F1 heads to the Hockenheimring this weekend in Germany for the 12th round of the 2016 World Championship.
While all of the teams and drivers will be looking for a solid finish heading into F1’s summer break, some have more reason to be optimistic than others. Here’s who’s hot and who’s not heading into the German Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton - HOT
It took him a while to get started this year, but now Hamilton is on a roll. He has won five out of the last six races and, for the first time this season, has the points lead on his side. However, Nico Rosberg won the last time they raced here. One thing is for certain: Which ever driver has the lead in points will have a much better summer vacation ahead of next month’s Belgian GP.
Ferrari - NOT
The Hungarian GP should have been a golden opportunity for Ferrari, with the twisty circuit expected to play to the Italian team’s advantage. However, that was far from the case, and neither Sebastian Vettel nor Kimi Raikkonen were able to finish on the podium. Things aren’t looking much better for them this weekend, as none of Vettel’s 42 wins have came here and Raikkonen has failed to finish in six of his nine starts here.
Valtteri Bottas - HOT
While Hungary was expected to play into Ferrari’s hands, it was not expected to be a great circuit for the Mercedes-powered Williams Racing team. However, Bottas still scored points in ninth place, and has a good reason to be optimistic for this weekend. In his only start here in 2014, he placed second after starting second on the grid.
Fernando Alonso - HOT
Fernando Alonso has won two out of the last three races at this circuit. Granted, those races were held in 2010 and 2012. However, the Spaniard does have momentum on his side entering this weekend, having scored points last weekend in Hungary. But even if Alonso and Button don’t score this weekend, the team will still have reason to celebrate over the summer break, having already scored 11 points more this season than what they did in the entirety of last year.
