The 12th Grand Prix of the year, the German Grand Prix opened at Hockenheimring on 28 July.

A thin cloud cover from morning on Friday resulted in comfortable conditions, with ambient and track temperatures of 26 and 32 degrees C, respectively.

It was 30 minutes into the morning’s practice before the two Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers made their first appearance, which was quite short-lived after both drivers spun off during their installation lap.

The causes: Ralf Schumacher’s rear brakes failed to warm up while Jarno Trulli developed a vibration in the rear tyres. As a result, Ralf replaced his brake discs and Trulli adjusted his wheel balance in readiness for the afternoon’s session.

The bumpy start was not over though, with light showers during the second practice session. Although not exceptionally heavy, it delayed any serious run on slicks by the two drivers until midway through the session. Even so, both drivers completed their first day’s programs, ending the day in 12th (Trulli) and 13th (R. Schumacher).

A time of 1’16”225 in the afternoon’s practice saw Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) at the top of the field at the end of the first day.

In a turnabout from the previous day, clear blue skies and hot conditions welcomed the second day of competition. However, it was to be a day shrouded in dark cloud for Panasonic Toyota Racing.

After minor problems during Friday’s practice left the team unable to complete enough laps, Panasonic Toyota Racing were quick to appear on the circuit after the start of the morning’s session to make up for lost time. However, just two laps later, white smoke began to stream from Jarno Trulli’s engine, bringing him to a grinding halt and leaving him with no option other than to replace the engine.

Trulli headed into qualifying in the T car, and in order to keep new tyres warm for the race, performed only one attack in the second period to finish in 13th.

On the other hand, Ralf Schumacher continued into the third period of qualifying without problem until a collision with Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren) in the early part of his long run. This forced him into the pits to repair the steering rod; however quick work by the crew saw him still finish in eighth with a time of 1’15”923.

A strong performance by Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) saw him clinch his first pole position of the season, taking his career total to ten. His time: 1’14”070.

The German Grand Prix, which is the start of a back-to-back round, was held at the Hockenheimring in the central area of Germany.

Hockenheim on Sunday was clear and sunny – perfect conditions for racing. By the time the race got underway at 2pm, the ambient temperature had reached 32 degrees C and the track surface to 45, making it the hottest of the 3 days.

Jarno Trulli started from 20th on the grid as a result of an engine replacement after problems during practice on the previous day, while team mate Ralf Schumacher lined up from the eighth position he secured in a strong performance in qualifying.

In the face of a flying start that saw Trulli move up eight positions in the first lap, Ralf Schumacher collided with David Coulthard (Red Bull) in the hairpin just after the start. The result was an emergency pit call for a nose and tyre replacement. In a change of strategy, the team decided to top up on fuel at the same time before sending him back onto the course.

After working his way up into 12th position in the first lap, Trulli continued to move up through the field to be in seventh position when he took his first pit stop in the 28th lap, the performance putting him well within the points.

Despite having dropped back to 19th at one stage, Ralf Schumacher was also looking strong to be just off the top ten when he pitted for the second time. Unfortunately though, he marginally exceeded the pit lane speed limit and was consequently handed a drive-through penalty, which he took in the 35th lap. Following this, he went back into attack and improved his position once again, eventually finishing the race in ninth, but missing out on points in this, his home Grand Prix. Team mate Trulli went on to take the chequered flag in seventh, securing his third points finish for the year and the first since the US Grand Prix two rounds earlier, thereby handing the team a valuable two points.

Honours for this round went to Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) in his third consecutive win from the US Grand Prix. The win took his season total to five and career tally to 89.