F1 Paddock Notebook - German GP Thursday

Rounding up all of the additional news and notes on Thursday at Hockenheim, Crash.net F1 Editor Luke Smith brings you his paddock notebook.

- Thursday’s main paddock chatter surrounded Lewis Hamilton following confirmation of his new deal with Mercedes that will see him remain with the team until at least the end of the 2020 season. Hamilton is the third F1 driver to formally confirm his 2019 plans, following Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

- Hamilton revealed on Thursday that he was subject to an approach from one other team, but that there was never any doubt in his mind he would remain with Mercedes: “It's not a new thing this week. It's cool that it's come out. I guess because it's been over a period of time, and I knew it was going to happen, it was just about going through the formalities and putting pen to paper.”

- Hamilton’s confirmation leaves the leading drivers yet to confirm their plans for 2019 as Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen. While Ricciardo and Bottas are widely expected to remain with Red Bull and Mercedes respectively, speculation about Raikkonen leaving Ferrari to make way for Charles Leclerc continues to circulate the paddock.

- Vettel has long praised the partnership he has enjoyed with Raikkonen, but said he was relaxed either way about who may partner him next year. He did however say he saw no need to rush Leclerc’s ascension up the grid.

- Ricciardo had no updates to offer on his future, simply saying that Hamilton’s contract announcement had no bearing on his plans.

- Ricciardo also confirmed Red Bull is likely to take a grid penalty at Hockenheim due to an engine change to give it a boost for Hungary next week. He said the team didn’t want to “risk it for a disco biscuit” at the Hungaroring. “Ideally, we win next weekend, and suck it up here.”

- In other driver market gossip, Lance Stroll said he would be thinking more about his future after the summer break amid speculation he could be bound for Force India. “I would like to see us improve and get to where we want as a team,” he said. “I also want to do what is best for me as a driver. So we will come to all the conclusions at the right time and figure out what is best for the future.”

- Haas team boss Gunther Steiner confirmed he had spoken with both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in order to prevent a repeat of their opening lap clash at Silverstone two weeks ago. When asked if there were rules of engagement between them, Steiner said: “The only rule you can have is don’t do anything stupid, or do nothing that compromises the team.”

- Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen’s incident at the end of the British Grand Prix remained a talking point following the McLaren driver’s tirade over the team radio. Magnussen said he felt his rival would “exaggerate a bit”, but Alonso would not be drawn on the matter: “I read that. I have nothing to say. I am two-times world champion and he’s trying to get some points, so I can’t answer everyone’s comments.”

- Pierre Gasly said he was unchanged in his view the stewards’ decision to penalise him and strip him of P10 at SIlverstone, having called the move “bullshit” on social media after the race. Gasly revealed that when the stewards asked him for his view on the move, he just told them “I enjoyed it”.

- In terms of updates, McLaren, Sauber, Mercedes and Red Bull have all been spotted with new parts for this weekend. Haas has not brought any new parts to Hockenheim, with Steiner saying the team is now almost entirely focused on its 2019 car.

- Reflecting on the opening half of the season, Sergio Perez admitted Force India expected to be further ahead that where it is right now. “We were expecting more up until now, but we’re certainly improving, getting closer to the top of the midfield battle,” he said.

- The drivers in the FIA press conference - Perez, Hulkenberg, Vettel and Brendon Hartley - were asked if they would pay a driver £40m per year (Hamilton’s reported wage). “Yeah, I would hire myself!” joked Perez.

- As reported last week, the FIA published a circuit map on Thursday confirming the addition of a third DRS zone at Hockenheim. There will now be one on the main straight to join the zones from Turn 1 to 2 and on the run to the hairpin. There will be just one detection point for the first two zones, though.

- While the future of the German Grand Prix remains uncertain, this weekend’s race is a sell out, with an additional grandstand being constructed for fans who can buy day tickets on the gate. This will however be the race with the fewest German drivers - only two, Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg - since 2004, when Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld flew the flag. Ralf Schumacher did not race due to injury.

- Vettel won the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in 2013, but has never won at Hockenheim. He said a victory this weekend would “absolutely” mean more than just 25 points: “It’s just half an hour away were I was born and grew up, so the area means a lot to me and it would be great to have a good weekend.”

- Coinciding with his contract announcement, F1 released the latest video in its series called ‘Letter To My Younger Self’, profiling Lewis Hamilton. In it, Hamilton talks about his life in F1 to date, saying he was “screwed” by the FIA over his penalty at Spa in 2008. You can watch it in full here.