Power Ranking GP Germany 2012

Wilhelm

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07/25/2012

M cLaren has returned after two races of lull. The latest facelift had an effect. The conversion of the rear end brought significantly more grip at the rear. Now the rear tires don't suffer as much. Jenson Button could have won from a better starting position. In any case, McLaren drove on a par with Ferrari and Red Bull again. That gives hope for a great three-way battle for the Hungarian GP.

Ferrari at the top for the first time

Ferrari's biggest joker is Fernando Alonso. In terms of pure speed, the red car is perhaps the slowest of the trio. But also the most balanced. Ferrari is fast everywhere. Red Bull and McLaren still have their weak spots.

Lotus has slipped behind McLaren despite an upgrade. That was also due to the bad starting positions of the drivers. Romain Grosjean was totally off the mark. Kimi Räikkönen was able to set the lap times of the top trio when he finally had a clear path ahead of him.

But be careful! Clean could become a serious competitor. If Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez keep going and then manage a flawless race like at Hockenheim, they are a candidate for the podium. And on their own.

Clean overtakes Mercedes

Mercedes slipped. For the second time in a row, the task of finding a reasonable set-up with limited training time on a dry track failed. The silver cars would have used too much tire rubber for a two-stop race, the three-stop race didn't work.

Williams had a black weekend. Pastor Maldonado's fifth place on the grid gave rise to hope. But in the race it went backwards. Maldonado damaged the left side of the car when he drove over debris and therefore lost contact pressure, but the Venezuelan’s critical comment that one should look for the reasons for the car’s poor performance on the harder tires suggests that Williams otherwise gambled away in Hockenheim.

Caterham still doesn't understand his latest upgrade. The green cars are further away from the Toro Rosso than they were two races ago in Valencia. Too many small handicaps creep in at Marussia that hinder further development. This time there was a lack of top speed and instability when braking returned. HRT stayed at the bottom of the field with no changes to the car. You wanted something else tooexpect?

Here is a brief overview of the power ranking after the GP Germany. As always, the detailed form check of all twelve teams can be found in the picture gallery.