SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: 2004 German Grand Prix

I will be taking the course during the 2004 season using EA's F1 Challenge '99-'02. To make it more contemporary I will be applying Ralph Hummerich's excellent carset to it as soon as it is ready. I have chosen Ralph's carset as, in addition to him being a thoroughly top notch person, in my opinion his carsets are the best available and it is an honor for SimHQ to have an exclusive WIP version to be able to use for its screenshots. Many thanks Ralph! If you wish to try his 2003 add on please use this link to his page.

A Lap of Hockenheim

With two-thirds of the track completely new for this season, Hockenheim will have a very different feel this year. Gone are the trips into the forest where the drivers would have to keep one foot on the brakes in order to keep their temperatures up and instead a more sanitized Hockenheim is on offer.

Although top speeds are down this year, the cars will be much quicker through the stadium sections and this may lead to more of a spectacle for the hundred thousand Schumacher fans who seem sure to turn the circuit into a temple to their idol.

Drivers will go through the first corner at a much higher speed than was the case last year (probably something like 160mph in 4th instead of 140mph in 3rd as was previously the case). This corner has not been touched in the new developments, so it is still the corner that saw Fisichella and Schumacher come together in 2000 and Damon Hill spin out in the second lap in 1995.

Blasting up the first straight towards what was the Jim Clark chicane, the drivers now will break down to about 60mph to take a sharp right-hander before building up speed for two more corners that will be progressively faster and will probably be taken at around 120mph and then 140 mph.

The final corner is a right hander that will lead out onto a long straight that curves around to the left (looking like a longer version of the curved back straight at Albert Park in Australia), The speeds down here will not be quite as high as those reached down the straights in the old Hockenheim but the cars will still be brushing 200mph before breaking down for a tight right hand hairpin at the end that will be taken at 40mph.

The hairpin has caused a great deal of controversy as there is not gravel trap between it and the tire wall leaving the drivers having to rely on high friction tarmac to stop them — this is great when the car spins but a brake failure could easily see a Ratzenberger-type accident. The hairpin sees the cars briefly reappear onto the old circuit before taking a right and then left.

The right hander is likely to be taken flat as the cars accelerate away but the 90 degree left hander following it will require dropping down to third gear and 140mph.

The cars then swoop round through an easy right hander and back onto the old track, rejoining just about where Mika Hakkinen had a frightening blow out in 1999 and careered head first into the tire barriers. The cars will go through the right hander a little quicker than before due to having the extra downforce and will accelerate hard before dropping down to second gear and 70 mph for the tight left hand Sachs Kurve, taking it in second gear.

The slight right, left kink follows with the pitlane entrance being passed on the right hand side before the final corner of the lap, a third gear 130mph corner that leads back onto the start/finish straight.

Go To Page 2

Click here to go to top of this page.