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After a throng of semi-permanent and street tracks, F1 returns to the familiarity of Barcelona. With upgrades abound throughout the field, whether they be delayed, scheduled, or unproven from Monaco, we should find out this weekend where the grid really stands, before the races start to come thick and fast through the summer months.
It's Round 7 of the 2023 Formula One World Championship!
The Circuit
[image of revised circuit layout]
One upgrade that doesn't need any testing is the layout - the dreaded final chicane has finally been reverted to the high-speed right handers of the original layout. This will see lap-times drop towards 1m10s in qualifying, and should make overtaking easier into turn 1, by account of the cars hitting Vmax much earlier, meaning the DRS is more effective.
The Brief for Barca
Red Bull are looking to make it seven from seven as the RB19 appears to be without weakness atop the competitive order. The sweeps and straights of Montmeló should play beautifully into their infamous aero efficiency, especially after the track tweak. Verstappen has fought off the early Checo challenge and is strong favourite once again. The aforementioned Mexican will want to bounce back after one of his worst weekends ever in Monaco.
Aston Martin arrive to Barcelona buoyant yet bittersweet after seeing an elusive victory slip through their fingers in the Monte Carlo downpour. Alonso's new-found success has reinvigorated his Spanish supporters, as memories of his last grand prix victory echo around the Catalonia circuit. Another podium should be enough to placate the home crowd, but will probably come harder to find than in Miami or Monaco. Stroll's fortunes have bizarrely juxtaposed the recovery from his wrist injury, hopefully a more conventional track will see him return to the points.
There are still several questions of Mercedes as their ImolaMonaco upgrade remains unproven. Barcelona will tell us if they've genuinely made a step in the right direction, but should nonetheless suit them better than probably any circuit we've visited thus far. Don't forget (how could you?) Hamilton's stirring comeback drive 12 months ago. Russell will be glad there's a race so soon after a scrappy and unfulfilled Monaco.
It's Ferrari's turn to take the "season-defining upgrades" mantle as new sidepods and floor adorn the SF23. Despite solid one lap speed all year, it is their race pace that has let them down, which will be laid bare come Sunday afternoon. Leclerc will remember a dominant weekend cut short this time last year. Sainz will hope he can at least battle with his illustrious countryman in the fight for the podium.
Alpine's Principality Podium couldn't have come at a better time after strong words from Laurent Rossi. The French squad have struggled for consistency at the zany street tracks, and will hope the upgrades introduced in Baku and Monaco can now bear fruit as they aim to turn the "top 4" into a top 5.
Similar can be said for McLaren, who rebounded from a disastrous Miami with a respectable enough performance last weekend. Norris' highs of 2021 and 22 seemed to have been tempered somewhat this year, but thankfully Piastri is growing well into his rookie season. Aiming for another two-car points finish.
Elsewhere, Haas will hope a more traditional track helps them keep pace with the midfield leaders. Alfa Romeo are in a similar position to other teams whereby they still need to validate upgrades from previous races, although their pace has taken a mildly positive turn. Alpha Tauri will rue Tsunoda's points-losing brake problems from Monaco, but will be pleased by De Vries overall improvement. Williams early season giant-killing has subsided, but they can still look fondly on their general pace - this time last year they locked out the back row.
Tyres and Weather
Only the second time, after Bahrain, we've had the C1-2-3 combination this season. Last year's race was a majority three-stop, but in very high temperatures. This year's race should be a two-stop, not withstanding the increased loads in the final sector. Tyre pressures +0.5psi fronts and +1.0psi rears versus last year.
Each driver will be given two sets of test tyres to use across FP1 and FP2 in view of the new spec tyre due for Silverstone.
Fri - 24C/75F, dry
Sat - 23C/73F, cloudy, rain?
Sun - 23C/73F, cloudy, rain?
Schedule
BST CEST
FP1 1230 1330
FP2 1600 1700
FP3 1130 1230
Q 1500 1600
R 1400 1500
Formula 2, Formula 3 supporting. Full schedule.
Edited by TomNokoe, 02 June 2023 - 11:30.
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