Jump to content


Photo
- - - - -

2022 Spanish Grand Prix: race day


  • Please log in to reply
1861 replies to this topic

#1 Risil

Risil
  • Administrator

  • 61,330 posts
  • Joined: February 07

Posted 22 May 2022 - 10:55

It's Sunday in mid-May, which means it's time to pay a mind-visit to the technical and aerodynamically challenging Circuit de Catalunya for 66 laps of... what? Charles Leclerc pulled the expected unexpected pole position out of the mystery bag yesterday, but Max Verstappen lines up alongside of him with what he believes, or says he believes, is better long-run pace. Combined with the Red Bull's speed in a straight line, this has frequently been a winning combination for the Dutchman. Ferrari's lastest set of updates have made the car more slippery in a straight line. Will this be decisive? Sancho Panza figures Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez line up 3rd and 5th, where they could conceivably be of some help.

 

The other big talking point from the race build-up is the possible emergence of a three-cornered duel to recall the golden years of 1986, 2003 or 2010 as Mercedes finally qualified their cars within the same postcode as the Red Bulls and Ferraris. George Russell is in fourth alongside Sainz, and Lewis Hamilton starts sixth alongside Old Father Time Sergio Perez.

 

Best of the rest? The Ferrari-powered Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen, of course! The out of position klaxon blares for Lando Norris in 11th, and Fernando Alonso in 17th. Keep an eye out for their progress in the race, or otherwise. Aston Martin and Williams (both Mercedes powered? O tempora, o mores!) make up the tail of the field.

 

Tyre strategy? Two stops are generally expected, although watch out for who's feeling confident about the soft compound and how the folks in the midfield deal with their lack of medium tyres, having presumably(?) used them all to make it through qualifying.

 

Oh, and don't forget to complain about the drone cam, AWS statistics, and the silly chicane at the end of the lap, which should all be in evidence, if not lording it over us all, this afternoon.

 

Race gets underway at 3pm local time, which translates to 2pm in the UK and some time in the morning if you are in the US.



Advertisement

#2 Risil

Risil
  • Administrator

  • 61,330 posts
  • Joined: February 07

Posted 22 May 2022 - 10:57

p.s. if anyone has some nice images that F1 tweets out, please post them here!



#3 FLB

FLB
  • Member

  • 29,440 posts
  • Joined: February 01

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:02

I'm geeeting the feeling that any sort of change of position will come from something related to pitting or somebody going off...

 

EIxacVgXUAEDZfD.jpg



#4 FLB

FLB
  • Member

  • 29,440 posts
  • Joined: February 01

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:05

Canal+ F1's Twitter feed says they are 'In the country where Maldonado was crowned'  :lol:

 

(Dans le pays du sacre de Maldonado)

 

 

They'll never let anybody forget it, will they?  :p

 

 

CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) / Twitter


Edited by FLB, 22 May 2022 - 11:06.


#5 SophieB

SophieB
  • RC Forum Host

  • 24,465 posts
  • Joined: July 12

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:09

The Tyres
w1vvcjH.jpg
The Times 
6whxNOb.jpg
 
 
And the starting grid, except it's wrong because Alonso is starting from the back now.
 
a95XPmZ.jpg
 
 
 
 
e.

 

Andrew Benson
@andrewbensonf1
24m

New power-unit for Fernando Alonso. It's his fourth of the year - one more than allowed - in only the sixth race so an automatic grid penalty. He starts his home race from the back



#6 JeePee

JeePee
  • Member

  • 5,907 posts
  • Joined: December 11

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:13

Verstappen also has a pretty new set of softs. Did two turns on them before he aborted his final Q3 attempt.



#7 SophieB

SophieB
  • RC Forum Host

  • 24,465 posts
  • Joined: July 12

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:13

After the DRS issue in qualy yesterday, Red Bull has changed the DRS flap pivot pins and DRS actuator on Verstappen's car under parc ferme. Same spec, so no penalty or anything like that #F1 #SpanishGP
 
 
 
 
 
ANALYSIS — With temperatures of 34–35°C forecast this afternoon, today's Spanish Grand Prix is likely to be one of the hottest, if not the hottest, held at . http://meteomotorsport.com/f1 #F1 | #SpanishGP


#8 Hellenic tifosi

Hellenic tifosi
  • Member

  • 6,564 posts
  • Joined: January 99

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:18

Verstappen also has a pretty new set of softs. Did two turns on them before he aborted his final Q3 attempt.


It depends. If it was the extra Q3 set, then he has to return it.

#9 Goron3

Goron3
  • Member

  • 4,443 posts
  • Joined: April 11

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:18

Looks like it's going to be even hotter than the August race held in 2020.

It does look like the C1 is perhaps a bit too hard which is great news as it encourages more pit stops for the M and S.

Track position is so important here. Could we see drivers start on softs to ensure a clean first lap?

#10 ArchieTech

ArchieTech
  • Member

  • 3,341 posts
  • Joined: May 15

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:43

Sky showing that Verstappen's DRS is still being worked on in the garage



#11 JimmyClark

JimmyClark
  • Member

  • 4,733 posts
  • Joined: July 20

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:51

My weather app is showing 32-34c currently, and will probably only get hotter. Tyres are going to be the key to this race.

#12 Thursday

Thursday
  • Member

  • 1,285 posts
  • Joined: March 16

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:54

Looks like it is going to be a proper hot GP. High tyre deg and multiple stops?

I also wonder if the drivers will suffer from the heat. With the cars being overweight it would be tempting to save a kilo or two by removing the drinks system.



#13 krapmeister

krapmeister
  • Member

  • 11,543 posts
  • Joined: August 08

Posted 22 May 2022 - 11:54

Sky showing that Verstappen's DRS is still being worked on in the garage

 

RBR's DRS setup doesn't half seem flaky in recent times - no other team seems to have as many issues?



#14 Ali_G

Ali_G
  • Member

  • 32,872 posts
  • Joined: August 00

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:01

Really hoping the new cars will up overtaking significantly at the circuit. If any circuit shows an improvement it will be here with all those constant radius corners.

#15 SagemX

SagemX
  • Member

  • 1,261 posts
  • Joined: July 19

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:04

RBR's DRS setup doesn't half seem flaky in recent times - no other team seems to have as many issues?

Probably an area they've tried to save weight on



#16 Risil

Risil
  • Administrator

  • 61,330 posts
  • Joined: February 07

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:05

Gosh there's a lot of build-up show on Sky isn't there



#17 yolo

yolo
  • Member

  • 3,659 posts
  • Joined: March 21

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:06

Looks like it's going to be even hotter than the August race held in 2020.

It does look like the C1 is perhaps a bit too hard which is great news as it encourages more pit stops for the M and S.

Track position is so important here. Could we see drivers start on softs to ensure a clean first lap?

 

If track temps are pushing 50C and overtaking proves challenging, we're probably going to see teams try the C1. Perhaps a 1-stop M-H is feasible?



#18 SamH123

SamH123
  • Member

  • 2,942 posts
  • Joined: September 12

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:07

Someone said the hards are rubbish and Leclerc saved a set of softs, so I'm not sure about that



#19 Thursday

Thursday
  • Member

  • 1,285 posts
  • Joined: March 16

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:08

Gosh there's a lot of build-up show on Sky isn't there

And non of it of any substance, just filler.



Advertisement

#20 ConsiderAndGo

ConsiderAndGo
  • Member

  • 9,683 posts
  • Joined: May 09

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:09

Gosh there's a lot of build-up show on Sky isn't there


There is, and most of it is just awful. Sky need to justify the dedicated channel somehow, I guess.

#21 SagemX

SagemX
  • Member

  • 1,261 posts
  • Joined: July 19

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:09

And non of it of any substance, just filler.

As per usual, I only tend to actually tune it at like 10 minutes to go



#22 Ali_G

Ali_G
  • Member

  • 32,872 posts
  • Joined: August 00

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:12

And non of it of any substance, just filler.


I only saw the Toleman piece earlier. Nothing wrong with it.

#23 ANF

ANF
  • Member

  • 29,055 posts
  • Joined: April 12

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:13

If the pit stop time loss is the same as last year I think it's 22.0s on average, ranging from 20.5s to 24.0s. But with this year's tyres you may need another second to bring the tyres in, so maybe you need a 25s gap if you really want to be on the safe side.



#24 ConsiderAndGo

ConsiderAndGo
  • Member

  • 9,683 posts
  • Joined: May 09

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:15

Omg the fake car noises sky have put over those Mclarens! Nooooo!

#25 FLB

FLB
  • Member

  • 29,440 posts
  • Joined: February 01

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:16

Gosh there's a lot of build-up show on Sky isn't there

It's missing Brian Williams giving the grid and him sending the coverage to 'And now let's join our Formula One announcers, Murray Walker and 1976 World Champion, James Hunt' (roughly three minutes), but starting at 2:22, you'll get an idea of what we had in Canada. Five minutes and the cars were rolling:

 



#26 JimmyClark

JimmyClark
  • Member

  • 4,733 posts
  • Joined: July 20

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:18

I only saw the Toleman piece earlier. Nothing wrong with it.


Yes that was decent. The Alonso piece is also good I thought.

#27 FLB

FLB
  • Member

  • 29,440 posts
  • Joined: February 01

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:19

And non of it of any substance, just filler.

That last segement was essentially a McLaren commercial.



#28 JimmyClark

JimmyClark
  • Member

  • 4,733 posts
  • Joined: July 20

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:25

That last segement was essentially a McLaren commercial.


Yeah I skipped through that one, pretty much as I do with anything involving Rachel Brooks.

#29 RedRabbit

RedRabbit
  • Member

  • 3,179 posts
  • Joined: August 12

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:26

The Tyres
w1vvcjH.jpg
The Times
6whxNOb.jpg


And the starting grid, except it's wrong because Alonso is starting from the back now.

a95XPmZ.jpg




e.



Andrew Benson
@andrewbensonf1
24m

New power-unit for Fernando Alonso. It's his fourth of the year - one more than allowed - in only the sixth race so an automatic grid penalty. He starts his home race from the back


Alonso must have used more PUs/engines just in the hybrid era than any other driver in the history of F1.

He really is wasting his time now, should have rather gone to win some races in Indycar.

#30 TomNokoe

TomNokoe
  • Member

  • 33,502 posts
  • Joined: July 11

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:27

I don't think it's going to be a particularly good race, but maybe an interesting one? Temps are crazy.

Run to T1 as crucial as ever.

#31 pRy

pRy
  • Member

  • 26,169 posts
  • Joined: March 99

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:29

Will be interesting to see if Max sends it again this year. I fear the rest of the r ace may be a bit of a borefest. Hope I'm wrong!



#32 Goron3

Goron3
  • Member

  • 4,443 posts
  • Joined: April 11

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:30

If track temps are pushing 50C and overtaking proves challenging, we're probably going to see teams try the C1. Perhaps a 1-stop M-H is feasible?


The C1s look awful, just like Bahrain, so I'm not too sure about that.

If the cars can follow better then cooling might actually become worse than expected. I fully expect a few DNFs due to overheating brakes or sensors.

#33 MJB5990

MJB5990
  • Member

  • 2,618 posts
  • Joined: May 14

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:31

Leclerc into a headwind at the start could be a sitting duck. Wonder if Max will dive bomb like last year?

#34 SophieB

SophieB
  • RC Forum Host

  • 24,465 posts
  • Joined: July 12

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:31

Alonso must have used more PUs/engines just in the hybrid era than any other driver in the history of F1.

He really is wasting his time now, should have rather gone to win some races in Indycar.

I liked this motorsport.com graphic of Fernando Alonso gazing out from the red circles of doom as Fernando Alonso also gazes upon his own car, critically:

 

3RtKv7Hl.jpg



#35 ANF

ANF
  • Member

  • 29,055 posts
  • Joined: April 12

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:35

I liked this motorsport.com graphic of Fernando Alonso gazing out from the red circles of doom as Fernando Alonso also gazes upon his own car, critically:
 
3RtKv7Hl.jpg

Whaaat? Oh, the sectors are closing in on him as if he's eating every piece of the pie.

#36 jjcale

jjcale
  • Member

  • 16,192 posts
  • Joined: October 09

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:36

CL, GR then LH .... MV breaks down and SP has to slow down in order to see the flag .... Sainz just cant get it together + lack of confidence finishes fourth. 

 

It is written ... 



#37 Thursday

Thursday
  • Member

  • 1,285 posts
  • Joined: March 16

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:39

The most important thing today is a nice clean race with no hold ups or red flags. 

Its the last day of the football season and I have two matches to watch that kick off at 4pm.



#38 yolo

yolo
  • Member

  • 3,659 posts
  • Joined: March 21

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:40

Have they finished the repairs on Max’s car?

#39 JeePee

JeePee
  • Member

  • 5,907 posts
  • Joined: December 11

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:42

Have they finished the repairs on Max’s car?

He arrived at the grid 3 mins ago.

Advertisement

#40 ConsiderAndGo

ConsiderAndGo
  • Member

  • 9,683 posts
  • Joined: May 09

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:45

I’m getting hot just watching the TV. Looks almost unbearable down there!

#41 FLB

FLB
  • Member

  • 29,440 posts
  • Joined: February 01

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:46

I’m getting hot just watching the TV. Looks almost unbearable down there!

I just hope McLaren hasn't kept Danny Ric from a full drinks bottle this time...  :|  :mad:


Edited by FLB, 22 May 2022 - 12:46.


#42 JimmyClark

JimmyClark
  • Member

  • 4,733 posts
  • Joined: July 20

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:46

After all this worry about reliability, this will probably be one of those races with no DNFs.

#43 pRy

pRy
  • Member

  • 26,169 posts
  • Joined: March 99

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:47

Tyres overheating on the lap to the grid says Albon. Yikes. 



#44 FirstnameLastname

FirstnameLastname
  • Member

  • 7,688 posts
  • Joined: April 18

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:47

I remember tenerife a few years back - it was 41 degrees and just horrible. Not enjoyable at all - and that was a holiday :lol: . 35c won’t feel much cooler than that. Can’t imagine it’s great fun sitting out in that all day - and racing round in it with a red hot engine behind you all day will be even worse.

#45 ARTGP

ARTGP
  • Member

  • 29,187 posts
  • Joined: March 19

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:48

Tyres overheating on the lap to the grid says Albon. Yikes.


Nice!

Edited by ARTGP, 22 May 2022 - 12:49.


#46 MJB5990

MJB5990
  • Member

  • 2,618 posts
  • Joined: May 14

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:49

Toto says Merc will aggressive.

I bet he's wrong.

#47 ARTGP

ARTGP
  • Member

  • 29,187 posts
  • Joined: March 19

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:49

Merc have nothing to lose. 1 stopped?

#48 ARTGP

ARTGP
  • Member

  • 29,187 posts
  • Joined: March 19

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:52

Perez lol.

#49 Whatisvalis

Whatisvalis
  • Member

  • 2,201 posts
  • Joined: October 14

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:52

The soft seemed to work well with a number of F2 drivers - could be an interesting strategy race.

#50 yolo

yolo
  • Member

  • 3,659 posts
  • Joined: March 21

Posted 22 May 2022 - 12:53

Toto says Merc will aggressive.

I bet he's wrong.

 

Merc has never ever been aggressive on strategy even when they had nothing to lose. I'll believe when I'll see it.