It might not attract the numbers that Silverstone does, but there's a great atmosphere at Hockenheim. Currently there is a sizeable marching band marching along the track, belting out a few tunes to keep the fans entertained.

Image source, Getty Images

Mick's father, Michael Schumacher, holds the record for the most laps led at Hockenheim with an amazing 213.

Behind Schumacher, and the most of any current driver, is Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard is on 117.

Manchester United and England midfielder Michael Carrick has tweeted his support for Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who is in his 100th Grand Prix today.

Image source, Michael Carrick

Carrick attended the Monaco Grand Prix in May and was pictured alongside the Australian.  

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari were expected to be closer to the front this weekend than at Silverstone and Hungary, on a circuit that theoretically should suit their car better. 

But the quickest Ferrari - Kimi Raikkonen - was still 0.8secs off the pace. “The car was behaving pretty OK,” Raikkonen said. “There were no big issues. We’re just not fast overall. We need to put more downforce on the car to go faster.” 

Sebastian Vettel was a further 0.2secs and one place back. “We were not as competitive as we wanted to be. 0.2secs quicker than Force India; no discussion we are normally a lot quicker than that. We did not get everything right and we need to understand why.” 

It was a familiar refrain in what are uncertain times at Ferrari, following the departure of technical director James Allison, a man who many in the paddock feel would have turned things around had he been given time and left alone. 

Image source, Red Bull/Twitter

Primed and ready to pounce if there is a Mercedes slip up is Daniel Ricciardo.

Red Bull have once again looked the main challengers to the Silver Arrows as Ferrari faltered and the Australian lines up third.

"We were a bit closer [on Saturday], so let's see - hopefully it translates into something," said Ricciardo. 

"Even to put a little bit of pressure on them at some point in the race would be nice. But yeah, we'll see." 

BBC Radio 5 Live

Join Jennie Gow with updates from Hockenheim from 12:00 BST. 

Then at 13:00 BST there will be full race commentary from Jack Nicholls, Allan McNish and Tom Clarkson.

So after the various penalties, the grid looks something like this: 

1) Rosberg 2) Hamilton 3) Ricciardo 4) Verstappen 5) Raikkonen 6) Vettel 7) Bottas 8) Hulkenberg 9) Perez 10) Massa 11) Gutierrez 12) Button 13) Alonso 14) Palmer 15) Sainz 16) Magnussen 17) Wehrlein 18) Kvyat 19) Haryanto 20) Grosjean 21) Nasr 22) Ericsson

Three drivers have got grid penalties that will see them drop down a few places in the order.

Carlos Sainz, who qualified 13th, has a three-place penalty after being deemed to have impeded Williams' Felipe Massa unfairly in qualifying.

Romain Grosjean has been penalised for a gearbox change so drops five places from 15th. 

Nico Hulkenberg drops one place for a technical breach regarding tyres used in qualifying. 

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Hockenheim

Image source, Get

The track layout here at the German Grand Prix was updated and modernised in 2002 - much to the regret of many who enjoyed the spooky atmosphere of the old, long, flat-out blasts through the forests. But much of the rest of the Hockenheim experience feels decidedly old school. The buildings and facilities have a distinct retro feel to them. There is even a sticker of the helmet of Hans Heyer, a sportscar and touring car driver of some note in the 1970s and ‘80s, on one of the toilet doors just outside the paddock. And there was a decent-sized traffic jam on the way to the track this morning to add authenticity. That, though, is a good sign, all in all. 

The organisers need an attendance of 60,000 to break even and while the old concrete stadium is not exactly full, that looks do-able. Which is encouraging for the future of one of Formula 1’s oldest grands prix.

Image source, Getty Images

Allan McNish went for a pre-race wander this morning. Anyone want to have a guess as to where he is?

Allan McNish: One for the oldies amongst us. Where is this picture from? One clue....#hockenheimring

Safety is the subject of our vote this morning. We're asking: What driver cockpit protection should be introduced?

You've got until 12:30 BST to cast your vote, so crack on!

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Hockenheim

The decision not to introduce the ‘halo’ head protection system remains a central topic of debate this weekend. Lewis Hamilton said on Saturday that he did not understand why it had been delayed and said he hoped there was not an incident in 2017 that would cause F1 bosses to regret their decision Alexander Wurz, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chairman, told 5 live Sportsweek on Sunday shares Hamilton’s views.

“The safety experts have developed the halo since 2009, so it’s one of the most developed safety devices in the history of Formula 1,” the Austrian told Sportsweek. “We are proud that F1 has always tried to improve its safety record. Halo would have been one of these steps, but the strategy group decided to make a U-turn and that is surprising to us drivers. Drivers lives - by probability - are at risk because we are driving at high speeds but that's not something drivers are shy of. Let's not forget it wasn't the drivers asking for this, it has been a continuous quest of F1 to improve safety. It's something that the industry can be proud of post-Senna. The head is still the most exposed and risky part in the whole chain of potential injuries, and we have seen head injuries - fatal injuries - recently in F1 and other racing series. 

“We trust the safety experts to an extent. The halo is not the most aesthetically pleasing device, but the FIA, Bernie's people and Jean Todt's people, asked us to have an open mind about it. After numerous presentations drivers had come around to it. In the same way that in the old days they have come round to using helmets, seatbelts and introducing higher neck protection. It was them who told us it was the best thing to do, but yet they've made this quick turnaround from their position a week ago, because it was a ready-to-race solution. Maybe they have much better data than they did a week ago. We respect the decision of the rule makers and the stakeholders.”

Image source, Getty Images

It took Lewis Hamilton 11 races to do it, but the Briton chomped down Nico Rosberg's lead to start today's race six points clear at the top of the standings.

Will he ensure he keeps his nose in front heading into the summer break?

Outwardly, Hamilton is playing down the importance of victory, saying: "Of course, every race you approach to win, but it will still be all right if we aren't leading after this one. We'll be close enough to fight through to the end of the season."

However, on a circuit that is much easier to overtake than at the Hungarian GP last-time out, he will surely fancy his chances.