After the events of the British Grand Prix, it is time for another icon of the sport to take centre stage, and with the chasing pack fast running out of time and races to catch runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel, the likes of Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will pray that the Nurburgring can claim another victim in front of an adoring home crowd.

However, while Alonso’s victory at Silverstone gave a feint ray of hope that Red Bull can be defeated on a regular basis this season, Vettel is still yet to finish outside of the top two in all nine races so far in 2011 – a new record for the impressive German.

While the Nurburgring used to be Michael Schumacher’s stomping ground, Vettel’s dominance this season has prompted comparison’s with the seven times world champion, and the man labelled “the next Schumacher”  could begin his coronation with victory on Sunday, on the track he made his karting debut on.

Vettel managed a second placed finish behind Mark Webber at the Nurburgring back in 2008, but thanks to the rotation between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring, has only been able to compete on the famous track for Red Bull once, and the reigning world champion will be desperate to pick up his first Grand Prix win on home soil.

“Red Bull should benefit most from the reintroduction of blown diffusers and Vettel’s dominance could be reasserted, but that is far from certain given the progress of Ferrari and the unpredictable nature of the race and circuit.”

The fly in the ointment for Vettel and Red Bull for the remainder of the season looks to be Fernando Alonso, and after Ferrari promised even more updates for the next two races, their turnaround from no-hopers to consistent race winners could well be completed.

The Spaniard was able to capitalise on a mistake in the pits by Red Bull after he put Vettel under pressure, just as Button did to take victory at the Canadian Grand Prix last month , and there is a belief amongst the chasing pack that if Vettel is allowed to open an early lead the race is all but over, but if he is asked serious questions by the likes of Alonso, Webber and Hamilton, he is susceptible to crack.

If the main talking point before the British Grand Prix was the banned blown-diffuser system, then there is even more controversy surrounding its use after the FIA opted to revert back to the rules used for the Spanish Grand Prix – namely engine mapping still cannot be changed between qualifying and race day, but the off-throttle hot gasses being used to generate downforce under braking is given the green light.

Red Bull should benefit most from the reintroduction of blown diffusers and Vettel’s dominance could be reasserted, but that is far from certain given the progress of Ferrari and the unpredictable nature of the race and circuit.

The medium and soft tyre will be offer for teams, and with little disparity between the two it will be up to the teams to create the difference with their race strategy.

The Hermann Tilke reconfigured Nurburgring has its fair share of fans along with critics, but when formula 1 races are hosted there drama usually follows, with the 1999 European Grand Prix held there proving to be a perfect example, and with DRS and KERS thrown in to the mix, this one should continue along the same lines as an already spectacular 2011 formula 1 season.

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