German GP

It's a great idea to mix the Nurburgring and Hockenheim each year. Whereas Hockenheim is a bit bland compared to the old t-in-the-forest track, the Nurburgring offers elevation change and some of the corners around the back of the circuit really make the drivers feel at one with the car because they are reasonably testing. In a sense, it's like a slightly less-challenging Silverstone. That said, you've also got the added element of the fickle Eifel mountain climate, where unpredictable local weather patterns can turn a race on its head.

FERRARI RESSURGENCE IS REAL
You have to assume that Red Bull still possesses the highest level of downforce, but we're heading to a less-aero-dependent circuit than Silverstone. My gut feeling is that we might have a genuine battle on our hands following Ferrari's step forward in pace. Fernando Alonso's victory at Silverstone has breathed new life into the championship, and theoretically he can win the title if he shows the same dominance in the second half of the season that Sebastian Vettel displayed in the first. It's extremely unlikely, but perhaps Seb will have a Jenson Button 2009-like end to the season, where he has to hang on towards the end of the year?

I suspect Alonso's win wasn't just down to the diffuser issue, although that certainly affected laptimes, and it shows that the rest of the car is really functioning now. Its upgrades obviously worked well, and now it will have to bring more to make it even quicker. If Ferrari is going to win more races, it will have to do that consistently, and if it has understood the differences it had before between windtunnel and track, then that will help a lot. Red Bull might be far more optimised, and is in the realm of diminishing returns, but Ferrari seems to have hit that development window sweet spot. And who knows how competitive McLaren will be? It appears a little at sea at the moment, but we were on the verge of writing them off pre-season, and it bounced straight back. It might well do the same thing at the Nurburgring ­ it certainly needs to, or risks losing the confidence of the drivers.
 
RED BULL TEAM ORDERS
Red Bull knows that Mark Webber is not shy of speaking his mind, and his apparent disobedience was all good media fodder ­ he gave us something to talk about and run with at Silverstone. I completely understand his plight, as I've been in that situation myself, but with the benefit of hindsight, his championship campaign will not be won and lost with what happened at Silverstone. He had seven races before that to outqualify (which he's done twice) and outrace Sebastian, which he hasn't
yet achieved. Mark has just got to focus on the task in front of him, and not be distracted by anything going on around him.
 
SCHUMACHER IN SPOTLIGHT
Michael has shown flashes of his old racing instinct; nobody can take that away from him. But, a year and half into his comeback plan, we've got used to Michael merely being a safe pair of hands to develop Mercedes's F1 project. And if it delivered a car capable of winning a world championship next year, it would be surprising if it wasn't Nico Rosberg Œdoing a Vettel' rather than Michael.

There have been enough instances now to realise that Michael's old magic ­ in his highest and most pure form ­ just isn't there anymore.There is also a frustration at Mercedes that the design philosophy hasn't paid off, and has left them with compromises in the car's design. I don't think they'll rectify that this year, so it's a case of the team telling the Mercedes board that they know what's wrong and they'll change it for next year. And, as things stand at the moment, that could be Michael's last season in F1.