2008 Spanish GP - Race 4/18

rpstewart

rpstewart

rpstewart

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Joined
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Back to Europe and the normal Sunday afternoon slot that, with the exception of Canada, will be with us through to the Japanese GP in October. Barcelona is one of those races where not a lot tends to happen, the drivers and teams know this place like the back of their hands so don't expect too many surprises.

That said there were a few new bits floating around at last week's test - Honda's daft nose, Ferrari's hole, Renault's anvil and STR's slightly scuffed new STR3. How many of these we see come Friday is anyone's guess although the STR is unlikely to appear since the new car will mean taking a 5 place grid drop for changing the gearbox, Turkey in a fortnight is race 5 so expect to see it then.

Friday practice : 0900 - 1030 & 1300 - 1430
Saturday practice : 1000 - 1100
Saturday Qualifying : 1300 - 1400, ITV 1210 - 1430
Sunday Race : 1300 - 1500, ITV from 1200. Highlights, 2345 (ITV) & Monday 1800 (ITV4)



Drivers
Code: 
Pos Driver           Nationality   Team              Points 
1  Kimi Raikkonen       Finnish    Ferrari            19
2  Nick Heidfeld        German     BMW                16
3  Lewis Hamilton       British    McLaren-Mercedes   14
4  Robert Kubica	Polish     BMW                14      
5  Heikki Kovelainen    Finnish    McLaren-Mercedes   14
6  Felipe Massa		Brazilian  Ferrari	      10
7  Jarno Trulli         Italian    Toyota             8
8  Nico Rosberg         German     Williams-Toyota    7
9  Fernando Alonso      Spanish    Renault            6
10 Mark Webber          Australian RBR-Renault        4
11 Kazuki Nakajima   	Japanese   Williams-Toyota    3
12 Sebastien Bourdais   Italian    STR-Ferrari        2

Constructors
Code: 
Pos Team              Points    
1  BMW                30        
2  Ferrari            29        
3  McLaren-Mercedes   28       
4  Williams-Toyota    10        
5  Toyota             8
6  Renault            6
7  RBR-Renault        4        
5  STR-Ferrari        2


Calendar
Code: 
01 2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne) 		14 - 16 Mar 
02 2008 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur) 		21 - 23 Mar 
03 2008 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Bahrain) 		04 - 06 Apr 
04 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2008 (Catalunya) 		25 - 27 Apr 
05 2008 FORMULA 1 PETROL OFISI TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul) 		09 - 11 May 
06 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2008 (Monte Carlo) 			22 - 25 May 
07 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2008 (Montreal) 			06 - 08 Jun 
08 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE 2008 (Magny-Cours) 			20 - 22 Jun 
09 2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone) 		04 - 06 Jul 
10 FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2008 (Hockenheim) 	18 - 20 Jul 
11 FORMULA 1 ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2008 (Budapest) 			01 - 03 Aug 
12 2008 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia) 			22 - 24 Aug 
13 2008 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps) 		05 - 07 Sep 
14 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2008 (Monza) 		12 - 14 Sep 
15 2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore) 		26 - 28 Sep 
16 2008 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Fuji Speedway) 	10 - 12 Oct 
17 2008 FORMULA 1 SINOPEC CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai) 		17 - 19 Oct 
18 FORMULA 1 GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2008 (Sao Paulo) 			31 Oct - 02 Nov





If you're interested in seeing what the tracks look like I've updated my Google Earth links and flyovers. Unfortunately it's still not perfect, although Fuji is now high res thanks to the April update but the imagery for Valencia is a fair age so the purpose built bridge isn't visible. To play the flyovers select the flyover folder and press the play button at the bottom of the Places pane.

Some links for Barcelona

Official GP Site
Wikipedia
Circuit details on the official F1 page
 
Toyota dont seem to think so

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=42349

Toyota is confident it will maintain its excellent start to the season in the Spanish Grand Prix.


After two seasons of underperformance, the Japanese giant has burst out of the midfield pack this year and leapfrogged the likes of Renault, Williams and Red Bull to emerge on the tail of the top three.


Although its main rivals are all bringing substantial new developments to Barcelona, Toyota has no concerns about its place in the pecking order and believes its own upgrades will keep it in front of its pursuers.


"For the Spanish Grand Prix we will have a significant new aerodynamic package on the car," said Pascal Vasselon, the head of Toyota's chassis team.

"This is a major upgrade and all the most important aerodynamic devices on the car have been improved.


"We tested the new package at Barcelona last week and the results were in line with our expectations so we should see a performance increase.


Jarno Trulli was similarly upbeat, while warning that Toyota could not afford to get complacent.


"I am not getting carried away because I know we must continue to work hard to stay in this position and hopefully close the gap on the top three teams," he said.


"We had a successful test in Barcelona last week with the new package so we should be in good shape this weekend, but the battle is so close we cannot afford any mistakes.


"I think we have proven we are leading the second group of cars at the moment so we should go to Spain expecting to qualify in the top 10 and finish in the points."
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They seem intent on bringing out some new aero package for Barcelona. Wonder how many other teams will do the same ?
 
olv said:
i doubt anyone would miss them. especially sato!
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I will! I like the Super Aguri mentality. They are quite obvioudly in it for the racing and not the money, which is a nice thing to see. Shame the lack of money means they may not be racing for long....

Anyone been watching the Friday practice sessions live on the ITV website? couple it up with the live timing data from formula1.com and its actually quite a good watch, even without commentaty...
 
I am guesstimating that McLaren are going to drop even further back at this race, possibly a DNF... :( I just don't have a good feeling.
 
NathanE said:
I am guesstimating that McLaren are going to drop even further back at this race, possibly a DNF... :( I just don't have a good feeling.
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Why do you say this NathanE?

Im a through and through Ferrari fan (as if the nick doesn't give it away :D) But one thing I have learned in watching F1 for the last 20 odd years, never underestimate Mclaren, so long as Ron is in the picture.

I have a feeling Mclaren may not perform as bad as everyone suspects. Dont forget the opening race of the season was abysmal for Ferrari and people immediately wrote them off, lets not forget that the first non European races are typically red herrings in recent years, I think Spain will give us a closer indication of what we can expect throughout the year (although Spain is very similar in track configuration to Malaysia).

Anyway lets see :) Hope its more fun Spanish GP this year.
 
frakker said:
Circuit de Catalunya can be a bit of a bore at the best of times. The circuit layout and the amount of testing the teams do at the track hinders the quality of the racing there, so I guess we can look forward to a processional event. Watching both GP2 races, F1 qualifying and race will be like pulling teeth if something exciting doesn't happen in both!

I would place my bets on a Ferrari win this weekend. From what I've seen so far there's really only one car that looks like it will win a Grand Prix: the F2008. So Kimi, Massa, Heikki, Hamilton and the two BMWs behind me thinks.
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Truth.
 
I'm hoping both ferrari's finish and more cars get in between the ferrari's and mclarens. I'm just interested to see Hamiltons mind set when he's not in contention for the title say like Alonso now. I want to see how long it is before he talks about leaving the mothership at mclaren.

Would be nice to see Heikki out pace Hamilton again.
 
Wicksta said:
let's hope that Super Aguri manage to make it here, would be a shame to lose a team.
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The team have confirmed that the cars are on their way to Spain.

In other news - Ferrari not interested in signing Alonso

Some strange points in there - de Montezemolo wanting 2 equal drivers :confused: and Alonso claiming that Toyota were always up there winning stuff....
 
Can't believe Alonso is *still* whinging like a kid. Get over yourself man! You at least have a job!

Contracts aren't always "flexible" at all. You got fired last year for breach of contract. The only team that would take you was Renault.

dannyjo22 said:
I'm hoping both ferrari's finish and more cars get in between the ferrari's and mclarens. I'm just interested to see Hamiltons mind set when he's not in contention for the title say like Alonso now. I want to see how long it is before he talks about leaving the mothership at mclaren.
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Counting your eggs a bit early no? :confused::p
 
That's the problem with testing there so much, everyone's got their setups finely tuned and as a result very rarely does someone take a gamble or get it wrong. So unless the weather plays a part (1996 for example) it's pretty much race as you qualified...
 
/I must not forget to program the DVDR as I will be away this weekend
/I must not forget to program the DVDR as I will be away this weekend
/I must not forget to program the DVDR as I will be away this weekend
/I must not forget to program the DVDR as I will be away this weekend
/I must not forget to program the DVDR as I will be away this weekend
/I must not forget to program the DVDR as I will be away this weekend

Just to double check, the race time of 13:00 - 15:00 is UK time meaning 14:00 - 16:00 Amsterdam time?
 
frakker said:
Alonso would be good at Ferrari. But only if/when Kimi isn't there. Kimi has stated in the past that he couldn't envisage driving in F1 for much longer anyway, so there is still a possibility of Alonso joining them in the future?
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It'd be great if Alonso went to Ferrari as I could then start hating them again. But as you say, it could only happen if Kimi upped sticks and quit F1, which would be a very sad day.

dannyjo22 said:
Just a little, but I can hope ;)

Not holding out for my hope with this race, I went to the spanish Gp almost every year from 97 to 2004 and just about all were dull.
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I admire your perseverance. :D

Personally I don't hold out much hope for a decent race either, and my only real hopes for the weekend are that...

a) Kimi wins.
b) Kovalainen puts some real pressure on Hamilton.
c) Super Aguri actually race.
d) Heidfeld continues to grow his beard.

It'd also be just peachy if Massa were to bin it at some point during the race.
 
While i am hoping it is a nice uncomplicated Ferrari 1-2, it would be nice to see the BMWs keep the pressure on Mclaren and see Heidfeld get 3rd place.

Like you say Dreyfus, i hope the beards continues to grow and they make a point of interviewing him cos of his lisp. Great driver and hope he goes to Ferrari at some point in his career.
 
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