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May 24, 2012

An Awesome Weekend | Daniel Ricciardo Blog May 24, 2012

Daniel Ricciardo portrait Carlo

Daniel Ricciardo has a fabulous Monaco record in junior series – and he’s keen to extend that into Formula One.

May 23, 2012

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May 23, 2012

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May 22, 2012

F1: Five of the Best | Rewind to 1983... May 22, 2012

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May 21, 2012

Circuit Guide: Monaco | Motor Sports May 21, 2012

Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher on the podium in 2004

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Event Details

Location
Hockenheim, Germany (Map this address )
Start
JUL 20, 2012 at 12:00 AM
End
JUL 22, 2012 at 11:59 PM
About
After much uncertainty the German Grand Prix breathed a huge sigh of relief in 2009 when its Hockenheim future was finally secured. A financial rescue package is now in place where Formula One Administration and race organisers have agreed to share the liabilities of the event, and in addition the Nurburgring and Hockenheim will continue with their cost-cutting race-share agreement taking turns alternating the event each year.

This year's event takes place at Hockenheimring, which was originally built in 1932 using roads in the forest. Several fatal accidents over the years have resulted in additional chicanes and a slowing of the circuit.

Numerous problems came to light during the 2000 German Grand Prix, when Rubens Barrichello won after starting 18th on the grid. All the overtaking took place during the race's forest section, meaning hardly any spectators saw the best action. French driver Jean Alesi had a massive accident at the 3rd chicane after a collision in the braking zone, and a recently sacked Mercedes employee breached the track on the first main straight, highlighting vulnerable security facilities in the forest. These events clearly showed the track was no longer suited to modern Formula One racing. F1 officials threatened to discontinue use of the track unless major improvements were made, and in the early part of the new century that's exactly what happened. The stadium section remained mostly intact, despite a new surface and a tighter Turn 1. However, the circuit was dramatically shortened, with the long, forest straights chopped off in favour of more tight corners. In an extremely controversial move, the old forest section was torn up and replanted with trees.