Back on the calendar after an eight-year absence, Hockenheim was the venue for two major turning points in favour of Max Fewtrell in his quest for the title last year. Fast, technical and tricky, the host of the German Formula One Grand Prix should again provide plenty of twists and turns in a campaign that is fast approaching its conclusion!

A Piastri - Martins duel in sight?

While there were five race winners in the first half of the season, Oscar Piastri (R-ace GP) and Victor Martins (MP Motorsport) have monopolised the victories since the return to action in late August. Separated by 12.5 points, the two have the exact same results with three wins, a third place and a pre-race retirement…

In Germany, the Australian will be the only driver who could clinch the title, but he will have to win at least once and score another podium result while hoping his rival has issues during the weekend. For his part, the Frenchman will do everything he can to continue the dominating form he displayed in sweeping both Barcelona races last weekend.

A year ago, they experienced very contrasting fates on the German track. Oscar Piastri had his best weekend of the season with two podium finishes while Victor Martins saw his rookie title hopes vanish due to two retirements. With a new car and different teams, the new duel sounds promising!

Parallel battles

Behind the leading duo, Alexander Smolyar (R-ace GP), Lorenzo Colombo (MP Motorsport) and Caio Collet (R-ace GP) can still mathematically win the title and a place in the Renault Sport Academy.

A regular podium finisher, the Russian will try to catch up to the leaders to remain in control of his destiny while the Italian and Brazilian will absolutely have to score a ton of points if they want to stay in contention just until Abu Dhabi.

The fight looming at the top is all the more important because it could be decisive for R-ace GP. The French team could wrap up its third consecutive Teams’ title if they score two more points than MP Motorsport during the weekend while Caio Collet could win the rookie of the year crown as early as Saturday!

Something to race for throughout the field

While they can still mathematically deprive Caio Collet of the rookie honours, Kush Maini (M2 Competition), Ugo de Wilde (JD Motorsport) and Petr Ptáček (Bhaitech Racing) are preparing to fight for sixth place in the general classification.

Momentum favours Petr Ptáček, who claimed his second podium in the category last week, but his rivals have yet to throw in the towel. Ugo de Wilde will also aim for a solid showing to seal third place for JD Motorsport while Kush Maini will lead the M2 Competition charge to retake fifth place from Bhaitech Racing.

The battle for the rest of the top ten promises to be just as intense especially as the gaps are razor-thin. Patrik Pasma (Arden Motorsport) and Leonardo Lorandi (JD Motorsport) will start with a slight advantage, but they will have to keep an eye on Sebastián Fernández (Arden Motorsport), who returns after the end of his FIA Formula 3 Championship campaign.

A little further back, Federico Malvestiti (Bhaitech Racing), Xavier Lloveras (Global Racing Service), Amaury Cordeel (MP Motorsport) and Frank Bird (Arden Motorsport) all hope to create a surprise to allow them to begin a move up the general classification.

Alessio Deledda (Global Racing Service) will return to the field to show the progress he has made, as will wild-card entry Grégoire Saucy (R-ace GP), who was last seen at Monaco in 2017 before honing his skills in F4 since.

One driver will make his Formula Renault Eurocup debut with M2 Competition: Turkey’s Cem Bolukbasi. A former kart racer turned into an F1 eSports Series standout since 2017, he will make his open-wheel debut after scoring a podium result in the GT4 European Series.

Scheduled for Saturday at 15h35 and Sunday at 15h20, the two races from Hockenheim will be aired on the Renault Sport Series Facebook page and the Renault Sport YouTube channel.

Fast facts

• 1 Racing for the first visit of the Formula Renault Eurocup in Hockenheim, Scott Speed and Vitaly Petrov both went on to reach the pinnacle of motorsport two and six years later. On the podium back then, Simon Pagenaud has won both the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 crowns.
• 3 In the Formula Renault Eurocup single-spec era, Hockenheim has only been included on the calendar three times.
• 3 Each time the category has competed at the Hockenheimring, the driver winning both races won the title: Scott Speed (2004), Kevin Korjus (2010) and Max Fewtrell (2018).
• 15 With 15 consecutive finishes in the points, Caio Collet has surpassed last year’s champion Max Fewtrell.
• 21 With 21 meetings since 2000, Germany is among the most visited countries by the Formula Renault Eurocup despite its absence in 2013 and 2015.

Timetable

Friday 4 October 2019


9h50-10h40 Collective tests 1

14h05-14h55 Collective tests 2

Saturday 5 October 2019

9h05-9h25 Qualifying 1

15h35-16h10 Race 1

Sunday 6 October 2019

9h05-9h25 Qualifying 2

15h20-15h55 Race 2