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Mark Gillan, Chief
Operations Engineer:
On the back of a busy Mugello test we are looking forward to the
Barcelona race. As the first race back in Europe this is traditionally
where teams bring large performance update packages so it will be
interesting to gauge the relative qualifying and race performance deltas
this weekend.
Barcelona is obviously a track that all the teams know intimately and
one where track conditions can change significantly throughout the
event. The latest forecast predicts a warm dry Friday and Saturday, with
potential for rain on Sunday. The track layout, with its high average
speed and long corners, is particularly severe on the tyres so tyre
handling will be paramount this weekend. Pirelli are bringing the hard
and soft tyres to Barcelona which is the first time this season that
this particular combination has been used.
Bruno Senna:
Barcelona is one of my favourite tracks and I get a lot of support there
so I am really looking forward to the race. It is a very tough circuit
physically and mentality, with plenty of high speed corners and a
technical last sector which separates the drivers. Lots of cars will
come to Barcelona with new parts so it will be interesting to see who
has progressed.
Pastor Maldonado:
We have done a lot of running here pre-season so hopefully that
experience will help this weekend. It is a very enjoyable circuit to
drive, technical but still quick with turns three and nine a real test.
It is also difficult to set the car up here because there are high,
medium and slow speed corners. We have been working hard since the last
race and hopefully the updates we bring will lead to some good points.
Rémi Taffin, Head of
Renault Sport F1 Track Operations:
We covered over 3,600km in winter testing at Barcelona, so we got plenty
of data for how the engine-chassis package works round this track. This
will help as there are a few challenges in Barcelona. The torque
delivery has to be very accurate to deal with the slower corners in the
third sector, including turn ten and the new chicane, but the engine
also has to give response and drive through the upper end of the rev
range to deal with the high and medium speed bends in the first half of
the track. There are also several undulation changes so the gear shifts
have to be correctly calibrated to give effective acceleration up the
hills. The long pit straight gives an opportunity to release the KERS
energy twice as the counter energy resets which should increase
overtaking possibilities.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli
Motorsport Director:
Barcelona is a track that we are all very familiar with through testing,
and we are bringing the P Zero Silver hard tyre and the P Zero Yellow
soft tyre to the Spanish Grand Prix. These compounds are well-suited to
the heavy demands of this track, where tyre degradation is definitely a
factor due to the significant amount of lateral energy going through the
tyre and an abrasive track surface, as well as relatively high ambient
temperatures. This is particularly notable on the front-left tyre which
does most of the work at this circuit. With one whole step between the
compounds there should be a lot of scope for the teams to come up with
some interesting race strategies.
Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 15:30
Saturday:
Practice 3: 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00
Sunday: Race: 14:00
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