a third in 2005.

• David Coulthard has the highest number of podium placements among the current drivers with four, the last one having been scored in 2003. In 2006 he finished the race outside he points for the first time since 2001. The mechanical failures he suffered in 1997 and 2001 are the only reasons that he didn't score points in the 1995-2005 period. Coulthard started from pole in 2000.

• From five starts, Mark Webber only scored points in Germany in 2004. That was also the last time he saw the chequered flag. Webber has qualified 11th in Hockenheim three times out of five.

• There have been only three points finishes for Jarno Trulli out of ten starts. The first in his debut year, 1997, then in 2003 and in 2006. 2003 was his best overall result, with a fourth on the grid and a third place at the finish.

• Jenson Button finished every German Grand Prix he has contested in the points except for 2002, when he retired with an engine failure. His best result was a second place in 2004.

• Rubens Barrichello has a bittersweet relationship with the German race. True, he won his first race there in 2000, but he has also retired eight times out of 14 starts, six of them with mechanical failures. His last point finish here was in 2002 with a second place. He has never qualified on the front row, his best result on the grid being a third in 2002 and 2003.

• Giancarlo Fisichella's best result in Germany is a fourth place, scored in 2001 and 2005. He could have been second in his debut year, but a puncture made him retire five laps before the end.

Other notes on the German Grand Prix

• The German Grand Prix is back on the calendar after being absent in 2007. That was the only time the German Grand Prix hasn't run since 1960.

• The last win for McLaren came in 1998, with a one-two recorded by Hakkinen and Coulthard. McLaren set pole five times in the last ten editions.

• From 2000 onwards Ferrari has won all the races in the even years.

• Neither of the two BMW Saubers made it to the finish in the 2006 race.

• The last time Williams cars finished in the points was in 2004.

• Red Bull's best result in qualifying is a tenth place, scored in 2005 and 2006.

• The last time a Renault car qualified on the front row in the German Grand Prix was back in 1982, with a second place by Alain Prost. The Renaults have never scored a fastest lap in Germany out of 13 participations.

Moments to remember in the German Grand Prix

1998 - Long wheelbase, short wheelbase

Ferrari was testing a longer wheelbase for its F300 car and came to the German Grand Prix undecided about what chassis to use. McLaren took advantage of Ferrari's doubts and recorded a one-two with some suspense towards the end when Hakkinen and Coulthard had to slow down due to fuel consumption problems. Michael Schumacher was fifth.

1999 - A 320 km/h puncture

Without Schumacher and with Coulthard slowed down by a contact, the race was in Hakkinen's hands until a rear tyre exploded halfway throught the race, sending him off track at high speed.

At this point the leader was Mika Salo, Schumacher's replacement at Ferrari, but he duly gave way to Eddie Irvine, who had to score points for the championship, relinquishing his only chance at an F1 win.

2000 - Mad man, mad race

Up to the 26th lap the race was a McLaren/Mercedes display of superiority, as they had left everyone half of a minute behind, but a former Mercedes employee decided to spoil the party (and risk his life) invading the track.

The safety car was deployed and the McLarens lost their advantage, allowing Barrichello to restart right behind the Silver Arrows. More drama ensued in the final stages, when a downpour hit the track. The McLarens came in to change tyres, and Barrichello decided to risk staying on dries, since the long Hockenheim track was only partly wet. This brave move allowed Rubens to win his first Formula 1 race.

2001 - Overheating

Right from the start the Williams-BMWs of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher showed their superior power, pulling away from the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello.

The latter was able to maintain contact with the leading duo, but he was on a two stopper (one more than his rivals) and dropped back after his first stop.

The race seemed to be largely decided before the mid-race pit-stops, but these would prove fatal for three front-runners: Montoya, Michael Schumacher and Coulthard all retired right after their stops - the reason seemed to be the overheating the cars suffered in the pits. After these retirements Ralf had the win in his pocket.

2002 - One memorable lap

The race was one of Schumacher's easy wins of 2002, and the only high point of the race was the duel between Raikkonen and Montoya, which lasted half of a lap when the duo fought wheel to wheel until Montoya was eventually able to pass. Montoya had an excellent pace and finished second despite being fifth in the first stages.

2003 - Ferrari tyre crisis

An accident right after the start eliminated several potential winners like Barrichello, Raikkonen and Ralf Schumacher. The Renaults of Trulli and Alonso kept the gap to leader Montoya to reasonable limits until the first stop, when the Colombian pulled away and the french cars dropped back.

Montoya won by over a minute, and behind him there was a slow-motion struggle among the Renaults and Schumacher's Ferrari, which had serious tyre problems. A few laps before the end Schumacher suffered a puncture and was forced in the pits. Coulthard took advantage of the Renaults' falling pace and took second.

2004 - Second, choking

As per the 2002 edition this was another cakewalk for Schumacher and his unbeatable Ferrari, so the attention had to be moved elsewhere. Jenson Button provided some good entertainment as he climbed from the 13th spot of the grid to the second at the finish line.

It was an impressive effort also because in the closing stages Button had to drive one-handed on the straights because his helmet strap worked loose and the helmet pulled the strap, choking him.

Kimi Raikkonen finished his 2005 German Grand Prix on the back of a motorcycle © XPB

2005 - Third strike, out

Kimi Raikkonen was on a class of his own and well ahead of championship rival Fernando Alonso halfway through the race when he suffered another mechanical failure and left the win to the Spaniard.

That was the third straight mechanical problem for Raikkonen, who had to start with a ten-place grid penalty in France and Great Britain, seriously crippling his championship challenge.

2006 - From now on, that's illegal

Before the race weekend the FIA decided to ban the 'tuned mass damper' Renault had used since 2005. This completely unsettled the balance of Alonso and Fisichella's cars. In the previous races were able to challenge Schumacher for the win, but in Germany at times they were two seconds slower than the German.

The Ferraris went on to score an easy double, with Massa covering Schumacher's lead. The red cars were more than half of a minute ahead of everyone before slowing down towards the end.

Anniversaries of the race weekend

20th of July, 1957, Aintree. Stirling Moss took Vanwall's maiden win, also scoring pole position and the fastest race lap. From that moment on Moss dominated the rest of the season.

But it was too late as in the first races Moss had been very unlucky - in Argentina a delay from the starter caused him mechanical problems that forced him to make a pit stop that lasted nine laps, in Monaco he was involved in an accident and in France he was absent with bad sinusitis.

This allowed Fangio to build the lead he needed to win his final title, which he sealed with an outstanding performance at the Nurburgring.