(Frederic Le Floc'h DPPI for Renault Sport F1)
Infiniti Red Bull Racing head to the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheim Ring off the back of another strong performance for Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian finished on the podium in third place in Silverstone to claim his fourth podium finish of the season. The Australian is hoping for a similar result as the reigning world champions continue their return to form. Ricciardo said:
'Hockenheim’s quite a short track but it’s another of those with a little bit of everything. I don’t think the track asks particularly big questions of the driver, though it requires you to be quite brave through the fast Turn One and the right-hander into the stadium – that’s largely about having the confidence in the car to get you through those corners quickly. The other thing you need is good stability under the heavy braking for the hairpin. All in all it’s a balancing act. You’d like to have the downforce for the stadium and to keep it steady on the brakes but equally you don’t want too much drag on the straights.'
The race in Hockenheim is an extra special weekend for Sebastian Vettel as it is his home event and one that he really enjoys. Last season he took victory here, his first in-front of his home crowd and he will be hoping that the added advantage of home support next weekend will help him and the team to achieve a similar result this season.
The reigning world champion heads to Germany off the back of a strong performance last time out in Silverstone where he finished the race in fifth place just behind McLaren's Jenson Button. Just like the British Grand Prix however, the weather often has a role to play in the outcome of the German race and this season could prove to be a similar story.
Vettel has turned around a tough start to the defense of his world championship having claimed a third place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, a DNF in Austria but that strong fifth place in Silverstone. Vettel is looking forward to the race next weekend and enjoys the atmosphere and how busy the event will be, he said:
'I always enjoy the atmosphere at the Hockenheimring. When you arrive at track in the morning the circuit’s already filled with fans and when you’re in the car you can see lots of German flags in the grandstands. The signing session is always very busy too. It’s those little things I really enjoy about Hockenheim. We get a lot of encouragement. During practice you know that the fans in the grandstands are there to support you and stand by you, no matter what. Of course, you want to give as much as possible back to the fans, but sometimes it’s not in your hands. However we will attack at the weekend and give everything.'
Vettel is currently in 6th place in the drivers championship, 28 point's behind his Infiniti Red Bull Racing team mate Daniel Ricciardo so he will go into the race next weekend with the aim of closing the gap to the Australian and to overtake Williams Martini Racing's Valtteri Bottas who is in 5th place in the standinngs just three points ahead of Vettel.
© Ben Johnston 2014
Vettel has turned around a tough start to the defense of his world championship having claimed a third place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, a DNF in Austria but that strong fifth place in Silverstone. Vettel is looking forward to the race next weekend and enjoys the atmosphere and how busy the event will be, he said:
'I always enjoy the atmosphere at the Hockenheimring. When you arrive at track in the morning the circuit’s already filled with fans and when you’re in the car you can see lots of German flags in the grandstands. The signing session is always very busy too. It’s those little things I really enjoy about Hockenheim. We get a lot of encouragement. During practice you know that the fans in the grandstands are there to support you and stand by you, no matter what. Of course, you want to give as much as possible back to the fans, but sometimes it’s not in your hands. However we will attack at the weekend and give everything.'
Vettel is currently in 6th place in the drivers championship, 28 point's behind his Infiniti Red Bull Racing team mate Daniel Ricciardo so he will go into the race next weekend with the aim of closing the gap to the Australian and to overtake Williams Martini Racing's Valtteri Bottas who is in 5th place in the standinngs just three points ahead of Vettel.
© Ben Johnston 2014
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