Spanish Grand Prix 2011, Circuit de Catalunya- Race 5/19

[Glaucus]

Circuit de Catalunya

Friday 20 May
First practice: 0855-1035, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 live sports extra/online
Second practice: 1255-1435, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 live sports extra/online

Saturday 21 May
Third practice: 0955 -1105, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 live sports extra/online
Qualifying: 1215-1415, BBC One/BBC Radio 5 live sports extra/online

Sunday 22 May
Grand Prix live: 1200-1520, BBC One/BBC Radio 5 live/online
F1 forum: 1520-1620, BBC Red Button/online
Highlights: 1900-2000 and 0230-0330, BBC Three


Standings:

Track:

Track Diagram

Track DRS
The Spanish Grand Prix will have one of the longest zones for the Drag Reduction System seen so far.

The circuit’s official Twitter account said the zone where drivers can use DRS during the race will be 830m long. It is expected to be situated on the start/finish straight.

The FIA reduced the length of the DRS zone at the Chinese Grand Prix from 902m to 752m after concerns were raised that it would make overtaking too easy.

Concerns were also raised at the frequency of overtaking in the DRS zone during the Turkish Grand Prix, and the ease with which drivers could overtaking using their adjustable rear wings.

The Circuit de Catalunya has a reputation for being one of the most difficult F1 circuits to overtake on.

Update: The FIA have produced an image showing where DRS can be used during the race.

Drivers will be able to activate it as they cross the start/finish line, providing they are within one second of another car at the detection point between turns 15 and 16:

Circuit information
Lap length 4.655km (2.892 miles)
Race laps 66
Race distance 307.104km (190.826 miles)
Lap record* 1’21.670 (205.192 kph) by Kimi Räikkönen, 2008
Fastest lap 1’19.954 (209.596 kph) by Rubens Barrichello, 2009
Maximum speed (2010) 312.2 kph (193.992 mph) by Felipe Massa, Ferrari
DRS zone (race) Pit straight

Car performance
Full throttle 58%
Power loss 5%
Tyre energy (1-3) 2
Brake energy (1-3) 2
Downforce level High
Gear changes per lap 44
Fuel use per lap 2.4kg

Strategy
Pit lane time loss 21 seconds
2011 prime tyre**: Hard (2010: Hard)
2011 option tyre**: Soft (2010: Soft)

Spain preview - Barcelona thriller on the cards
The Formula Ones teams are gathering in Spain amid excitement that the combination of KERS, DRS and Pirelli’s tyres will provide an unusual level of overtaking at the Montmelo circuit, which in the past has generated low-key races with relatively little passing.

Spain preview quotes - Red Bull, Force India, Virgin & more
With last weekend’s Turkish race hosted at Istanbul Park on the Asian side of the Bosphorous, the European leg of the Formula One season kicks off for real in Barcelona next weekend. The Circuit de Catalunya is a venue the teams know very well from testing, although racing there represents a completely different challenge. The drivers and senior team personnel discuss their prospects…


- Team Preview
Pirelli
Cosworth Not uploaded yet


Red Bull Not uploaded yet
McLaren
Ferrari Not uploaded yet
Mercedes
Renault
Williams
Force India Not uploaded yet
Sauber
Toro Rosso Not uploaded yet
Lotus
Hispania
Virgin Not uploaded yet


Classic F1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/05/fernando_alonso_picks_his_five.html
It is the turn of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to pick his five favourite all-time grands prix in the latest edition of our classic Formula 1 series.

Fernando Alonso's classic F1 - Spanish Grand Prix 2006
Watch short highlights from the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix as Renault's Fernando Alonso becomes the first Spaniard to win the race on home soil.

Fernando Alonso's classic F1 - Korean Grand Prix 2010
Highlights of the Korean Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso takes victory after Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel fail to finish a dramatic rain-affected race.

Fernando Alonso's classic F1 - Japanese Grand Prix 1989
Watch highlights from the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix as Alain Prost wins his third world championship after Ayrton Senna was disqualified after winning at Suzuka.

Fernando Alonso's classic F1 - Japanese Grand Prix 1990
Ayrton Senna clinches the drivers' world title after he and championship rival Alain Prost spin off at the first corner in Suzuka.

Fernando Alonso's classic F1 - Belgian Grand Prix 2000
Watch highlights from the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix as Mika Hakkinen pulls off one of the greatest overtaking manoeuvres in F1 history to win ahead of Michael Schumacher.

Technical Changes - Turkey

Weather Forecast
Practice 1 Fri 10:00
Practice 2 Fri 14:00

Practice 3 Sat 11:00
Qualifying Sat 14:00

Race Sun 14:00

News

• FIA postpone restrictions on exhaust-blown diffusers
  In the round-up: the FIA is to restrict how teams use their exhaust-blown diffusers.
• Red Bull deny breaking testing rules
  Red Bull say they did not break testing rules when Neel Jani drove the RB7 in Spain on Sunday.
• Vettel worries F1 2011 confusing for fans in stands
  Championship leader Sebastian Vettel says his only concern about the 2011 rules is that the races might become impossible to follow for spectators in the grandstands at the track.
• Exhaust limits would affect most teams, say McLaren
  McLaren engineering director Tim Goss says the FIA’s plan to restrict the use of exhaust gases to increase downforce would affect most teams.
• McLaren to reintroduce Istanbul upgrades in Spain
  McLaren will attempt to reintroduce their Turkish Grand Prix upgrade package at Barcelona next week.
• Tim Goss Q&A: Ten or more upgrades for McLaren in Barcelona
  At the last round of the championship in Turkey, McLaren opted to drop some planned upgrades to the MP4-26 for fear they wouldn’t last the weekend. Whilst the decision may have cost drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button the chance of fighting for a place on the podium, it means the British team’s car will be crammed full of new developments at this weekend’s Spanish round. In a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 'Phone-In' session, engineering director Tim Goss revealed what we can expect to see on the silver cars in Barcelona, and discusses the impact of possible new exhaust/engine regulations and the merits of DRS, KERS and the Pirelli tyres..
• Button predicts rapid McLaren response
  Jenson Button is confident McLaren will rebound strongly from their disappointing Turkish Grand Prix and make up ground in the development race before the next race in Barcelona.
• Alonso hoping for trouble-free Friday in Spain
  Fernando Alonso hopes Ferrari avoid the reliability problems that have hit them in the last two race weekends.
• Massa: I can match Alonso's surge
  Felipe Massa is sure he could have demonstrated Ferrari's pace improvement just as effectively as Fernando Alonso had he had a clean race in yesterday's Turkish Grand Prix.
• Renault aiming for better pit stops
  Renault need to improve their pit stops if they are not to squander time gained through car performance upgrades, according to the team’s technical director James Allison.
• Force India stands by Sutil for Spain
  Force India have reacted to the announcement that Eric Lux, the CEO of Genii Capital – which owns the Renault F1 team – intends to press charges of assault and grievous bodily harm against Adrian Sutil over an altercation in a nightclub in Shanghai on April 17.
• Lotus eyeing one second gain from Spain upgrade
  Team Lotus are confident they are poised to move into Formula 1’s midfield for the first time in the forthcoming races thanks to a substantial upgrade package to be introduced at Barcelona.

Driver Chnages


The track and TV coverage starts


FIA Press Conference
FIA Thursday press conference - Spain
Drivers - Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Sergio Perez (Sauber) Mark Webber (Red Bull).


Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes
Red Bull’s Mark Webber may have led his team mate Sebastian Vettel by a country mile during Friday’s opening session, but in the afternoon the situation changed somewhat with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton pushing Vettel down the order to third to run a very close second to Webber. The leading teams and their rivals reflect on their early progress in Barcelona…

FIA Friday press conference - Spain
Senior team personnel: Jose Carabante (HRT), Jean-Francois Caubet (Renault Sport F1), Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari), Mark Gallagher (Cosworth) and Adam Parr (Williams).




Technical changes Spain

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes

FIA Friday press conference - China



Practice 1

Practice One - Webber leads Vettel by a second in Spanish sun
Red Bull's Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel led the way during Friday morning's first, relatively low-key, practice session in Spain, and the margin of their superiority was highlighted by the 1.007s gap between them.

Highlights - Spanish GP first practice
Watch highlights as Red Bull's Mark Webber sets the pace ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel in first practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Iplayer - The Spanish Grand Prix - Practice One
Coverage of the first practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix from Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.

Practice 2

Practice Two - Webber again, but Hamilton splits the Red Bulls
For a while in Spain on Friday afternoon, when Sebastian Vettel was 1.960s ahead of anyone else, rivals feared the worst. But by the end of a second practice session in which the world champion finished third, the gap between Vettel and fastest man Mark Webber was 0.356s. And in between the two Red Bull team mates, a threatening Lewis Hamilton was only 0.039s adrift of the Australian for McLaren.

Highlights - Spanish GP second practice
Watch highlights as Red Bull's Mark Webber goes fastest at the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Iplayer - The Spanish Grand Prix - Practice Two
Coverage of the second practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix from Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.


Practice 3

Final practice - Vettel pips Webber at the post
He sat in the pits for most of the final practice session as team mate Mark Webber set the pace, but right at the end Sebastian Vettel emerged with two and a half minutes to spare to take the honours with a brilliant lap of 1m 21.707s. That was 0.084s faster than the Australian, whose best of 1m 21.791s was 1.350s faster than Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes.

Nick Heidfeld's Renault goes up in flames in Spain
Nick Heidfeld is forced to take evasive action after his Renault catches fire during a flying lap in third free practice ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya.


Qualifying

Qualifying - Webber bests Vettel to take Barcelona pole
Mark Webber aced Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel for the first time in a 2011 qualifying session, to take his first pole position of the season in Spain on Saturday. Vettel’s sole run in Q3 - done without KERS - yielded him a fastest-of-the-weekend 1m 21.181s, undercutting the 1m 21.961s and 1m 21.996s laps of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, but then Webber slipped in his masterpiece - with KERS - to take the top slot with 1m 20.981s.

Highlights - Spanish GP qualifying
Watch highlights as Mark Webber takes pole position ahead of Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel in a scintillating qualifying session at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Spanish Grand Prix - Top three drivers press conference
Red Bull's Mark Webber hopes to replicate last season's Spanish Grand Prix when he won the race from pole, while Lewis Hamilton, starting third on the grid, says it will be difficult for McLaren to challenge the Red Bulls.

Mark Webber's Spanish Grand Prix pole lap
Ride on board with Red Bull's Mark Webber as he sets the fastest time in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Grid

Race

Race - Vettel holds off Hamilton for tense Spanish win
There may not have been as much overtaking as we saw in Turkey, but Lewis Hamilton made it a gripping Barcelona race on Sunday as he hounded Sebastian Vettel from the 20th to the 66th and final lap. The reigning world champion had to work every inch of the way as he took his fourth victory of the season for Red Bull, and the two drivers were separated by a mere 0.6s after more than 300 kilometres of flat-out racing.

Iplayer The Spanish Grand Prix
Jake Humphrey presents coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, with commentary from David Coulthard and Martin Brundle.

Iplayer The Spanish Grand Prix: Forum
Jake Humphrey presents the post-race forum alongside a panel of experts and pundits, discussing the Spanish Grand Prix.

Highlights - Spanish Grand Prix
Watch highlights of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Spanish Grand Prix in 90 seconds
Watch short highlights from the Spanish Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel holds off a late challenge from Lewis Hamilton to win at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Spanish Grand Prix - top three drivers
Winner Sebastian Vettel, second-placed Lewis Hamilton and third-placed Jenson Button reflect on the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.


Standings

 

[Crizzy]

Nice, really looking forward to this one.

 

[howler]

At last a Grand Prix on a weekend where I am not racing too!

 

[Irish_Tom]

Glad you got t'interweb working again AH2.

Glad it's race weekend again. I think it would have been more interesting if the IFA hadn't rescinded the blown diffuser rule but it should still be a good race all the same.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Hopefully will be a good race.

 

[Weebull]

Of all the news in there, I genuinely hope Lotus' is true.

 

[utajoker]

Hope the 10+ upgrades mclaren bring can get them closer to rbr.

 

[Pete19s]

Of all the news in there, I genuinely hope Lotus' is true.

Your not the only one, they had some sort of failure with it during the straight line testing at Duxford but thats hardly surprising given it was its first outing. I'm hoping I made the correct choice in picking the Monaco GP weekend to have off rather than this weekend. Please be a usual borefest!

 

[Tweaker]

I think unlike other cars, the Lotus seems to be a caged animal. They seem to be making the car quicker every race, i think at the end of this season, Lotus will be well into the midfield and might score a point.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Hope the 10+ upgrades mclaren bring can get them closer to rbr.

I hope so too, we don't want RBR to run away with the championship.

 

[deuse]

Nice post as always Acid.

Hope the 10+ upgrades mclaren bring can get them closer to rbr.

Agree

 

[TaKeN]

Great stuff as ever acid

I echo your comments Utajoker, about time McLaren got back to the front!

 

[ins0mn1ac]

Woop woop, just a damn shame my phone doesn't let me stream iPlayer any more, watched most of the euro practises last year at work on the thing

 

[Duke]

Thursday paddock pics - http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/05/19/2011-spanish-grand-prix-thursday-pictures/

 

[Flibster]

Your not the only one, they had some sort of failure with it during the straight line testing at Duxford but thats hardly surprising given it was its first outing. I'm hoping I made the correct choice in picking the Monaco GP weekend to have off rather than this weekend. Please be a usual borefest!

When the bit fell off and they send the spannermonkey up the runway int he land rover?

Looked like a piece of heatshield to me.

 

[Masterdog]

This should be good, the kind of normally-processional race DRS was designed for. Still can't see anything but a red bull victory, but hope it goes to Webber this time Wasn't it about this time last year he started picking up the pace a bit?

 

[sunama]

Isn't this track perfectly suited to the RBR car?

Last year RBR absolutely demolished the opposition here. To remind people, Webber was almost 1s ahead of the next non RBR car, in qualifying.

With regards to McLaren bringing their upgrades - I know that some people are hoping for RBR to be toppled off their pedestal, but if this happens, it is unlikely to happen on this track. If Vettel leads this race on lap1, providing his car doesn't break down, this should be his easiest win so far this season.

 

[JRS]

Last year RBR absolutely demolished the opposition here. To remind people, Webber was almost 1s ahead of the next non RBR car, in qualifying.

And to remind you - they didn't get a 1-2 (Vettel finished third, almost a minute behind Webber), they didn't get the fastest lap (that would be Hamilton), they hardly romped away in the opening stint as was expected, they buggered up Vettel's first stop, and later on Vettel started to lose his brakes and ended up dropping behind Alonso.

To my mind, 'demolishing the opposition' would at least involve finishing 1-2

 

[DBT85]

Read a quote from Button i think saying that the new upgrades make the car look sexy and some were designed with this track in mind. I just hope that they work. I don't even want McLaren to outright beat rbr, i just want them to be close enough to push Vettel and see if he squeaks as we've just not seen it yet.

 

[sunama]

And to remind you - they didn't get a 1-2 ...

And to remind you that Vettel was actually running in 3rd behind Hamilton, before he broke down and limped home in 3rd (getting overtaken by Alonso). He only slipped in to 3rd when his pit crew messed up.

We all know that when Vettel doesn't lead the race on lap1, he gets bogged down and is a shadow of the Vettel which time trials his way to victory. Webber though, demonstrated just how good the RBR was by finishing the race clear of the 2nd place man, by around half a minute.

Had Vettel led on lap1, he certainly would've been right up there finishing alongside/ahead of Webber. It also didn't help that Vettel had to come in to the pits twice (due to car problems), where all his nearest rivals came into the pits once.

Your turn....