Germany's Nürburgring is decidedly tame by comparison to its intimidating 14 mile, 174 corner predecessor and further changes to the old track came in 2002 when the first turn was re-profiled to cut into the infield and around a new stadium section, slowing the track even more, but yielding another overtaking spot.

The circuit remains a fairly high downforce track that is light on both brakes and tyres. To achieve a competitive lap time here requires all the normal chassis attributes: good traction (particularly out of the hairpins), good chassis balance and stability under braking, and the best possible compromise between downforce and straight-line speed. 

The Nürburgring has the full mixture of slow through to high-speed corners, from the revised first turn, hairpin and chicane, to the double medium-speed 'S' bends and the very high speed 'S' after the hairpin. It also features a lot of undulation change, which is unusual for most modern circuits. As the circuit is situated close to the Eifel Mountains, weather can often play a major role in the outcome of races.

After a productive test at Silverstone last week, the Honda Racing team were left hopeful that they will improve their performance for this event and despite the disappointing end result in Imola, Jenson Button is going into the weekend feeling positive. Of course, the true measure of their competitiveness will only emerge on Sunday."

"We had a positive test at Silverstone this week in which we made good progress and took another step closer to the competition,” said Jenson. “Apart from a podium at the Nürburgring two years ago, I haven't had that much success at this track. It's a very low grip circuit with a lot of corners off-camber so when you arrive into the corner, it's vital to get the correct line. I think we are starting to see our race pace improve relative to our strong qualifying pace and we should feel positive as we head to Germany."