McNish: 'Ring favours aerodynamics over power.

Renault F1 'third driver' Allan McNish talks about the European Grand Prix, why it is just another 'new track', the importance the 'Ring places on aerodynamics over horsepower and more...

''The first time I went to drive at the Nurburgring I asked James Hunt, who was acting as a driving consultant, for some advice. He spoke for half an hour about the old circuit, but when I pressed him for tips about the new one, he went quiet. ''It's just another new track,'' he said. And in many ways, he's right.

The new Nurburgring can't compete with its near neighbour for sheer history, but there is a flow to it. Most of the corners are reasonably high-speed and even though the new first corner complex - introduced last year - slows it down a lot, it does introduce an overtaking opportunity at the end of the start / finish straight.

''The track is less than an hour's drive from Cologne but it seems much further, more remote, purely because of typography. And the weather conditions are strange too! It can be 25c in Cologne and by the time you get to the Nurburgring, it's on the verge of snowing. The guys at Renault tell me that it's also one of the hardest races to predict the weather, and that can have an effect on tyre choice. You could opt for harder tyres and then discover the next morning that the temperature's dropped considerably.

''The track favours aerodynamics over horsepower, but increasingly it seems to place mechanical grip at a premium too. There are five or six slow corners where getting the power down is really crucial.

''Of course, it's our first race of the year in Germany and with four drivers on the grid, the home crowd certainly produces a great atmosphere. In fact, it can get a little bit riotous when they start letting off the fireworks.''

Allan McNish.

For more on Allan McNish go to his official website - www.allanmcnish.com