Is there really any point putting up more than 2 options on the poll? We all know which team will dominate, Barcelona has always been a car track, not a driver track.
Cant see past a Mercedes win with Lewis most probably being the favourite. The freeze on the PU development means the homologated designs handed in by the teams pre the F1 season with the W05 being the best of the bunch means the other teams cant react to the advantage Mercedes has power unit wise. The car seems to be on it in any condition and on different types of track and wont be track specific as much as some cars. As for Lewis and Nico, I believe Nico is being advised and believes he can beat Lewis with a cerebral approach which is not a bad strategy but Lewis's up and down career has made him a time served F1 performer, add his natural talent to the equation and Nico is up against a solid competitor who is of a different mindset from the driver of 2011.
Begging for there to be some decent upgrades from McLaren, Ferrari and the chasing pack so we can have it closer at the front because they way Hamilton is going we might not even get a close title fight between the two mercedes drivers.
First time in ages we've raced at Barcelona without any preseason testing there as well? Could help reduce the borefest a little as the teams won't have the setups nailed down as per usual?
True, but it's how it is. I am sure things will change later on this season/wet track/ or next year maybe.
Despite no win Hamilton has always does well here. 3 podiums so far, 2010 would have been 2nd and 2012 would have been 1st.
Renault says there is more to come from its powerunit over the coming races and believes it is possible to get close to 100% by the Canadian Grand Prix. Renault's powerunit started the year with several issues and its customers have struggled to match the Mercedes-powered teams, especially on power-sensitive circuits such as Bahrain and China. It has made progress to allow its teams to run closer to full performance in races, but there is still clearly a deficit to the Mercedes engine oveall. The next two races in Spain and Monaco will not be so power-sensitive, but head of track operations Remi Taffin is not allowing that to distract from the bigger issues. "I would not say optimism [for the change in circuit type], we are still on realism," he said. "It's fair to say that coming into Barcelona or Monaco it's not going to be massively power sensitive, but it is going to be massively energy sensitive. In the race it's always going to be important to have the power unit working right. At least we have three weeks [between the last race in China and Spain] to keep on doing the job, and then maybe ahead of Montreal having something that is very close to 100%. "Overall it is looking promising, but we must not forget that we need the reliability and we are working on that area. It's obvious that we've been among the engine manufacturers that have introduced most of the new components and it's fair to say we need to focus on reliability to get through all the races. It's not only performance that we need, we need also to finish races." Asked if Renault could match Mercedes at any point this year or if it would have to wait for a more considerable overhaul of engine hardware next winter, Taffin added: "It's very difficult to say, because when we get to the point at which we have the same amount of energy around the lap, it's all about having maximum power. How do you compare power? You go into the games of drag level and so on, but one thing we can say is that Mercedes is quicker down the straights and quicker round the lap, so I presume that they have got a better engine than us. "That must be right, but having said that there is more than the V6 and the turbo and the electrical machine to get the most out of the power unit. We can discuss about oil, we can discuss about fuel, so we still have a good work in progress with Total in terms of fuel. Definitely there is more to come." Source: ESPN So Red Bull could struggle in Sector 1
There's quite a lot of aero corners so red bull should be at least second best this weekend. Their top speed issues are partly down to the cars setup. Other renault teams are 10+ kph faster than them
Really interesting Grand Prix in terms of upgrades. Hopeful of seeing a rejuvenated McLaren and Ferrari to go alongside a step up from Williams. That should provide some good battles. Whether they can close the gap on Mercedes depends on how far they move the goalposts or how far they stand still. Lets just hope for some good steps forward in behind and not complete dominance. At least that would give something for the opposition to work with as we continue the steep development race. The thought of Merc upgrading further is terrifying. Hopefully they will be forced to run at full tilt this time!
The 2014 season is effectively "game over" no one is going to catch Mercedes, the engine package advantage they have is simply not going to be matched, not forgetting Hamiltons brilliant exploitation of the Merc of course.
Hamilton has destroyed him, sadly, Nico is a great guy but he's not able to cope with Lewis persistently gaining the advantage no matter what !! Hamilton is absolutely at the top of his game. The question is, "how long can he stay there" a bit like Tiger Woods and his period of domination at golf. He has to fall eventually.
Well it's been a while since Lewis had a mechanical failure so Rosberg shouldn't worry just yet. I don't think Rosberg is totally destroyed yet either, this race is crucial though. If he wins this then his confidence will increase, if he comes second or worse then the alarm bells will certainly be ringing.
I predict a huge, huge step forward from McLaren and them to be chasing the podium. Expect Ferrari to be strong, even Raikkonen to be in the hunt for good points or perhaps a podium if it stays dry. In fact i reckon this race could be fantastic away from the front 2. All the Merc powered teams should be up there with Ferrari and Red Bull fighting for a podium, have a sneaking suspicion Lotus might even get some points in amongst all the scrapping. I also predict one of the Mercs will DNF after colliding with a Red Bull, Gutierrez will do absolutely nothing of note all weekend (apart from maybe get hit by Maldonado, again... or maybe that's his one highlight of the season over), That at least one person will forget Adrian Sutil even exists (Probably his girlfriend...i predict she'll even find Marcus Ericsson more interesting after Max Chilton rejects her advances), That Danill Kvyat will sound like a movie villain in an interview, Vettel and Button will have a competition for who can whinge hardest on the radio mid race, Ron Dennis will challenge Christian Horner to a sword duel in the paddock over the services of Dan Fallows, Maldonado will finish the race with 3 wheels on the car (including the steering wheel), and that Kimi will pull a rabbit out of the hat. He might even outqualify Alonso if his new found magic trick goes well, if it doesn't he'll just practice on making somebody vanish, odds are it'll be a Sauber driver if he does and nobody will notice...
I suspect mercedes will still be a second a lap faster than its closest rival and that Ferrari will make a good step forward along with Red Bull. But Ferrari's step will be enough to challenge Red Bull for the final podium place. McLaren? well I don't know. They seem bent on disappointing their fans..I dont know why. I hope Vettel's new chassis brings him better results. If Susie No.2 doesn't do that for him then he is in for a long season battling in the midfield pack. But I really hope he gets on top of it quickly.
If you don't enjoy this weekends race, there is always DTM and WEC that are on. Being F1 fans we will sit through the whole race anyway hahaha. Just seen three people have voted Hulkenberg, can I have what you are on please? Same with Silver.
