Spanish Grand Prix 2013, Barcelona: Preview and weekend times

Welcome back fellow enthusiasts to the usual appointment with the preview of the race weekend. We know that you couldn't wait for this moment to come, because it's exactly time to get serious, now we're starting to get into the heart of the GP. Finally it's almost time, Formula 1 is about to return to the track!

But first let's do a brief summary of what we saw in Bahrain 2 weeks ago.

In the middle of the Bahrain desert we witnessed the second ascent of the top of the Flying German. Sebastian Vettel first fought through gritted teeth, and then dominated the race as only he can do. On the podium, following him we found the two Lotuses of Raikkonen and Grosjean, printing a perfect copy of the 2012 podium. If second place helped Raikkonen stay close to Vettel in the standings, for Grosjean the podium was a real relief against the pressure he was subjected to after the first three races. We also find Di Resta, Hamilton and Perez at the top: the first for having conducted a truly fantastic race with an Indian Force, and the other two for having put on a show on the track (stuff from another era) with wheel-to-wheel duels. Positive note this time also for Pastor Maldonado, who finally finished in a worthy eleventh place after the catastrophic first three races. It should be noted that on this lap the best of the worst teams was Charles Pic, who finished seventeenth in his Caterham.

We find ourselves forced to open an intermediate category between top and flop dedicated to unlucky races. The two Ferraris placed honorably in this section, both hit by unspeakable bad luck. DRS which remains open on Alonso's car (which is very unpleasant), thus forced to make two extra pit stops; wobbly wing for Massa from the start of the race and two tyres, always the right rear, which mysteriously collapsed, also forcing the Brazilian to make unscheduled pits. Result: a massacre: Alonso eighth (who among other things ran without the aid of the mobile wing) and Massa fifteenth. Race marked from the start also for poor Sutil, hit at the start, forced to do a complete lap with a punctured tyre, he recovered and finished thirteenth: strength and courage, it will be for next time.

in flop we find: Mark Webber who finished seventh with a Red Bull (and that's all we'll say), Nico Rosberg, who finished ninth, but in case anyone doesn't remember, he started from pole, and Jenson Button. Well, we really didn't like Jenson's anger towards Perez: races are like that too, between teammates. In the end the Englishman finished tenth, without a shadow of a good showing. Last but not least, we must mention Esteban Gutierrez, who crossed the finish line (although this could already be a result) eighteenth behind a Caterham: looking at the results makes you cry.

The circuit on which the next grand prix will be held is well known Montmelò circuit, located about twenty kilometers north-east of Barcelona. The track was inaugurated in 1991, in anticipation of the Olympic Games the following year and since then it has always hosted the Spanish GP of the Formula 1 championship. The circuit is one of the most appreciated by drivers for its long straights followed by fast corners ( unlike the typical Tilkian hairpin bends). However, it must be mentioned that the races held on this track are anything but fun: it is one of those tracks which, either due to the few overtakings or due to the time of the race, best accommodates a post-lunch nap. In fact, overtaking maneuvers are quite difficult on this track. This track puts the resistance of the tires to the test, both due to the bends to be taken at high speed and the asphalt, which is often dusty and covered with a light layer of sand brought by the wind from the countryside surrounding the circuit. There Pirelli will bring the white medium and orange hard tires to try to cope in the best possible way with the expected high wear: the Milanese supplier has also announced that it has decided together with the teams to modify the hard compound making it similar to the 2012 range, therefore harder, so as to have more gap between white and orange. In any case, the number of pit stops scheduled in the race is anything but low. This track is characterized by a very long main straight, among the longest in the world championship, on which, however, the cars "only" reach a maximum speed of 320km/h: this is due to thehigh aerodynamic load which the drivers find themselves forced to set on their car to tackle the rest of the track, as already mentioned, full of corners to be tackled at high speed, corners in which - precisely - good downforce is the fundamental factor. For example, we are talking about the first 3 corners, which must all be tackled with support, and turns 7, 8, 9 and 16, where excellent traction is needed to zoom at maximum speed on the following straight. Due to all these factors, the Montmelò circuit is the main stage of the pre-season tests that the teams undertake every year around February: the shape of the straights and curves offers a test bed for the competitiveness of the cars. The areas DRS there will once again be 2: one on the main straight and one on the opposite straight, the one that goes from turns 9 to 10. As we saw in Bahrain however, where the mobile wing will really be exploited will be on the longest straight, given that, on the one leading to turn 10 the cars will not reach maximum speed and therefore the advantage will not be decisive for overtaking. The Spanish Grand Prix will be broadcast live by Rai to the delight of fans "free to air". It is the second GP that Rai broadcasts live, as well as the first GP to be held in Europe and in the classic format and at the usual time. In short, everyone is back to normal.

Top 10 best Editions

We have made a choice between 10 Grands Prix to summarize the emotions of Spain as best as possible.

1986 edition: second event of the season, it takes place on the Jerez circuit and involves a total of 72 laps to complete and sees Ayrton Senna (Lotus – Renault) win in the sprint over Nigel Mansell (Williams – Honda) by just 14 thousandths; completing the podium was Alain Prost (McLaren – TAG Porsche) at more than 21 seconds. Many retirements (17) with only eight cars reaching the finish line, including the Italian Teo Fabi who collected points by finishing sixth aboard the Benetton – BMW.

1990 edition: the last race on the Jerez de la Frontera circuit saw the weekend start badly when, during Friday testing, the Northern Irish driver Martin Donnelly crashed into the barriers at high speed and was thrown out of the cockpit, he will only save thanks to a miracle but will have to retire from the world of racing. In Saturday's qualifying, the fastest was Senna with the McLaren – Honda, who however was unable to confirm his performance the following day due to a radiator failure and retired, while the winner was Alain Prost in the Ferrari followed by his teammate Nigel Mansell and by Alessandro Nannini on Benetton – Ford.

1991 edition: first time racing on the Catalunya circuit, there are changes before the race including the role of president of FISA, which passes from Jean-Marie Balestre to Max Mosley while Alessandro Zanardi from Jordan and Gabriele Tarquini from Fondmetal. On Saturday in qualifying the fastest was Gerhard Berger (McLaren – Honda) with 1.18.751 ahead of Mansell and Senna. In the race, the winner was a skilled Mansell who drove excellently on the slippery asphalt, ahead of Alain Prost in the Ferrari and his teammate Riccardo Patrese.

1995 edition: fourth race valid for the championship, takes place in the second weekend of May. Qualifying and race entirely dominated by Michael Schumacher on Benetton – Renault who crossed the finish line alone after 65 laps, while his teammate Johnny Herbert came second with a gap of 52 seconds, third was Gerhard Berger on Ferrari. In this way the German surpasses Damon Hill in the general classification by just one point (24 against the Englishman's 23).

2000 edition: in qualifying Schumacher obtained pole in 1.20.974, second in a row for the Ferrari team after Barrichello's at Silverstone, just 74 thousandths of a second ahead of Mika Häkkinen (McLaren – Mercedes). Unlucky race the following day for the German who overwhelms the refueling attendant at the first stop and at the second has to lose time due to a problem with the fuel filler; He restarted and was 10 seconds behind the Finn but had to give up and finished sixth due to a loss of air in a tyre. In addition to Häkkinen, Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello also took the podium.

2004 edition: Schumacher on Ferrari dominates in qualifying, leading Juan Pablo Montoya on Williams – BMW by more than 6 tenths, while the McLarens of Coulthard and Räikkönen are in great difficulty (10th and 13th respectively). The following day the German crossed the finish line first after 66 laps, starting from pole, followed by teammate Rubens Barrichello, third was an excellent Trulli on Renault who had started well at the start, while his teammate and local idol Fernando came fourth Alonso. However, Montoya retired on lap 46 due to brake problems.

2008 edition: after 8 years a Finn returns to the top step of the podium, it is Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari), who monopolizes the entire weekend of the first race on the European continent of the season, followed by teammate Felipe Massa, third comes Lewis Hamilton which doesn't lose too many points in the fight for the world championship. Alonso retired and his car's engine melted, while what happened to Kovalainen was more significant, as he saw his left suspension give way and crashed off the track at over 200 km/h; fortunately for him there will be no serious consequences but only a great scare.

2010 edition: in Friday testing Paul Di Resta replaces Adrian Sutil at Force India while Christian Klien takes the place of Karun Chandhok at HRT. In Saturday's qualifying, the fastest was Mark Webber (RBR – Renault), the only one to go under one minute and 20 seconds in Q3; he is joined by teammate Sebastian Vettel on the front row. In the race, the following day, the Australian wins ahead of Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) who obtains second place after Lewis Hamilton is forced to retire with just 2 laps to go due to a problem with the left front wheel rim which leads when the rubber bursts; third was Vettel, who stalled the race in the last 10 laps due to some brake problems.

2011 edition: introduction of hard tires by Pirelli, while initially the FIA ​​prohibited the use of "intelligent" maps that regulate exhaust gases, thus promoting the aerodynamics of the single-seaters even during deceleration, and then removed this ban. In qualifying the fastest is Mark Webber who precedes Sebastian Vettel like the previous year. In the race, however, after 66 laps the German crossed the finish line first, Hamilton came second followed by teammate Button (McLaren – Mercedes), Webber was fourth and overtook Alonso in a problematic tire situation.

2012 edition: surprise pole for Pastor Maldonado after the federation discovered that Hamilton had stopped due to lack of fuel after setting the best time, while the team had declared a problem due to "force majeure", alongside the Venezuelan Fernando Alonso leaves. The following day the Williams driver confirmed himself as the fastest again, thus achieving his first career victory and thus becoming the 104th driver capable of such a feat, as well as the first Venezuelan in history; Alonso comes second and Kimi Räikkönen third on Lotus – Renault. This is the first victory for the English manufacturer since the 2004 Brazilian GP won by Juan Pablo Montoya.

Friday May 10

Free Practice 1: 10:00-11:30 (Sky Sport F1 HD – Raisport 1)

Free Practice 2: 14:00-15:30 (Sky Sport F1 HD – Raisport 1)

Saturday May 11

Free Practice 3: 11:00-12:00 (Sky Sport F1 HD – Raisport 1)

Qualifying: 14pm-00pm (Sky Sport F15 HD – Rai 00)

Sunday 12 May

Race: 14pm ̶ 00 laps ̶ 66 km (Sky Sport F307.104 HD – Rai 1)

Distance per lap: 4.655 km

Number of curves: 16

Direction of travel: hours

RECORD

Test lap: 1:19.954 – R Barrichello – Brawn Mercedes - 2009
Race lap: 1:21.670 – K Raikkonen – Ferrari – 2008
Distance: 1h31:36.230 – F Massa – Ferrari – 2007
Driver victories: 6 – M Schumacher
Team victories: 11 – Ferrari
Driver pole: 7 – M Schumacher
Pole team: 13 – Ferrari
Best driver laps: 7 – M Schumacher
Best team laps: 14 – Ferrari
Driver podiums: 12 – M Schumacher
Team podiums: 32 – Ferrari

Hall of Fame

01. 1951 J Fangio – Alfa Romeo
02. 1954 M Hawthorn – Ferrari
03. 1968 G Hill – Lotus Ford
04. 1969 J Stewart – Matra Ford
05. 1970 J Stewart – March Ford
06. 1971 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
07. 1972 E Fittipaldi – Lotus Ford
08. 1973 E Fittipaldi – Lotus Ford
09. 1974 N Lauda – Ferrari
10. 1975 J Mass – McLaren Ford
11. 1976 J Hunt – McLaren Ford
12. 1977 M Andretti – Lotus Ford
13. 1978 M Andretti – Lotus Ford
14. 1979 P Depailler – Ligier Ford
15. 1981 G Villeneuve – Ferrari
16. 1986 At Senna – Lotus Renault
17. 1987 N Mansell – Williams Honda
18. 1988 At Prost – McLaren Honda
19. 1989 At Senna – McLaren Honda
20. 1990 A Prost – Ferrari
21. 1991 N Mansell – Williams Renault
22. ​​1992 N Mansell – Williams Renault
23. 1993 A Prost – Williams Renault
24. 1994 D Hill – Williams Renault
25. 1995 M Schumacher – Benetton Renault
26. 1996 M Schumacher – Ferrari
27. 1997 J Villeneuve – Williams Renault
28. 1998 M Hakkinen – McLaren Mercedes
29. 1999 M Hakkinen – McLaren Mercedes
30. ​​2000 M Hakkinen – McLaren Mercedes
31. 2001 M Schumacher – Ferrari
32. 2002 M Schumacher – Ferrari
33. 2003 M Schumacher – Ferrari
34. 2004 M Schumacher – Ferrari
35. 2005 K Raikkonen – McLaren Mercedes
36. 2006 F Alonso – Renault
37. 2007 F Massa – Ferrari
38. 2008 K Raikkonen – Ferrari
39. 2009 J Button – Brawn Mercedes
40. 2010 M Webber – Red Bull Renault
41. 2011 S Vettel – Red Bull Renault 42. 2012 P Maldonado ̶ Williams Renault

Matteo Bramati, Andrea Villa.