Round 9: European Grand Prix

frostie500

After the excitement of the Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 returns to its heartland with the European Grand Prix from the streets of the Spanish port of Valencia.

This will be the third race hosted by Valencia of a Grand Prix that has moved throughout Europe since its inaugural race in 1983 at Brands Hatch. In 1997, as the final race of the season, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve went to Jerez fighting it out for the world title. During the race Schumacher famously attempted to win the title by turning into Villeneuve, this time though Schumacher came off worst and his Canadian rival finished the race behind the McLarens and took his sole championship. That race also saw future double world champion Mika Hakkinen take his first victory after David Coultard pulled aside for his teammate.

Donnington Park in 1993 saw Ayrton Senna win for McLaren in what has long been called one of the Brazilians best races. In exceptionally wet conditions Senna leapt to the front of the field on the first lap and was not seen again by the field. The conditions were so difficult that Alain Prost stopped on no less than seven occasions. The Nurburgring has played host to the most European Grand Prix with 1984 its first race. The German circuit had to wait until 95 for another race but it was worth the wait with local hero Schumacher taking the win. He had to battle it out with Ferrari’s Jean Alesi after the Frenchman started the race on slick tyres in the wet, the track dried quite quickly and he was best placed and led the race comfortably until three laps from the end when he was passed by Schumacher.

2003 saw then McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen robbed of the win by his only mechanical failure of the year while leading comfortably. The Finn ended up losing the title to Michael Schumacher at the last race of the season and cursing his luck at this race. Raikkonen also missed out on victory in 2005 as a tyre failure on the last lap cost him victory. A regulation of that season was that drivers had to use the same tyre for the duration of the race and as a result Raikkonen felt that he needed to stay on track, the Finn cruised at the front of the field until the failure but was left disconsolate after being so close to another win that was cruelly taken from his crasp.

Neither of the two races at Valencia has provided classics with the first race exceptionally poor. Last year’s edition though was a marked improvement and was won by Rubens Barrichello for Brawn after the Brazilian craftily used fuel strategy to his advantage to beat the then reigning world champion to the flag. Barrichello used this result as a springboard for his title tilt but he had already begun talks with his current team, Williams, that weekend and with the poor performance of the car this will be a very difficult race for the most experienced driver in Formula 1 history.

This is Formula 1’s second visit to Spain this season and Red Bull will be looking to repeat their success of Barcelona where Mark Webber emerged victorious. The Milton Keynes based team though has lost the advantage that it held at that point in the season and the gap to their rivals has shrunk to the point that the team that has dominated qualifying all season do not start the weekend as favourites. The changes that the FIA mandated to the exhaust system of the Red Bull has clearly taken away some of its advantage but McLaren’s rate of development has clearly outpaced the Adrian Newey led technical staff of Red Bull.

This weekend’s race should be illuminating as to how the rest of the season will unfold. Red Bull know that it crucial for them to reassert themselves at the front of the field but McLaren, with a fully optimised ‘f-duct’ system, will be able to run a higher downforce configuration on this street circuit and thus should theoretically have greater grip as a result. The Woking squad struggled for grip on slow speed corners at the start of the season and their recent successes in Turkey and Canada have both been on circuits where top speed can give a significant advantage. If the silver cars are faster than Red Bull this weekend it will have been clear that McLaren has become the pace setters, and that is before their significant upgrade package arrives at Silverstone.

Ferrari bring their own significant upgrade to Valencia and with the performance of the Prancing Horse on low grip circuits such as Bahrain and Canada this season home town favourite Fernando Alonso will be very confident of battling it out at the front of the field. The upgrade of the Ferrari is quite extensive with the use of a Red Bull style exhaust is central to the teams hopes of success. The system sees the exhaust gases exit through the diffuser and significantly improves the available downforce for the driver. The team has also changed its blown rear wing and are confident that the system now will show a much greater performance benefit. The team admitted that it had lost its way with their attempt to copy McLaren’s F-duct and overestimated the benefit of the system, even so it is clear that there are straight line speed advantages of the system so Ferrari know it is imperative to have the system working satisfactory for the remainder of the season.

The Valencia Street Circuit

Utilising roads around the port of Valencia this weekend’s race will be run on the 5.419 km Valencia Street Circuit which features 25 corners. Unlike most street circuits top speed is important here with cars reaching speeds in excess of 320 km p/h on the back straight. As a result of this speed requirement teams with an effective blown rear wing will have an advantage so during practice sessions it should be expected for Red Bull to once more test their version of the system.

The first race held here in 2008 was notable for the fact that it featured no overtaking moves on the track, with only pitstops allowing drivers to overtake one another. Last year’s race featured a tactical battle at the front and was an improvement on the inaugural race but if this year’s edition is to provide excitement it is likely to rest on the performance of the Bridgestone tyres.

Bridgestone will take the same compounds to Valencia that led to such an exciting Canadian race. The Montreal circuit features some similar characteristics to Valencia with low grip surface and a lack of running throughout the season. This could lead to issues arising with tyre life once more this weekend but with high temperature expected it is likely that the chemical makeup of the tyre should be able to operate sufficiently and it would be surprising to see any more than a single pit stop this weekend for the leaders.

Weather for this weekend’s Grand Prix

This weekend should see clear skies and high temperatures with only Saturday expected to see any cloud cover. Temperatures are forecast to be in the region of 30C during the race.

What can we expect from this weekend?

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have led McLaren to the top of both championships in recent races with the Woking based team winning three of the last five races. Hamilton has finished second in both races at Valencia but with the McLaren expected to set the pace this weekend the former title holder knows that there is an opportunity to go one better this weekend. Button was thoroughly outperformed by Hamilton in Canada and knows that this weekend he has to reassert himself in terms of his place within the team otherwise he could face a long summer, especially if the McLaren Silverstone upgrade is more suited to his teammate.

Only a month ago Mark Webber was the form man of Formula 1 after back to back wins. His chances of a victory in Canada were hampered by a pre race gear box change and after clashing with teammate Sebastian Vettel in Turkey the Australian knows that he needs another strong showing this weekend if he is to continue his run of strong performances since the first Spanish race of the season. Vettel knows that the focus of the media is still on the team and the rivalry that has developed between the teams drivers since the Turkey clash and the young German knows that he needs a win to draw a line underneath the clash. He has driven well here in the past, most notably qualifying inside the top eight for Tora Rosso in 2008.

Mercedes are expected to bring an upgrade to Valencia that includes a blown exhaust system and the team know that it is crucial for them to gain some momentum as Renault and Robert Kubica challenge the team for fourth in the title chase. The team struggled in Canada with Michael Schumacher criticised for his driving standards after clashing with both Kubica and former teammate Massa. The German races in Valencia for the first after his hopes of a comeback for Ferrari were scuppered after Massa’s Hungarian crash.

Massa won the first race held at Valencia and will race knowing that he has the comfort of a contract extension. The Brazilian needs to challenge his teammate Alonso this weekend and with the major upgrade expected to bring the red cars to the front of the field the expectation is that the Brazilian could challenge for a podium. This though is dependent on Massa being able to maximise the Bridgestone tyres. He has been unable to do so this season but with the blown diffuser and greater levels of downforce he could challenge at the sharp end.

The past races in Valencia mean that a classic cannot be expected but this season is shaping to be one to be long remembered so hopefully Valencia can provide another thrilling Grand Prix.

amacachi

About bloody time! :pac:

Fancy the McLarens to stretch their legs this week, just hope the tyres are ****e, but the small chance of rain would imply the track should rubber in well over the weekend.

lord lucan

Tyre degradation FTW.

Expecting a procession,hoping for serious tyre wear to shake it up a bit.

cian1500ww

Ferrari's new upgrade seems to be making a difference, hard to tell yet though. Disappointing result from the McLarens.

EvilMonkey

Cant really get excited about this GP, its just something to get over and move on to the proper European circuits.

frostie500

Todays sessions showed that this could actual be an exciting race on Sunday. Alonso and the Red Bulls were all within 0.15 seconds of one another and McLaren should be competitive over the weekend. Hamilton has always gone well here-two seconds a pole last year-so you can write him off.

I think this race could be quite similar to Turkey with a tense, close battle at the front of the field.

lord lucan

Schumi doing his best to go out in Quali 1!!:eek:

Scraped through though,doesn't look comfortable at all.

amacachi

Under a second covering the top 17 in Q1, great stuff.

lord lucan

Would they ever STFU about Schumacher,it's getting boring now.:mad:

amacachi

Feckin kids! :pac:

Pauleta

lord lucan wrote: »

Would they ever STFU about Schumacher,it's getting boring now.:mad:

Exactly he has a problem with the car and suddenly he is washed up. I would love to see Brundle's face if he makes Q3

lord lucan

Pauleta wrote: »

Exactly he has a problem with the car and suddenly he is washed up. I would love to see Brundle's face if he makes Q3

In fairness i was never expecting to see him challenging at the sharp end of the grid this season,was just happy to see him back and hopefully show some flashes of the old magic and pick up some points for Mercedes.

Maybe it's because England are playing Germany tomorrow but they haven't shut up about him since they began quali coverage!

Ghost Train

I think its on the back of a bad race in Canada and half way through the season, even with a technical problem they're going to be talking about him. He needs to be close to Rosberg

Hard track to watch with a lot of the corners looking the same, pit garages look very small when they roll the cars in

Interesting that the hard tires seem to be working well, hope its like Canada where the tires are a real factor in the race

lord lucan

2 Mercs out in quali 2. They look a handful to drive. Quali 3 is looking good,feck all time covering the top 5.

Ghost Train

Think Vettel should be good for pole but Alonso, Hamilton, Kubica all looking strong. Webber or Button, woud be a surprise if they can get ahead

amacachi

The **** happened Kubica there?

Ghost Train

Redbull well ahead at the end, Webber came close

Massa close to Alonso

lord lucan

Hamilton's a lucky guy not to have had his time bettered after his wobble. Disappointed in the Renault. They looked strong earlier but failed to deliver.

lord lucan

Lol @ Coulthard correcting Humphries on the Red Bull teams nationality!:D

EvilMonkey

Couple of teams sandbagging during practice.

GTE

lord lucan wrote: »

In fairness i was never expecting to see him challenging at the sharp end of the grid this season,was just happy to see him back and hopefully show some flashes of the old magic and pick up some points for Mercedes.

Absolutely. Its idiotic to think he could be up there with the front of the field or even with his team mate from the get go. Im surprised the professionals commentating on BBC dont realise that. But we have seen the flashes of the Schumacher we all know and love/hate. There have been instances when you get the feeling if he was in a Red Bull or McLaren he would be rocking it. Maybe not winning everything but seeing him defend in Malaysia and moments like that make me think if he was in a faster car it would be a great sight. I think we can all agree it's tough enough coming back into a sport in the first place, but doing so when the car generally is a bit piggish is a bigger task.

I hope Mercedes can get their act together though. As a whole they are under performing. With a car that is capable of satisfying both drivers it will be good to see. Even if its a end of season resurgence to make things interesting.

Oh now that I remember it, the Ferrari 4th and 5th looks very interesting indeed.

Ghost Train

hope its a good race with some surprises

amacachi

Disastrous start for Webber. Button looking good but he's behind Kubica who weaves like he's working a loom, so that should be fun.
Wonder if the contact tween Hamilton and Vettel did any kind of damage.

Ghost Train

the contact looked heavy enough between the leaders

lucky no suspension damage

BoardsRanger

Had to laugh at Lewis - "Vettel hit me" - ehh no Lewis you drove into the side of him when you forgot the corner was there.

Ghost Train

f*ck hugh crash

Glico Man

Holy crap!! Flipped right over

Mint Sauce

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

that was huge

amacachi

BoardsRanger wrote: »

Had to laugh at Lewis - "Vettel hit me" - ehh no Lewis you drove into the side of him when you forgot the corner was there.

I'd have said Vettel turned in on him, he was half a carlength alongside.

Webber you idiot.

Mint Sauce

O-M-G

just seen the in car footage

lord lucan

Holy crap!!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek:

Mike Litoris

Wasn't a clever move at all. Webbo back to his old self.:rolleyes:

amacachi

Pfft, that was **** all of a crash.


Who the **** is in charge of the safety car deployment? Same **** as earlier in the season.

Schumacher having to wait for the pack to pass, wonder if Alonso jumped the light, seemed to merge into traffic somewhat.

Ghost Train

sauber in third, great

Ghost Train

very like gp2 crash earlier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN9imqzE6Wk

lord lucan

amacachi wrote: »

Pfft, that was **** all of a crash.

Sadly that'll probably be the most exciting thing we see today.:(

inforfun

Ghost Train wrote: »

very like gp2 crash earlier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN9imqzE6Wk

Yes..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijfsnrochqk

Must be the first ad sign (DHL) being taken out in mid air.

amacachi

Alonso giving out about Hamilton for some reason, would like to see the laptimes etc. for when the SC came out. Though it's hard to blame the drivers for making mistakes under the stupid bloody rules.

EDIT: Looks like the tyres aren't working well for Button right now.

BoardsRanger

amacachi wrote: »

I'd have said Vettel turned in on him, he was half a carlength alongside.

Webber you idiot.

Ehh- well if Vettel didnt turn in- he would have went into the barriers.As i said- Hamilton drove into the side of him.

Schumacher have a good drive- plenty of overtaking on a track where not much overtaking happens. Tis a shame he got unlucky with the safety car timing.

amacachi

BoardsRanger wrote: »

Ehh- well if Vettel didnt turn in- he would have went into the barriers.As i said- Hamilton drove into the side of him.

Schumacher have a good drive- plenty of overtaking on a track where not much overtaking happens. Tis a shame he got unlucky with the safety car timing.

Difference of opinion I guess, from the replays it showed it looked to me like there was plenty of space on the "outside" of the corner, really the middle.

mathepac

Does anyone have access to slo-mo in-car footage from Webber's car just before the crash?

There's a whole bunch of "stuff" (plywood under-tray debris, sparks from the gearbox / rear suspension??) shooting out of the back of the Lotus immediately prior to the crash. This seems to slow the Lotus down unexpectedly, hence the reason Webber ran into it.

Ghost Train

drive through for hamilton

amacachi

Absolute stupidity in the rules, had Hamilton not broken the rules (which he did), Vettel could've gained almost a lap. To repeat what I said earlier in the season, whoever is in charge of deploying the SC needs a slap. Also as I said before, the time it takes for penalties to be decided is just daft.

amacachi

Will there be any need for another stop? Kobayashi seems to be handling the hard tyres pretty well 29 laps in.

Ghost Train

sauber helped mclaren a bit there

lol at alonso asking about hamilton

beer bottle not what you want on the circuit

amacachi

Looked like flimsy glass when the marshall picked it up. :pac:

Superbus

"It gives you wings"

mike65

I like the location of the circuit but its not one for close racing, where are the bits that bunch the cars a la Monaco?

EvilMonkey

Webber's crash is the only replay they have.
May as well be watching a giant scalextrics race.

Sauber Kob in 3rd

Nice of the stewards to wait long enough for the penalty to be meaningliss.

Why wasn't the safety car picking up Vettel :rolleyes:

Ghost Train

poor form from backmarkers more than 3 blue flags

glock should be blackflagged

titan18

Really bad for Alonso,Massa and Schumacher.They were really screwed by the safety car.Really unfair