225 replies to this topic

[metz]

With the first European race following a 3 week breather, the Barcelona race will seem like a second start to the season.
Here is some of what we can expect.

Lotus is bringing a massive update, expecting to gain over a second a lap.

Mercedes is lenthening the wheelbase to deal with the weight distribution problem.

McLaren plans to sacrifice some top speed for more traction (downforce).

Ferrari has said that they have found and corrected the engine problem.

Hamilton said he plans to drive smarter not harder.

RedBull want's to convert the qualifying form into race wins.

Key makes his first changes at Sauber.

Most teams are bringing updates.
Which ones look the most promising?

[ButtonJ]

With the first European race following a 3 week breather, the Barcelona race will seem like a second start to the season.
Here is some of what we can expect.

Lotus is bringing a massive update, expecting to gain over a second a lap.

Mercedes is lenthening the wheelbase to deal with the weight distribution problem.

McLaren plans to sacrifice some top speed for more traction (downforce).

Ferrari has said that they have found and corrected the engine problem.

Hamilton said he plans to drive smarter not harder.

RedBull want's to convert the qualifying form into race wins.

Key makes his first changes at Sauber.

Most teams are bringing updates.
Which ones look the most promising?

I think Mecedes will close the gap on the top 3 teams.

[Pharazon]

HRT won't do anything..

expect Virgin to have a bigger fuel tank, and they might finally fix their hydraulic problems

[Fastcake]

Well I never rule out McLaren in bringing in the upgrades, I hope there qualifying pace can improve to challenge for pole.

[BRK]

Whatever happened to Ferrari's trick diffuser? Weren't they planning something grand with hole the size of an A3 sheet? If it's due to be introduced at Barcelona I think they'd have made the biggest step forward of any of the teams. Also waiting on the Merc updates.

[metz]

and at Willams;

Barrichello says he is pleased to see the team is listening to his suggestions, and agrees that both parties are unhappy with the results so far.


Maybe the team should not be listening.

[Sammyosammy]

Im expectin´no dramatic changes, they all do their homeworks.
For example Lotus may be one second quicker but it sure does not mean they are reducing the gap by one second.

Edited by Sammyosammy, 24 April 2010 - 07:08.

[Gareth]

Do we know what tyre compounds will be used? I reckon this will have the biggest influence on the shape of the race. If the tyres lasted as well as they did in Bahrain, expect an even bigger Barca snooze fest than usual. Which will be a shame after the last three edge of the seat races.

[katmen]

Do we know what tyre compounds will be used? I reckon this will have the biggest influence on the shape of the race. If the tyres lasted as well as they did in Bahrain, expect an even bigger Barca snooze fest than usual. Which will be a shame after the last three edge of the seat races.

yes, please bring supersofts and softs lasting only 10 laps and/or raiiiin

[Gareth]

I think the 2 compounds should be supersofts and inters. Even if it's dry

[Disgrace]

Everybody gets updates, hence, status quo is unchanged.

It will be a snoooooze and the old questions of Bahrain will come back to haunt F1 for a few days as a result.

Barcelona is always the same. Always.

[King Six]

This race is going to be utterly terrible


Unless it rains

Edited by King Six, 23 April 2010 - 19:31.

[Owen]

This race is going to be utterly terrible


Unless it rains

Yep. It's not got the best record when it comes to entertaining racing.

[MadYarpen]

my plan is to watch qualy, than strt, than grab some dinner, than check livetiming around pit stop time and watch the ceremony after the race. That would be quite productive in contrast to the borefest we can expect. Unless it rains.

[otoelpiloto]

I might be wrong, but 2010 barna (not barca) gp could not be as boring or tedious as we expect. new rules imply a much demanding usage of tyres and bringing this onto the grid, with such long, overloading turns we can come across some drivers really fighting against themselves just because have been unable to look after the tyres

[Nuvol]

I'll be there and when I am on teh track Schumacher wins.

[Brandz07]

i've already got my pot of paint that i can watch dry. nice colour too.

Edited by Brandz07, 23 April 2010 - 22:14.

[pingu666]

what colour?
might be best to find something else todo while watchin the gp

[alecc]

I'm pretty new to F1, watching races since 2006, and I do remember some moments from every track from some races in the last 3 seasons, only Barcelona seems a little bit meh for me, and I can't remind any remembering worth moment of any race since 2006 in Barcelona.
(maybe the crash of Heikki, but not such type of moments I have on my mind)

[Brandz07]

what colour?
might be best to find something else todo while watchin the gp

white, nobody else seems to pay attention to anything white (lines), so i thought.. might as well

any other suggestions?

Edited by Brandz07, 23 April 2010 - 22:49.

[albertini]

i smell a ferrari´s big step in motmelo: a lot of aero develpments + F duct

[Brandz07]

i smell a ferrari´s big step in motmelo: a lot of aero develpments + F duct

hmm, their f-duct won't have the same impact as the rw80, homologated chassis' sorted that one

Edited by Brandz07, 23 April 2010 - 22:50.

[pingu666]

yeah barcalona is boring :\
i quite like pink

[baggio10]

I'm pretty new to F1, watching races since 2006, and I do remember some moments from every track from some races in the last 3 seasons, only Barcelona seems a little bit meh for me, and I can't remind any remembering worth moment of any race since 2006 in Barcelona.
(maybe the crash of Heikki, but not such type of moments I have on my mind)

I remember a race (maybe 2007) where Coulthard really impressed with a lot of gutsy overtakes but didn't finish the race because of mechanical problems.

[917k]

my plan is to watch qualy, than strt, than grab some dinner, than check livetiming around pit stop time and watch the ceremony after the race. That would be quite productive in contrast to the borefest we can expect. Unless it rains.

Wow, what a fan. Why watch any race if you just want to hate it before it even happens? Every series has tracks that produce poor racing, no diff. here.

[Henrytheeigth]

So who is a fan of that last chicane? I sure am not! Lucky I can still enjoy the previous one in sims with past season mods lol Yea indeed, only rain can save us these days! Ah too bad they had to change the layout...

Edited by Henrytheeigth, 24 April 2010 - 03:50.

[Jazza]

The beauty about this track is that it gives a great indication on where everyone stands. Its the kind of track that only the best cars shine, and probably the only track that everyone knows inside out.

In the past it has given a hint on who the championship challengers will be. Its not uncommon for teams to show up at Melbourne (1st race) and be a second faster then everyone else. This normally shows who got it right over winter. But by Barcelona that gap has either remained or reduced as others get their car sorted out and bring the first wave of major updates.

It may be a boring race, but IMO it is vital in regards to giving fans information on the direction the championship is taking.

(not to mention that because everyone expects a boring race it has the habit of throwing up the occasional surprise.)

[Atreiu]

I'm not holding my breath even though I have no idea how things will pan out. It can go anyway from a straightforward Red Bull 1-2 to a whole mix of things after McLaren finally get their qualifying right.

[robefc]

McLaren plans to sacrifice some top speed for more traction (downforce).

Really? Have you got a link or can you tell me where you heard that?

[robefc]

Everybody gets updates, hence, status quo is unchanged.

It will be a snoooooze and the old questions of Bahrain will come back to haunt F1 for a few days as a result.

Barcelona is always the same. Always.

Surely not all updates give exactly the same advantage in lap time!?
Last year was a good example, mclaren went massively backwards because other teams made a much bigger step whilst macca had been making icnremental upgrades at the fly aways.

[MortenF1]

I remember a race (maybe 2007) where Coulthard really impressed with a lot of gutsy overtakes but didn't finish the race because of mechanical problems.

Sounds like Bahrain 2007. In the latter years he had particularly one memorable Barna-race, where he brought the car home in fourth or fifth even with missing gears in his Red Bull car.

I'm looking forward to this GP, but as I've written before and as most of you say as well; this track needs rain.
...but sadly that's not likely.
Looking forward to see how much the chasers have taken out of Red Bull's advantage.

[Gareth]

The beauty about this track is that it gives a great indication on where everyone stands. Its the kind of track that only the best cars shine, and probably the only track that everyone knows inside out.

In the past it has given a hint on who the championship challengers will be. Its not uncommon for teams to show up at Melbourne (1st race) and be a second faster then everyone else. This normally shows who got it right over winter. But by Barcelona that gap has either remained or reduced as others get their car sorted out and bring the first wave of major updates.

It may be a boring race, but IMO it is vital in regards to giving fans information on the direction the championship is taking.

(not to mention that because everyone expects a boring race it has the habit of throwing up the occasional surprise.)

good post Jazza - have to say, this is the main thing I'm expecting to take from the Barna(? - how come otoelpiloto?) GP. The occasional surprise wouldn't go amiss at all either.

[noikeee]

I might be wrong, but 2010 barna (not barca) gp could not be as boring or tedious as we expect. new rules imply a much demanding usage of tyres and bringing this onto the grid, with such long, overloading turns we can come across some drivers really fighting against themselves just because have been unable to look after the tyres

Makes sense in theory, before you factor in that the tyres in the previous races seemed to last long enough to do the entire trip back from Shanghai to Barcelona.

[MortenF1]

I struggle to think of any surprises from Circuit de Catalunya, apart from Alesi qualifying three tenths off pole in '99, in a Sauber.

[noikeee]

I struggle to think of any surprises from Circuit de Catalunya, apart from Alesi qualifying three tenths off pole in '99, in a Sauber.

Parente winning his debut GP2 race!

That's pretty much the only good memory I have of the place.

[Aren]

good post Jazza - have to say, this is the main thing I'm expecting to take from the Barna(? - how come otoelpiloto?) GP. The occasional surprise wouldn't go amiss at all either.

I'm not otoelpiloto but I know the answer

Barna is the shortname we locals have for Barcelona. I assume the Barca thing comes from FC Barcelona, as it is also known as Barça (note that it's a ç and not a c).

[grunge]

yes, please bring supersofts and softs lasting only 10 laps and/or raiiiin

+1...please abandon the harder compound this weekend.those can last forever.totally takes tyre strategies out of the window.

[domhnall]

So who is a fan of that last chicane? I sure am not! Lucky I can still enjoy the previous one in sims with past season mods lol Yea indeed, only rain can save us these days! Ah too bad they had to change the layout...

It's a ridiculous corner, far too tight to enable anyone to get a run on the guy in front. I don't miss the old corners so much, just wish they'd bothered to come up with a proper solution.

[Hole]

I'm not otoelpiloto but I know the answer

Barna is the shortname we locals have for Barcelona. I assume the Barca thing comes from FC Barcelona, as it is also known as Barça (note that it's a ç and not a c).

Exactly.

Barca/Barça is ONLY a football team. It sounds pretty stupid in Spain to call "barca" to the place of Barcelona.

Anyway, in this case, both Barna and Barca are wrong. This track is NOT in Barcelona city, it's in the province. So It is either Montmeló GP / Spain GP / Circuit de Catalunya GP. Barca GP / Catalunya GP <= wrong.

[BullHead]

Last year's race was better than expected IMO. I think this year will be different again from the (dull) Barcelona norm. I sense a certain 'fire' in the teams / drivers to settle their scores for the 1st European round.

[senna da silva]

Barcelona will be boring, and not because of the cars. Every race in spain is a borefest.

[sportzgal82]

Barcelona will be boring, and not because of the cars. Every race in spain is a borefest.

and spain is the only one?? 90% of the tracks these days need rain or its a borefest

Im sick of banging my head against a brick wall every race so this time I have no expections

Edited by sportzgal82, 25 April 2010 - 23:41.

[Sakae]

It may be a turning point for MGP team, however I do not expect fireworks from them. It may take another one or two races more to settle on an optimal set up. It may be also a day of reconing when they will realise that this season is lost, if the change bombs out.

Edited by Sakae, 26 April 2010 - 01:35.

[J2NH]

I am hoping for very intense qualifying and dreading a boring race. Only saving grace would be rain.

[Clatter]

Ferrari has said that they have found and corrected the engine problem.

Where have you seen this?

I've seen the reports that they have identified the problem, but not fixed it.

[Massacrator]

Exactly.

Barca/Barça is ONLY a football team. It sounds pretty stupid in Spain to call "barca" to the place of Barcelona.

Anyway, in this case, both Barna and Barca are wrong. This track is NOT in Barcelona city, it's in the province. So It is either Montmeló GP / Spain GP / Circuit de Catalunya GP. Barca GP / Catalunya GP <= wrong.

Catalunya GP is right as the track is in Catalunya

it goes like this:

Circuit de catalunya > Montmeló > Vallès oriental > Provincia de Barcelona > Catalunya

Edited by Massacrator, 26 April 2010 - 08:04.

[Massacrator]

Anyway, I see Alonso winning here, Vettel 2nd, Rosberg 3rd, Massa 4th, Hamilton +10

[Little Leaf]

I would love to be proved wrong but I have to agree with these cars and the layout of the track, it will be a snooze-fest.

This race (and Magny Cours when it was on the schedule) are nailed on "record and watch later" events for me, due to the fast forward button.

Again as I said I would love to be proved wrong so let's hope for a deluge 2 laps into the race...

[buzatlas]

Qualifying will say a lot about this year's teams chances at WC's.

The team that will not be up there at the top will lose it's chances (even with a successful upgrade later in the year.

Interesting article about what could be expected:
http://www.f1fanatic...fly-away-races/

[CaptainJackSparrow]

I think the surprise of Barca will be the lack of improvement from MGP, somehow they just don't seem like they have it altogether and creating B-spec cars are usually desperation moves IMO that rarely result in a significantly improved car (in fact it can make it worse!).