A.Wayne

Well gents another race weekend and this time in Spain , the start of the euro leg and what many consider to be the true start of the F1 season .


Weather : autosport.com

Saturday, as the high pressure begins to slip away into the Mediterranean, the guaranteed sunshine will slowly disappear. There will be more cloud around, but conditions at the track should remain dry with sunny periods. Cooler air moving in from the north will peg back the temperatures slightly, with 18 degrees expected. Later, on Saturday evening, the threat of rain will increase for a time, but any rainfall that occurs should be brief and amount to very little.

Sunday, low pressure systems with rain in southern France and also central and northern Spain are expected to stall for a time, giving Montmelo a reasonable chance of staying dry until well after the grand prix.


Press conference : LH, FA, NH, GF.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75099


Practice 1 .. Fri 04:00-05:30
Practice 2 .. Fri 08:00-09:30
Practice 3 .. Sat 05:00-06:00
Qualifying .. Sat 08:00-09:00
The Race .. Sun 08:00-10:00

EST timezone .

Driver standings : http://www.formula1.com/results/driver/2009/




With many Teams introducing new aero Packages , will this weekend be another crap shot or is it all Brawn and Button ?

My belief is a resurgence of the big 3 , Ferrari , Mclaren and Renault , Brawn might still have the edge , but there should be a significant closing of the gap and a continuation of such from here on .

First practice will tell the tale ............................................

Peter Zimmermann

I'd like to think that Ferrari and McLaren have found 0.3 sec, on the competition, with improved aero, but Renault might not be doing that well. Brawn and Red Bull haven't been sitting still, so I think the run for front row might be so close that teams will have to start thinking more about fuel loads for the start. Rain race? Watch out for Mr. Vettel... Hell, watch out for him anyway! Way to soon in his career to call him the next...x, y, or z (or s!), but the boy is seriously good.

I'm just looking forward to Massa finishing/winning a race!

A.Wayne

At this point i would have to assume they all raised there game , of course some more than others . I would lean towards LH at the moment for victory this weekend.

skl

Going for a Button-Vettel front row...

BTW, why is this in the politics sub-forum???

rusnak

McLaren is telling everyone within earshot that they have not improved their car for this weekend's race.

BMW is telling everyone that their car is totally revised and will go faster. It will be interesting to see how much Red Bull improves when they get the diffuser on their car in a few more races. Ferrari need to iron out their KERS and Brawn say they have improved their aero package.

For now, I think Brawn is still faster. RB right behind them.

1AS

Maybe Wayne thinks Finn won't find him here. AS

rusnak

Alexander, we are having a nice discussion about Formula One. Give the acrimony a rest, will ya?

Ray S

New aero on many of the cars. Should be an interesting race, but I really don't care for street courses.

A.Wayne

Because WE ARE FREE FROM THE WEENIES HERE ! to have fun ! no hurt feelings in P& C , free from tickets , blah , blah ,blah too much points ...LOL


LOL Alex , yes the finn still owes me and KR is struggling like Alonso

Ahhh all in fun mate , I guess to the uninitiated it looks that way , but we have been around each other enuff to know most is in jest , i can see some thinking it is a bit frictional , but it is not , so on with the racing ...

In P&C i feel we can discuss without the usual PC crap , so this is a test run ....

Yes there will be improvements from all the teams and i agree at this moment the leader is still Brawn , the gap is narrowing , Brawn will become more dependent on there driver talent to pull out victories and this is when it will switch back to the top drivers , my prediction by Monaco, the challenge will switch back to the usual players , i expect them to be well challenged this weekend by LH and FA and of course Vettel ...

Respect !

rusnak

Oh yes, by Monaco Hamilton will be good to go for race wins.

Massa will either be fast by then or a mental basket case.

Alex and Wayne: my apologies for mis-reading the banter. I like the F1 threads the most in OT because you guys are pretty dang sharp. That guy who made the call on JB and Truli last race sure nailed it.

1AS

Rus,
It's okay. I'm just glad that Wayne's on his game again. Since I have totally misplaced my crystal ball, this season is one continuous surprise. I'm not a Kers fan, so I'm still trying to figure out how this is helping the sport. In the meantime, I'm glad to be reading the observations of enthusiasts. What I'd really like to see is Hamilton and Vettel in equal cars. AS

Peter Zimmermann

It's kinda like gambling in Vegas! With Toyota, Brawn & Red Bull all fast, and McLaren & Ferrari nipping at their heels, a finish order is difficult to guess - yeah!

One thing for sure, mid-pack in Spain is not a great place to be for the start, turn one is a bit difficult!

LH & Vettel in identical cars - hmmmmm...

Any bets that FA qualifies light and tries to get a front row for his hometown fans?

ltc

Not really sure why this thread is in the OT P&C subforum
It is being moved to the Racing/DE forum, which has always been the traditional home for these threads.

multi21

That would be me. Eventhough everyone has changed their car for the start of the European stretch of races, I'm still going with JB and Trulli, but Trulli for the win this Sunday ahead of Button. Toyota had extensive off season testing in Spain, they have the double diffuser and they have an upgrade on the car for this race. If a wet race, Vettel all the way.

A.Wayne

Ok end of the first practice session and it is obvious that driver Didley Squat will win on Sunday


Button tops first practice in Spain

By Matt Beer Friday, May 8th 2009, 09:33 GMT

Jenson Button showed that Brawn will remain hard to beat despite other teams' progress by topping the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix by a comfortable margin.


Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.799 21
2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.154 + 0.355 30
3. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.221 + 0.422 24
4. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.658 + 0.859 14
5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.659 + 0.860 24
6. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.667 + 0.868 26
7. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.753 + 0.954 24
8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:22.828 + 1.029 29
9. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.855 + 1.056 15
10. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.859 + 1.060 24
11. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.873 + 1.074 20
12. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.934 + 1.135 25
13. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.959 + 1.160 24
14. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.077 + 1.278 21
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.088 + 1.289 30
16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.089 + 1.290 25
17. Alonso Renault (B) 1:23.157 + 1.358 18
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.185 + 1.386 31
19. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.522 + 1.723 17
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.536 + 1.737 19

All Timing Unofficial




Williams duo lead second practice

By Matt Beer Friday, May 8th 2009, 13:30 GMT

Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima gave Williams a one-two in the second free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya.

The team held on to its commanding position despite pace-setter Rosberg pulling off the road with a mechanical problem on his final lap of the afternoon.

Local hero Fernando Alonso buoyed the Barcelona crowd with third place, with Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button taking fourth and sixth for Brawn, split by Mark Webber's Red Bull.

Williams led the way for the majority of the session.



Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.588 43
2. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.740 + 0.152 40
3. Alonso Renault (B) 1:21.781 + 0.193 36
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.843 + 0.255 39
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.027 + 0.439 37
6. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.052 + 0.464 35
7. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.082 + 0.494 45
8. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.349 + 0.761 26
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.571 + 0.983 17
10. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.599 + 1.011 40
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.615 + 1.027 30
12. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:22.670 + 1.082 32
13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.809 + 1.221 31
14. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.876 + 1.288 29
15. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.878 + 1.290 35
16. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.948 + 1.360 40
17. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:23.173 + 1.585 39
18. Glock Toyota (B) 1:23.360 + 1.772 46
19. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:23.623 + 2.035 47
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B)

All Timing Unofficial