My small pocket dictionary says attrition is the “act of rubbing away, to wear down”, and no more suitable word could describe what the German Grand Prix at Hockenheimring did to the Formula One entry.
We knew it was going to be fast, and we knew it was going to be hard on engines, but nobody anticipated that of the twenty-one turbocharged l½-litre cars which started, only two would be healthy at the finish, and two more were lucky to finish. If ever there was a “rubbing away” of a full Grand Prix entry, this was it. Even the non-turbo charged 3½-litre entry suffered, two of the five cars falling by the wayside with engine-related problems.
Gerhard Berger in his Ferrari F1-87.
