At Last! It's here! The race we all look forward to most on the F1 calendar. The thrill-fest that is the Spanish Grand Prix.
Well, maybe we all don't. I think, perhaps, probably very few of us look forward to this race, but Spain is an important market to F1 (?) with two Spanish drivers. And, of course, there is long history of the fans at track side embracing diversity and inclusivity amongst those who line up on the grid. Funny how the object of their "affection" has won 6 of the last 10 races in Spain. However, unless there is some miraculous turn around in the performance of the Mercedes car I suspect Lewis Hamilton will not be adding to that tally this weekend.
Max Verstappen broke his duck at this race in 2016. And, as detailed elsewhere on this Forum, Williams took their last win in 2012. Will that have been their last ever? Williams will be letting Nick de Vries have a run out in FP1, could this be the beginning of the end for Latifi? Red Bull hope not.
The Barcelona circuit doesn't produce great racing partly because the teams spend so much time testing here that they know every inch, inside and out, and setting the cars to their optimum is relatively simple for the top teams. The other problem is that the track layout doesn't lend itself to creating overtaking opportunities.
Rain is unlikely, so we have to pin our hopes on the new formula allowing the cars to get closer to one another. And, of course DRS will allow cars to drift past one another with relative ease. There are two DRS zones, one along the main straight, with the detection just before turn 16, the last corner before the straight. The other will be between turns 9 and 10, with the detection zone half way between turns 8 and 9, on the short straight which runs up to turn 9.
If you're watching on TV here are the UK times.
22 May - Race 14:00 - 16:00
21 May - Qualifying 15:00 - 16:00
21 May - Practice 3 12:00 - 13:00
20 May - Practice 216:00 - 17:00
20 May - Practice 1 13:00 - 14:00
No silly qualifying sprint in Spain. Although the Ferrari in the hands of le Clerc will be there or there abouts, expect nothing less than a Verstappen win. Clearly this Red Bull is very much the best car on the grid, witness the fact that Sergio Perez has taken two second places and a pole thus far this season.
F1.com asks the question "Where is the best place to watch this race?". My answer "on the sofa, about 10 minutes after it has finished with your finger hovering over the FF button".
Don't mind me, I'm just an old curmudgeon. Enjoy.
Well, maybe we all don't. I think, perhaps, probably very few of us look forward to this race, but Spain is an important market to F1 (?) with two Spanish drivers. And, of course, there is long history of the fans at track side embracing diversity and inclusivity amongst those who line up on the grid. Funny how the object of their "affection" has won 6 of the last 10 races in Spain. However, unless there is some miraculous turn around in the performance of the Mercedes car I suspect Lewis Hamilton will not be adding to that tally this weekend.
Max Verstappen broke his duck at this race in 2016. And, as detailed elsewhere on this Forum, Williams took their last win in 2012. Will that have been their last ever? Williams will be letting Nick de Vries have a run out in FP1, could this be the beginning of the end for Latifi? Red Bull hope not.
The Barcelona circuit doesn't produce great racing partly because the teams spend so much time testing here that they know every inch, inside and out, and setting the cars to their optimum is relatively simple for the top teams. The other problem is that the track layout doesn't lend itself to creating overtaking opportunities.
Rain is unlikely, so we have to pin our hopes on the new formula allowing the cars to get closer to one another. And, of course DRS will allow cars to drift past one another with relative ease. There are two DRS zones, one along the main straight, with the detection just before turn 16, the last corner before the straight. The other will be between turns 9 and 10, with the detection zone half way between turns 8 and 9, on the short straight which runs up to turn 9.
If you're watching on TV here are the UK times.
22 May - Race 14:00 - 16:00
21 May - Qualifying 15:00 - 16:00
21 May - Practice 3 12:00 - 13:00
20 May - Practice 216:00 - 17:00
20 May - Practice 1 13:00 - 14:00
No silly qualifying sprint in Spain. Although the Ferrari in the hands of le Clerc will be there or there abouts, expect nothing less than a Verstappen win. Clearly this Red Bull is very much the best car on the grid, witness the fact that Sergio Perez has taken two second places and a pole thus far this season.
F1.com asks the question "Where is the best place to watch this race?". My answer "on the sofa, about 10 minutes after it has finished with your finger hovering over the FF button".
Don't mind me, I'm just an old curmudgeon. Enjoy.
Last edited:
