Nige takes on one of the fastest tracks in F1 history

The old Hockenheim was a balls-out speed monster, and who better to tame it than fearless Mansell, in a less-than-competitive Ferrari. Check out the long-ass straight 11 seconds in. It seems to go on forever, at least compared with today’s technical circuits.

McLaren star thinning on top. Here’s the proof:

The photo on the left was taken just two years ago. We know that since he entered F1, Lewis has favoured the shorter crew-cut, but you can clearly see from the pic on the right (taken yesterday during a Vodafone PR event before this Sunday’s German GP) that Hamilton’s hair is thinning faster than you can say “hair implants for one, please”.

Is this what wearing a helmet and baseball cap all the time does for your locks? Or is it just male pattern baldness - after all, dad Anthony is a regular cue ball.

More good news for Lewis the rainmaster?

Some forecasters are predicting a wet German GP at Hockenheim this weekend, but according to the latest predictions at Weather.com (see above), there’s an 80% chance that we’ll have a dry race.

In the light of Lewis Hamilton’s masterful drive in the wet at Silverstone, there’s no doubt the McLaren team will be performing several raindances in the hope that it also pisses it down at Hockenheim. But we’ll stick our neck out, in a Michael Fish stylee, and predict a dry race.

Word to the wise: never trust the BBC’s weather site. It’s almost always inaccurate.

Ferrari overhaul McLaren on final day at German track

Under-pressure Felipe Massa restored confidence at Ferrari by setting the pace on the third and final day of testing at the Hockenheim ring (which sounds like some disgusting German sausage, but isn’t).

Massa was the only driver to dip under the 1:15.00 mark yesterday. After completing 109 trouble-free laps, the Brazilian claimed he was happy with the team’s progress:

“It was a good day’s work… We did a lot of kilometres and I have to say the car felt well balanced. This can only mean we should also be competitive at this track, which is also the case for our main rivals.”

Honda will be encouraged by Jenson Button’s performance. The British driver was second-fastest, with Heikki Kovalainen in third for McLaren.

Full timesheet below:

McLaren prodigy leads the pack for second day in a row

Lewis Hamilton can’t be touched at Hockenheim. He was the only driver to dip under 1:15.00 at the German track yesterday, in a McLaren that featured a new front-wing design. Nico Rosberg put in a solid stint for second place, perhaps a consequnce of Williams now placing more emphasis on this year’s car, rather than the 2009 development programme. World champ Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari, less than half a second off McLaren’s pace.

In a brief interview after Tuesday’s session, Lewis admitted that he was NOT thinking about sacking his dad (despite what Marca thinks), and that he believes the 2008 championship will go down to the last race of the season. The British driver also revealed that after his stunning win at Silverstone, he was in bed by 11pm after a celebration dinner with his family - not exactly the behaviour of F1’s greatest ever playboy.

Full timesheet below…

All the news from the first day of testing at Hockenheim

The biggest news from yesterday’s test session in Germany was McLaren’s new shark-fin style engine cover (see photo). Red Bull, Renault and Force India already use a similar cover, and clearly the designers at McLaren are keen to see first-hand if the fashionable fin can improve the aerodynamics of its MP4-23 car.

A wet grand prix makes it more difficult to judge the true pace of a car, but it was obvious from Silverstone that McLaren has closed the gap on Ferrari since Magny Cours. Aggressive aero developments like this will have Ferrari worried, no question.

Ferrari will also be worried by the form and confidence of Lewis Hamilton, who set the pace at Hockenheim on Tuesday. The British driver outpaced Kimi Raikkonen by almost half a second, with Williams’ Nico Rosberg in third place.

Full timesheet below:

Remember when Dutch F1 star caught fire in the pit lane?

At the 1994 German Grand Prix, Jos the Boss’s Benetton turned into a four-wheeled inferno. During his first scheduled pitstop during the race, fuel leaked onto the car after the fuel hose was disconnected, setting the car ablaze. He suffered no more than burns to the nose, thanks to the quick action of his pit crew.

Relive Piquet’s famous set-to at Hockenheim

They don’t make F1 drivers like Nelson Piquet anymore – apart from his son, Nelson Piquet Jnr. Piquet Senior was a formidable driver but also a quick-tempered sod who lashed out at anyone who got in his way, as Salazar found out to his cost in 1982, when Piquet was trying to overtake him – Salazar should have moved over under waved blue flags – and the two drove each other of the circuit.

With dry commentary by the great Clive James. Or there’s the Murray Walker live version, if you prefer, in which Murray sagely informs us that Piquet is “livid with rage!”Happy days.