Finally, back to civilization...Europe the home of F1, the home of F1 teams, the home of F1 drivers... well most of them anyway. Vettel leading the WDC again..."Aww Mum can I have a go now?... Seb is hogging it" ROUND 5 SPAIN please log in to view this image please log in to view this image TV Links SKY (Live)Streams:http://www.time4tv.com/2012/03/sky-sports-f1.html FirstRow Sports/VIPboxSport/Lemon LIVE ON THE BBC FOR ONCE!!! Schedule: MAY 10TH P1: UK 09:00 LOCAL 10:00 MAY10TH P2: UK 13:00 LOCAL 14:00 MAY 11TH P3: UK 10:00 LOCAL 11:00 MAY 11TH Q: UK 13:00 LOCAL 14:00 MAY 12TH R: UK 13:00 LOCAL 14:00 Former Winners: Schumacher 2003 Schumacher 2004 Raikkonen 2005 Alonso 2006 Massa 2007 Raikkonen 2008 Button 2009 Webber 2010 Vettel 2011 Maldonado 2012 WUT??!! 2013? Most Wins: Michael Schumacher : 6 Ferrari: 11 Last Race Statistics Winner: MALDONADO Pole: MALDONADO 1.22.285 Tyre Allocations: Medium (White)/Hard(er) Other tyres in the season are SSofts/Softs/Inters/Wets please log in to view this image
Prediction Table x2 miggins tomcat606 x1 diresta is faster than u maxwhiplash sportydan tomtom94v2.4(beta) allsaintschris di fredsta drudeboy happyal jackjeffries julius caesar justjazz schneiderlin is the goal king stephen licorish marklarmergerbilfarmer pit lane charlie jonnybaws smithers thistle21 westcoastboogaloo zer0
Just found this on the McLaren site: The Circuit de Catalunya was one of Barcelona’s many building projects during the build-up to the 1992 Olympic Games. It staged the start and finish of the time trial cycling event at the Games, and has been a permanent fixture on the Formula 1 calendar since ’91. The track’s wide variety of corners make it a severe test of man and machine, which is why it’s a favourite test venue for the teams. Two of the three pre-season tests took place at the Circuit de Catalunya and, between them, Jenson and Lewis have already notched up 3,500km around the track this year. http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/2013/Spanish-Grand-Prix/ awkward....
I was going to be a hipster and vote Hamilton because I think Mercedes could have found an update to manage tyres better, and he could cruise it from pole, I went safely with a Vettel win. Fernando and Kimi are outside bets of course.
It's hard to call right now considering we don't know what upgrades teams are bringing except from Mclaren. I voted for Lewis anyway, Hope Mercedes have updated their rear end, especially the suspension and diffuser.
I've gone for the boring and probably safe option of a Vettel victory. I think it will be a Vettel Vs Alonso battle depending on the weather. Lotus should be up there as well picking up any scraps. If McLarens updates work out we should see a battle between them and Mercedes for the mid range points.
Alonso will win this race. Australia - Lost the win because of traffic but SD confirmed after race that quickest car was Alonso's Malaysia - Alonso thought he had the pace to win. Massa's pace equal to Vettel in the second half of the race. China - Dominated Bahrain - Alonso's pace in the second half of the race equal to Vettel despite Alonso fighting in traffic and without DRS The F138 is well-balanced, Alonso loves this track and as long as the updates tested at Idiada work as expected, Ferrari should make a good step forward. I think Red Bull might still have tyre problems - why else would they complain about it after winning the last race? Also the old hard tyre was arguably Ferrari's weakest tyre and arguably Red Bull's strongest.
Provided he has no issues, I have to agree with the above. Alonso's pace has been strong at every race and I can only see mechanical or driver error stopping him from winning.
Would like to see another winner (Hamilton, Webber, Button (assuming their upgrades work)) Failing that, then I'd like to see Alonso or Kimi take the win, nothing against Vettel, just don't want a repeat of 2011. Will vote nearer the time..
I'm tempted to vote Alonso because he will be fired up to stay with the leaders in the title hunt; because he's good at delivering on home soil; because his bad luck must change; and because his car has been the match of the Red Bull so far, Seb's just had the luck on his side. But I'm going to wait and see what develops in the coming days before I vote.
Long range forecasts suggesting there will be rain about during the race weekend. However since this is Europe and 11 odd days away I in no way will believe any forecast until its actually happening.
It its cloudy and not too warm, shouldn't that play into the hands of Mercedes? Ferrari seems to work very well in those conditions too..
Should suit Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus more than it would Red Bull. I wouldn't mind a wet race though.
I'm probably going to be told it was pretty recently but when was the last time the winner overtook someone to win in the closing laps?
