The summer break is just around the corner but before we get there we've got one more event to bring this bumper section of calendar to a conclusion. With five races in six weeks, it's no surprise that everyone in F1 is tired and could do with a rest, but there's no chance of that this weekend with the challenge of Hockenheim rearing up ahead of them. There was no German Grand Prix last year, so it's a chance for the German fans to get up close and personal with F1 2016.

Event schedule

There's a new championship leader at the top of the standings in the shape of Lewis Hamilton, who secured victory last weekend in Hungary. Considering what a scrappy weekend it turned out to be thanks to the weather conditions, Mercedes can hold their heads high that they still managed to dominate in style.

Meanwhile, Red Bull improved and McLaren showed better pace than we might have expected. Ricciardo finally got back on the podium last week and will want to repeat that again this time out. Alonso, however, will likely want to improve from seventh place - the position he finished in for every session of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.

There's talk that the track limits and radio communications bans will all be eased, leaving drivers free to talk about and drive whatever and wherever they please. That will probably cause mixed feelings in the paddock, but is probably going to give us as fans a better show. Bring it on!

Support racing for this event includes GP2 Series, GP3 Series and Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Expected conditions

As always, predicting what is going to happen in the skies over the race track is a fool's game but it's always worth having a vague idea of what could happen. Just like last weekend, there's rain forecast for the Friday practice sessions, with things supposed to dry up over the next couple of days. The downpour that delayed qualifying in Hungary, though, came with no warning, so simply put: expect the unexpected.

Circuit history

Hockenheim is supposed to be sharing hosting duties for the German Grand Prix with the Nürburgring, but there was no race last year due to funding issues at the latter circuit. This year, there's been some changes to the Hockenheim kerbing as we have seen at the last few race circuits. There's also been some resurfacing work done, but more interestingly, the walls at turn 13 and 16 have been moved back from the track to make way for a rallycross track.

Pole position can be crucial at this circuit, with the driver starting from the front of the grid going on to win the race about two-thirds of the time. If not pole position, then starting from either the first or the second row is crucial - there's only been one winner at Hockenheim coming from further back.

Six drivers are making their first appearance at Hockenheim in an F1 car this year, with Pascal Wehrlein, Jolyon Palmer and Rio Haryanto continuing their rookie seasons, with Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and Felipe Nasr all missing out last year.

Tyre compounds

The tyre selections this week are very similar to last weekend in Hungary, with mediums, softs and supersofts on offer to the drivers. Most have picked just one set of the white stripes, and leaning their choices more towards the reds instead.

Force India have gone for a slightly different choice, with both Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez choosing three of the harder compounds, sacrificing supersofts for mediums.

Selected tyre sets per driver

Lewis Hamilton	1	4	8
Nico Rosberg	1	4	8
Sebastian Vettel	1	3	9
Kimi Räikkönen	1	3	9
Valtteri Bottas	1	5	7
Felipe Massa	1	5	7
Daniel Ricciardo	1	4	8
Max Verstappen	1	4	8
Nico Hülkenberg	3	4	6
Sergio Pérez	3	4	6
Kevin Magnussen	1	5	7
Jolyon Palmer	1	5	7
Daniil Kvyat	1	4	8
Carlos Sainz	1	4	8
Marcus Ericsson	1	3	9
Felipe Nasr	1	3	9
Fernando Alonso	1	3	9
Jenson Button	1	3	9
Pascal Wehrlein	1	4	8
Rio Haryanto	1	4	8
Romain Grosjean	1	5	7
Esteban Gutiérrez	1	5	7

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race stewards

The FIA stewarding process includes a former F1 driver to offer added insight. These stewards are overseeing the weekend's action.