Starting all over again
One gets the feeling, going into the next race in Spain this Sunday, that the F1 season is set to start all over again.It will be almost a month since the last race was held and the teams have been carrying out such feverish development that comments...
One gets the feeling, going into the next race in Spain this Sunday, that the F1 season is set to start all over again.
It will be almost a month since the last race was held and the teams have been carrying out such feverish development that comments from the paddock now are similar to what one would have heard in Australia before the first race, something on the lines of: “We are expect to be competitive, but we have to see what the competition has been doing”.
It certainly feels like a new beginning for top teams Ferrari and McLaren. The former’s Kimi Raikkonen now shares the top spot in the drivers’ standings with McLaren’s reigning champion Fernando Alonso and newcomer Lewis Hamilton and McLaren have a slim five-point lead in the constructors’ championship.
By most accounts, Ferrari were the most impressive in last week’s tests in Barcelona. They topped the timesheets in three of the four days, and did so in convincing fashion, notably on Monday when Raikkonen set the top six fastest laps. The red car now sports new rear bodywork including a new engine cover, but the most important aerodynamic change is significantly smaller sidepods.
But what should probably worry the competition most is the body language. Kimi Raikkonen, who does not have a reputation for smiling or saying much, has been raving about the car, even after he crashed with it. He has said that he is more confident than ever before and has spoken of a set-up breakthrough which now enables the Scuderia to get the best of the F2007, which is already the pace-setter.
Team-mate Felipe Massa, who won the last race in Bahrain, has been just as positive, saying lap times could improve by as much as half a second.
"Before the update the F2007 was good enough," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport, "and we could prove it by already winning twice. But this (updated) car is even better. I hope that we can repeat our competitiveness of the test in the next race." Massa will want to win again this Snday to prevent Raikkonen from becoming the Scuderia’s No1 driver.
A big question mark hangs over McLaren. Were they sandbagging in Barcelona? Their times were not impressive yet they too spoke on pushing fast on their development. The team has tested an innovative front wing featuring a new plane right over the nose cone, but results were not dramatic. Indeed initial reports suggested the wing would not make it to the race, but that appeared to change in Q&As issued by the team late last week.
Engine Chief Norbert Haug has described the Barcelona race as “crucial” for the championship, The circuit is such that anyone winning there has a car that is capable of winning on any circuit, he pointed out.
And this is Fernando Alonso’s home race. New stands have been built this year to accommodate his army of fans and nothing but victory will satisfy them. Spain is also home for some of McLaren’s most important sponsors.
"We expect to be in Barcelona with an incredibly competitive package but we are also aware that none of our competitors will have stood still," said McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh.
Perhaps the most significant progress seen in the Barcelona tests came from Red Bull Racing. The potential of the Adrian Newey design became increasingly evident in the first three races of the year, particularly in the way David Coulthard carved his way up to sixth from the back of the grid before a technical glitch at the Bahrain GP. Reliability woes have robbed this young team of any points so far, but the Scot sat a lap record for the reconfigured Barcelona circuit in the last day of testing and team-mate Mark Webber was second to a Ferrari the day before.
The team will debut a seamless gear box for Sunday’s race and should reliability improve, they are likely to be challenging their own engine suppliers Renault and possibly even BMW.
Indeed not much was seen by way of improvement by Renault over the past weeks and driver Giancarlo Fisichella has stated that although the team is heading in the right direction, he does not expect to be any closer to the leading teams on Sunday. Third-placed BMW have also been keeping a low profile.
Honda gave every impression of groping in the dark. Their car sprouted small wings on the nose cone, promptly dubbed Dumbo wings, but they are unlikely to be used in the race.
Honda-powered Japanese outfit Super Aguri tested heavily, underlining their determination to be mid-field contenders, but the tests proved to be a disappointment for Toyota-powered Williams, which started the season with such high hopes. To add insult to injury, Williams suffered two major crashes and had to pack up early. Over at Toyota, Ralph Schumacher has said that the recent tests were a success for the team and he expects to see progress on race-day. So what should be expect on Sunday? It looks like the pekking order has not changed at the front, although Ferrari claim they have built a bigger cushion in terms of speed over McLaren, but there could be changes in mid-field, especially if the Red Bull car finally holds itself together.
What we can look forward to on Sunday is more overtaking than in previous races in Barcelona, thanks to new, slow chicanes.
And then there is the weather. The outlook is mixed and temperatures have changed since the tests were held. A few surprises could be in store.
It will be almost a month since the last race was held and the teams have been carrying out such feverish development that comments from the paddock now are similar to what one would have heard in Australia before the first race, something on the lines of: “We are expect to be competitive, but we have to see what the competition has been doing”.
It certainly feels like a new beginning for top teams Ferrari and McLaren. The former’s Kimi Raikkonen now shares the top spot in the drivers’ standings with McLaren’s reigning champion Fernando Alonso and newcomer Lewis Hamilton and McLaren have a slim five-point lead in the constructors’ championship.
By most accounts, Ferrari were the most impressive in last week’s tests in Barcelona. They topped the timesheets in three of the four days, and did so in convincing fashion, notably on Monday when Raikkonen set the top six fastest laps. The red car now sports new rear bodywork including a new engine cover, but the most important aerodynamic change is significantly smaller sidepods.
But what should probably worry the competition most is the body language. Kimi Raikkonen, who does not have a reputation for smiling or saying much, has been raving about the car, even after he crashed with it. He has said that he is more confident than ever before and has spoken of a set-up breakthrough which now enables the Scuderia to get the best of the F2007, which is already the pace-setter.
Team-mate Felipe Massa, who won the last race in Bahrain, has been just as positive, saying lap times could improve by as much as half a second.
"Before the update the F2007 was good enough," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport, "and we could prove it by already winning twice. But this (updated) car is even better. I hope that we can repeat our competitiveness of the test in the next race." Massa will want to win again this Snday to prevent Raikkonen from becoming the Scuderia’s No1 driver.
A big question mark hangs over McLaren. Were they sandbagging in Barcelona? Their times were not impressive yet they too spoke on pushing fast on their development. The team has tested an innovative front wing featuring a new plane right over the nose cone, but results were not dramatic. Indeed initial reports suggested the wing would not make it to the race, but that appeared to change in Q&As issued by the team late last week.
Engine Chief Norbert Haug has described the Barcelona race as “crucial” for the championship, The circuit is such that anyone winning there has a car that is capable of winning on any circuit, he pointed out.
And this is Fernando Alonso’s home race. New stands have been built this year to accommodate his army of fans and nothing but victory will satisfy them. Spain is also home for some of McLaren’s most important sponsors.
"We expect to be in Barcelona with an incredibly competitive package but we are also aware that none of our competitors will have stood still," said McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh.
Perhaps the most significant progress seen in the Barcelona tests came from Red Bull Racing. The potential of the Adrian Newey design became increasingly evident in the first three races of the year, particularly in the way David Coulthard carved his way up to sixth from the back of the grid before a technical glitch at the Bahrain GP. Reliability woes have robbed this young team of any points so far, but the Scot sat a lap record for the reconfigured Barcelona circuit in the last day of testing and team-mate Mark Webber was second to a Ferrari the day before.
The team will debut a seamless gear box for Sunday’s race and should reliability improve, they are likely to be challenging their own engine suppliers Renault and possibly even BMW.
Indeed not much was seen by way of improvement by Renault over the past weeks and driver Giancarlo Fisichella has stated that although the team is heading in the right direction, he does not expect to be any closer to the leading teams on Sunday. Third-placed BMW have also been keeping a low profile.
Honda gave every impression of groping in the dark. Their car sprouted small wings on the nose cone, promptly dubbed Dumbo wings, but they are unlikely to be used in the race.
Honda-powered Japanese outfit Super Aguri tested heavily, underlining their determination to be mid-field contenders, but the tests proved to be a disappointment for Toyota-powered Williams, which started the season with such high hopes. To add insult to injury, Williams suffered two major crashes and had to pack up early. Over at Toyota, Ralph Schumacher has said that the recent tests were a success for the team and he expects to see progress on race-day. So what should be expect on Sunday? It looks like the pekking order has not changed at the front, although Ferrari claim they have built a bigger cushion in terms of speed over McLaren, but there could be changes in mid-field, especially if the Red Bull car finally holds itself together.
What we can look forward to on Sunday is more overtaking than in previous races in Barcelona, thanks to new, slow chicanes.
And then there is the weather. The outlook is mixed and temperatures have changed since the tests were held. A few surprises could be in store.