Hockenheim Formula 1 Championship Pictures

About 130'000 people visited this first major race on 26-28 July 2002 after the shortening of the Hockenheim Ring. There is no public transport to the race track, so most everyone came by car. With so many people attending, you can imagine the traffic jam. It was quite a a difference for me seeing the event live compared to TV. Ferrari Fans were in the majority - their conspicuous red clothing made it easy to overlook the other fans. They weren't to be disappointed, with Michael Schumacher winning, Montoya taking second and bro Ralf on third.

This is quite a young fan	Mercedes Transport trucks used to transport the Formula 1 hardware lined up in the parking lot
A lot of people were carrying flags which were waved enthusiastically at the right moment..	It's July, but we've got Santa Claus here...?
The kids who didn't manage to buy the 'official' fan gear took a hand at decorating themselves...	... here's another
A far-eastern Formula 1 fan?	He managed to get a good hairdressing job done
There's no doubt whom the crowd supports	You can buy him in all variations

The front of Pfizer's brilliant Colani-designed truck. Look at the windscreen, the wipers and the shift	The tire maker hat a large booth as well, including an animated 3D movie
Orange-Arrows. Unfortunately both cars dropped out of the race	One of the Jaguars
Michael Schumacher's car was in the Bridgestone stand	A part of Schumacher's car, perfectly polished for the crowd
The steering of one of the Honda cars	Detail on one of the Honda cars
A large crowd of mostly kids was clamouring for Ralf Schumacher's autograph	Ralf Schumacher giving autographs. I was too far away to get one
Some decorated fans. They've opened up the beer early in the day...	Looking at their shirts, I would say they are fans...
Schumacher looking from the back of fan's T-shirt	During the qualifyings, the seats weren't quite full up. They would fill during the main event
The man himself during the qualifyings	Heavy duty TV camera following the action. The guy was so close to the race track that I was r-e-a-l-l-y envious
The 'control tower' of Hockenheim	One of the spectator areas
Before the F1 event commenced, the Porsche Carrera championship took place	Compared to the F1 cars, the Porsche's looked, sounded and speeded very much like normal street cars
Before the race, all the drivers were paraded around the track on this truck. Schumacher's the guy in red waving at the spectators gone wild	Some of the cheering spectators
It's quiet and tense just before the start of the main race. Most people are wearing Ferrari Red. The view is on to the loop of the Sachskurve	Loads of Ferrari Red...
It's not much of a surprise who's in the lead. Meanwhile, the photographers have some huge lenses here	Bro Ralf is second place for a large part of the race but drops off to 3rd at the end due to an additional  pit stop requiring a pressure refill
Look at this: Raikkonen's tire tore free from his wheel bit by bit after a puncture. By now, there's no more rubber tire left on his left rear wheel! He's determined to continue and drives to the pit on bare metal, causing his right front wheel to be lifted off the ground...	... he continues the race after getting a new tire, but loses control of his car a few rounds later in Lap 62 to crash. He could walk from his car unharmed
Well, who won the race..?	... and the fans are ecstatic! The noise from hundreds of these gas-filled horns was deafening!
Everyone liked the event a lot!	The event is over, the crowd heads back to the cars. Traffic jams once again...