F1 Team Form: Hockenheim

Mercedes have won every German Grand Prix since 2014, while Ferrari have more wins at the circuit than any other team. Here’s how the teams’ histories compare at Hockenheim!

Mercedes

Mercedes have won all of the last three German Grands Prix, claiming their first 1-2 finish on home turf last season, when Lewis Hamilton won from fourteenth on the grid. at their home event. A Mercedes driver has never failed to score in all five of the team’s appearances at Hockenheim, with Nico Rosberg’s tenth place in 2012 being their worst finishing position here to date.

2016 is the only season where both Mercedes drivers have progressed to the final part of qualifying at Hockenheim. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg locked-out the front row that year. A Mercedes driver is yet to be knocked out in Q1 at the circuit, though Hamilton failed to set a time in Q2 in both 2014 and 2018 as a result of car issues. Valtteri Bottas is the only Mercedes driver to not yet record a Q2 elimination with the team at the circuit.

Ferrari

Last season, Sebastian Vettel recorded Ferrari’s first non-finish at Hockenheim since 2003, by crashing out of the race while in the lead. From their 36 visits to the track, there have been only eight occasions where both Ferrari cars have finished in the points, with three of those being 1-2 finishes in 1999, 2006 and 2010; the latter being memorable for Felipe Massa receiving a ‘Fernando is faster than you’ radio message. The team have taken nine wins so far at Hockenheim, more than any other team.

Ferrari have taken pole here eight times, locking out the front row only once in 1994. A Ferrari car has started on the front row in all but two of the last seven Hockenheim races. Felipe Massa in 2012 and Kimi Raikkonen in 2014 are the only Ferrari drivers to have failed to reach the final part of qualifying here, both exiting in Q2.

Red Bull

Red Bull are yet to win at the Hockenheim circuit. A retirement for Daniel Ricciardo last season marked the second time a Red Bull driver has failed to finish at the track, the other being Mark Webber in 2008. Ricciardo’s retirement also marked the first time a Red Bull driver failed to score at the circuit since 2008 – their only visit to the track so far in which neither driver picked up points. The team have picked up three podium finishes at the track, with a third place finish for Sebastian Vettel in 2010 and a 2-3 finish for their drivers in 2016. Vettel also scored a second place finish in 2012 but was later given a 20-second penalty for an illegal overtaking manoeuvre.

Sebastian Vettel is the only driver to have taken pole for Red Bull at Hockenheim, with him setting the fastest time in 2010. His second place in qualifying in 2012 is the only other time a Red Bull driver has started from the front row. Meanwhile, Christian Klien and Daniel Ricciardo are the only Red Bull drivers to have failed to reach the final part of qualifying at the circuit, having done so in 2006 and 2018 respectively.

Renault

Renault have had seven podium finishes at Hockenheim, including a solitary win for Fernando Alonso in 2005. Last year, Renault scored points at the German Grand Prix for the first time since their return to the sport, with Nico Hulkenberg finishing fifth. The Renault team have recorded double DNFs three times at Hockenheim, most recently in 2002. Since then, the team have not recorded any non-finishes at the track.

Renault reached the final part of qualifying with both drivers for only the second time at the German Grand Prix last year, the other time being in 2006. The team haven’t qualified on the front row at Hockenheim since 1982, recording their only front-row lock out at the circuit in 1981.

Haas

Haas have visited Hockenheim only twice so far, with Romain Grosjean picking up the team’s first points at the track last season by finishing sixth. The team are yet to record a non-finish here, with Grosjean’s thirteenth place in 2016 being their lowest finishing position so far at the circuit.

Haas have never recorded a Q1 exit at the German Grand Prix. Last season was the first where they reached the top ten in qualifying, with both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen making it through to Q3. It was Magnussen who recorded the better qualifying position with fifth on the grid, while Grosjean lined up sixth.

McLaren

2018 marked the first time McLaren failed to score at Hockenheim since 2001, when both cars failed to finish the race. In the sixteen races at the track between 1991 and 2006, McLaren’s 1-2 finish in 1998 and their 2-3 finish in 2000 are the only times that both drivers reached the end of the race. Their 1998 result is one of four times McLaren have recorded a 1-2 finish at the circuit.

McLaren have taken pole eleven times at Hockenheim, more times than any other team. Last season, Stoffel Vandoorne became the first McLaren driver to be eliminated in Q1 at Hockenheim, with their worst qualifying position at the track since John Watson qualified 23rd in 1983. 2016 and 2018 are the only years where neither McLaren driver has reached the final part of qualifying here.

Racing Point (Force India)

Force India never recorded a DNF at Hockenheim in all of their six visits to the circuit, and scored here with both cars in every appearance since 2014. Seventh was the team’s best result at the track, finishing there with Nico Hulkenberg in 2014 and 2016 and with Sergio Perez in 2018.

Esteban Ocon’s Q1 exit last year marked the first time a Force India driver failed to reach the final part of qualifying at Hockenheim since 2010. Their best qualifying position here came courtesy of Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified fifth in 2012 before moving up to fourth on the grid.

Alfa Romeo (Sauber)

Sauber recorded at least one non-finish in all of their first nine visits to the Hockenheim circuit. Their best result here is fourth, recorded by Nick Heidfeld in their BMW Sauber days in 2008, and by Kamui Kobayashi in 2012. Those seasons are the only two where both Sauber drivers have scored points at the circuit. Last year, Marcus Ericsson finished ninth, scoring Sauber’s first points at the circuit since 2012.

Charles Leclerc became only the second Sauber driver to reach Q3 at Hockenheim last season, the other being Robert Kubica in 2008. Kubica qualified seventh that year – a grid slot only matched by Nick Heidfeld while driving for the team in 2001. 2016 is the only season where both Sauber drivers were eliminated in the first part of qualifying.

Meanwhile, Andrea de Cesaris finished on the podium with Alfa Romeo in 1983. His second place finish is the only time the team appeared on the podium here.

Toro Rosso

From their seven visits to Hockenheim, the Toro Rosso team have scored points at the circuit only twice, with an eighth place finish for Sebastian Vettel in 2008 and tenth place for Brendon Hartley last season. The team have recorded only two DNFs at the circuit, with Sebastien Buemi out after the first lap in 2010 and Daniil Kvyat retiring with an oil leak in 2014. On every occasion where a Toro Rosso driver has finished a race at this track, they have finished no lower than fifteenth.

Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat are the only drivers to have reached the final part of qualifying while driving for Toro Rosso at this circuit, doing so in 2008 and 2014 respectively. Last year marked only the second time, the other being their first visit here in 2006, where both Toro Rosso drivers were eliminated in Q1.

Williams

Williams recorded their first double non-finish at Hockenheim since 2006 last year. It was the fifth time both of their cars have failed to finish here. In the past eight races at the track, Valtteri Bottas is the only Williams driver to have scored at the circuit, taking a podium finish in 2014 and a ninth place in 2016. The team have won nine times here in the past, most recently with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2003.

Last season was the first time neither Williams driver qualified in the top ten at Hockenheim since 2008, while Lance Stroll recorded only the second Q1 elimination for a Williams driver at the track. Valtteri Bottas recorded the team’s only front row qualifying position in the last eight races here, with second on the grid in 2014. The team have taken nine pole positions at the track, locking-out the front row in 1992 and 1993.