German GP Friday and Saturday Practice Sessions Thread

[m schumy]

About 6 mins left to P3......links anybody???

I hope Ferrari have dug deeper over the nite and found a coupe of 10ths more while the Mac-buggers stay put .......
Forzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Ferrraaaarrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..... .......

Here`s a link for third practice: http://eplsite.com/stream1.html

[WRX202]

Menacing clouds!

[m schumy]

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Hockenheim: "The German Grand Prix's return to Hockenheim after the race was hosted by the Nurburgring last year seems to have put everyone in a relaxed mood. Half an hour before third practice, Robert Kubica was chatting amiably to a man with a large cigar outside Renault, Red Bull boss Christian Horner was signing caps and Virgin's Timo Glock was doing a live interview with German television. The exception to all this serenity was McLaren, where there was some frenzied vacuuming on the doorstep of their motorhome. Former team boss Ron Dennis was renowned for wanting every speck of dust removed but it's a bit of an uphill task for those responsible for maintaining that image in the wet, mud-streaked conditions here. It could be dry for qualifying at 1300 BST."

[vcs316]

0 min: The practice session is underway.

08:59 Meantime, the drivers are mostly in their cars as they all monitor the situation.

08:58 The rain is now falling much heavier as we have just 90 seconds until the start of the session.

[m schumy]

Menacing clouds!

Yeah probably more rain on the way

[Julie B]

Here's to a good day for us

[m schumy]

Here's to a good day for us

Yes, fingers crossed for a good result

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

Rain started to fall just minutes before the beginning of the session

[m schumy]

0956: As drops of rain start to fall in Germany, our Red Button coverage is now up and running. Hispania's Sakon Yamamoto is told that it is just a passing shower and will last for five to 10 minutes.

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

Both drivers just completed the installation lap on intermediate tyres

[Grinsomx]

Here`s a link for third practice: http://eplsite.com/stream1.html

cool, thx. always nice to understand the comentary

[m schumy]

cool, thx. always nice to understand the comentary

You`re welcome I prefer English commentary links too

[m schumy]

Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne on Twitter: "Tricky conditions now. Parts of the circuit dry and some wet so too dry for inters but not good enough for a useful run on drys. Will srub in some full wets and inters in case we need them for qualifying."

[vcs316]

11:09 Virgin asks: "Radar saying 5-10 minute showers. Should we wait or go and scrub a set of extremes?"

11:08 Force India reports: "Rain heavy through turn eight"

[vcs316]

11:10 Trulli heads out to scrub a set of extreme wets. He's the only driver out on track at the moment.

11:10 Lotus is preparing for a wet qualifying: "Will srub in some full wets and inters in case we need them for qualifying"

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

Light rain is going on falling...

[WRX202]

yep, that Virgin had a wide turn. Track is definitely wet but no enough for heavy rain tyres imo.

[vcs316]

19 min: Vettel's third lap is 1m27.311s as we see Rosberg running wide at Turn 6 on full wet tyres.

19 min: Glock slots in behind Vettel in the early order but he is over six seconds off the Red Bull's pace.

17 min: Vettel lowers the target time to 1m28.330s on his second timed lap.

17 min: Alonso is now out with intermediates on his Ferrari.

[vcs316]

Sutil appears to have a problem and is crawling down towards turn eight. He says over the radio that he has lost drive.

[m schumy]

BBC F1 commentator Jonathan Legard: "Behind the scenes in Hockenheim, there is plenty of gossip going on as usual. Driver-wise, Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov's seat at Renault for 2011 is looking increasingly insecure, but it remains a mystery who might replace him. Kimi Raikkonen, though, can be ruled out, despite recent rumours. And there are rumblings of disagreement over the future of testing, particularly pre-season, with some teams wanting the current limits to stay and others wanting to increase the amount of running."

[LAROSA SpA]

No clutch

[vcs316]

24 min: The track continues to dry around the lap, except at those areas of fresh asphalt, which are still very wet.

23 min: Sutil manages to bring the coasting Force India back into the pitlane and the mechanics will set to work on that clutch issue.

22 min: Alonso is now fourth fastest in his Ferrari but struggled with traffic on that lap.

22 min: Vettel has lowered the bar to 1m24.988s with Hulkenberg now second, Barrichello third and Alonso in fourth spot.

[vcs316]

Massa P1 !!

[Ste]

There goes Felipe, nearly half a second quicker than Vettel, straight into P1 on his first lap.

Nice.

[m schumy]

Felipe P1

[hogo]

Our car looks much more stable compared to what I have seen in Valencia.

[LAROSA SpA]

Rob's telling Felipe to slow down

[Fariz]

Common Alonso

[vcs316]

Alonso is still out on track but is about 2.350 off the pace - possibly due to running a heavier fuel load.

Ferrari team-mate Massa goes fastest with a 1:24.542 on intermediate tyres.

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

It is no longer raining but the track is still damp, especially at Turn 6