Red Bull drivers lock horns and show teams frailties

The Turkish Grand Prix illustrated one of the greatest challenges in motorsport: what should a team do when they have two drivers challenging for race wins and the world championship.

Prior to this weekend Red Bull had enjoyed superiority over all its rivals and had showed itself to be considerably faster on various types of tracks. In Turkey though McLaren showed they are developing their car as well as anyone and challenged throughout the weekend.

During the race the cars of both teams pulled away from the field and lapped comfortably quicker than the opposition until the incident that became the main talking point of the race with the leading Red Bull’s clashing as they battled for the lead.

Who was to blame for the clash between the Red Bulls?

Sebastian Vettel was in second at the time and had been lapping faster than Mark Webber and tried to make his move for the lead down the back straight into a tight hairpin. Vettel used all the track, with Webber giving his teammate a cars width, but still Vettel tried to push across the road and creat more space for himself. He closed on Webber who would not budge from his line, the Australian was racing hard but fair as Vettel still had enough room to attempt to make the move.

It was at this point that they clashed, Vettel coming off worse and retiring. Webber eventually finished in third but as the Australian took to the podium and the after race press conferences it was clear who he felt was to blame.

Vettel has clearly been under pressure and sought to show his team that he was still their best hope for the title but by causing this accident it will be interesting to see what way the team starts developing the car from this point forward. Webber has clearly gained the upper hand in the last number of races but this incident could lead to momentum shifting further from Vettel’s side of the garage.

McLaren though were not faultless as far as the spectrum of allowing their drivers to race throughout a Grand Prix. As the race drew to a close and light rain began to fall Jenson Button closed dramatically on his teammate Lewis Hamilton and passed his teammate. Ironically this move occurred at the same corner where Red Bull’s hopes for winning were dashed.

The move by Button was a clean overtaking manoeuvre but into the first turn Hamilton retook the lead. On a greasy race track it is very easy to snatch a brake and slide wide; as it was the McLaren’s did contact slightly with one another but managed to get away without damage. It would have very easy for both McLaren drivers’ races to end at that point and for the team not to take advantage of the mistakes made by Red Bull.

Teams need to look at the larger picture and ensure wins

Team principals need to make the decision as to when to allow drivers to race and when to make sure they hold station and bring home points. By allowing its drivers to race hard throughout Red Bull cost itself the chance of maximum points. It will be interesting to see if the team allow such a situation to occur again in future.

Team orders are officially banned in Formula 1 after incidents in the past saw drivers hand victories to their teammates. At present, teams need to be creative in how to inform their drivers of how they are expected to race. McLaren showed how this charade has to occur by radioing orders for their drivers to slow down and hold station by saying they were short on fuel. This though only occurred after their drivers near miss.

Winning a world title is exceptionally difficult but it is even more challenging when you create avoidable issues for yourself. Obviously for fans it is exciting to see incidents like the Red Bull clash but the team needs to recognise that the most important thing is to win the title. In the past teams have allowed their drivers to race until after the pit stops and then the drivers hold station until the flag. This may not be as exciting as a hard fought race but for a team the only thing that matters should be winning races and winning the title.

Island braces itself for an invasion

The two week festival that is the Isle of Man TT begins on Saturday with the opening practice sessions.

The races on the Manx island are time trailed with riders setting off at intervals and racing against the clock. 

This is the 91^st running of what has become the most respected road race of them all. Taking place on closed roads throughout the island, the course measures 37.7 miles and is one of the greatest challenges any rider will ever face. The course runs from the capital Douglas westwards towards Peel before heading north to Ramsey and then heads back to Douglas once more. It is from Ramsey to Douglas that riders tackle what is simply one of the most spectacular stretches of road anywhere in the world-the mountain.

The Mountain circuit is an unbelievable challenge for any rider and one of the toughest circuits on the planet. It is not only the sheer length of the track that causes difficulty, there is changes in altitude to take into account; at its highest point riders are 1400 feet above sea level and reach speeds of upwards of 200 mph. The engine runs easier at this altitude and in the past two-stroke riders needed to change the engine mixture to account for the atmospheric changes. The main difficulty faced by riders is the street furniture such as signposts, telegraph poles, manhole covers, roadside curbs and any number of other obstacles. Even with all of these challenges the lap record is currently held by John McGuiness at an average speed of over 130 mph.

While the TT has maintained its position as the “road racing capital of the world” it lost its position as the British Grand Prix in the mid seventies as riders eventually tired of facing such immense dangers. 15 times world champion Giacomo Agostini declared in 1972 that he would never race on the island again after seeing numerous competitors killed riding at the track. This was to prove a death keel for the race as a full grand prix event but unbelievably the two week festival of speed is as big as ever.

The Irish have always gone well on the island and there are many riders who will look to emulate some of their forerunners as winners of a TT. The main interest surround three former winners of races on the island with Ryan Farquhar expected to challenge for honours on his Kawasaki. The 34 year old Dungannon man has been in sparkling form over the last year and will look to add to the two races wins on the island that he has already achieved. Last season he won an incredible 61 races but was unable to convert that form into success at the TT. His best results were 6^th and 7^th last year, but two years ago he showed his true colours with top sixes in all races. This year, riding for his own team, he expects to be at the front in all five races.

Adrian Archibald may be one of the elder statesmen of Irish road racing but the 40 year old has three wins on the mountain course and last year went faster than any Irishman in history lapping at 129 mph. He once more rides for his own team and while a win may be expecting too much from him, he will look to add to his previous haul of eight podiums.

Dunlop is a name that reverberates around the roads of the Isle of Man and this year there is expectancy of the Dunlop family adding more wins to their account. Michael and William, sons of fives time winner Robert, are expected to add yet more victories. The younger of the Ballymoney brothers, Michael, already has his name etched onto the winner’s trophies after winning a Supersport race last year. Amazingly this was the only race he finished as mechanical problems ended his other four races. Michael emerges fresh from a convincing North West 200 where he added impressive performances in the premier class of Superbikes to his already burgeoning reputation on the smaller classes of machinery.

William may be elder of the Dunlop brothers but the 24 year old has been left in the shadow cast by his sibling. Last year marked his return to the island after a two year absence and he defined it with consistent performances as he put his ever increasing confidence and experience to good use, finishing a career high ninth in the Supersport race. This year he will feel that if conditions are favourable a podium could be on the cards. With the family reputation forged by their father and uncle Joey the weight of expectation on their shoulders is immense, but both riders are growing in confidence and now are looked upon as true contenders in races due to their own talents.

Englishman John McGuiness has made the Mountain his own and will start the festival as favourite. Fresh from a win at the North West the Honda rider will be looking to add to his 15 TT wins as he chases down Joey Dunlop’s record of 26 victories. He is sure to be a contender but the expectation is that he will have a greater challenge than ever this season with the likes of local man Connor Cummins and past winners Ian Hutchinson and Bruce Anstey expected to compete along with the Irishmen at the forefront.

 A small island in the Irish Sea is about to once again become the centre of the road racing universe and with the popularity of the event increasing every year there is a guarantee of one of greatest spectacles in sport producing yet another unforgettable festival.

Formula 1 looks to put Monaco controversy behind it in Turkey

Turkish Grand Prix Preview

This weekend sees the Turkish Grand Prix and gives Formula 1 a chance to move on from the controversial end to the Monaco Grand Prix. Mercedes have drawn a line under the incident after assurances that from the FIA that the safety car procedures will be looked into at the next World Council meeting so now it is up the action on track to remind fans of why they love this sport. It is not for protracted legal techncalicalities but rather because of the enjoyment everyone gets from seeing a full blooded racing car in action on a challenging circuit. It is quite fitting than that the Turkish Grand Prix is next up on the calander.

The Istanbul Park Circuit

Designed, as per usual, by German circuit architect Herman Tilke this fast and flowing track just outside of Istanbul is different to any of his other other creations. While many of the “Tilkedrome” circuits are bland and relativily feature less Istanbul is a great circuit with undulations and fast sweeping bends. Indeed while most of Tilke’s creations have left a lot to be desired as far as ultimate challenge to the drivers this one has what is now regarded as Formula 1’s most difficult corner. The triple apex Turn 8 is an immense test of a drivers precision, nerve and ability.

With the cars spending in the region of six seconds in the Turn 8 complex per lap it is clear that this is an area where there is lots of time to be gained or lost. In the race though it is not that simple as Lewis Hamilton has found out countless times. The tyres face maximum load through here and as a result if a driver pushes too hard the tyres wear at an exceptional rate. Even with the current super hard tyres that drivers have consistently managed to nurse through races-Alonso completed all but one lap in Monaco on a single set-this section could be one of the few faced this year that causes serious wear problems for teams and drivers.

Apart from Turn 8 there are a series of off camber turns throughout the lap with Turn 1 consistently causing havoak in races and Turn 4 also having the ability to catch unwary drivers out on cold tyres at the start of races. The ending section of the lap is quite tight and twisty and stunts some of the flow created from the majority of the lap but it is here that pole position will be sorted and this section is therefore crucial for the results of Sunday’s race. Drivers brake into Turn 12 from the region of 200 mph and then have to shuffle the cars through the last two turns where consistently we see good laps fall apart in qualifying.

Weather for this weekend’s Grand Prix

While changeable weather has been the norm this season, with the threat of rain hanging over almost every race weekend so far there are no such worries ahead of this weekend. Clear skies are expected on Saturday and Sunday with temperatures in the high twenties. Friday is expected to cloud over ahead of the afternoon session but even so temperatures should be quite high. The wind can be a factor through Turn 8 with gusts affecting the aerodynamic balance but wind speeds are expected to be quite low and the overall the weather will be very favourable for the performance of the cars.

Statistics ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix

This circuit has been dominated in the past by Felipe Massa who has taken three wins from pole position. The Brazilian will need to recapture that form if he is to stave off the rumours of him losing his drive. His team have cooled on him considerably this season with rumours of Mark Webber or Robert Kubica linked to replacing him. Massa has said that he is not comfortable in the car right now and has been solidly beaten by his teammate Alonso throughout the season but did show some signs of life in Monaco. With this being one of the circuits that he has traditionally excelled it will be of crucial importance that he can beat his teammate if he is to end rumours of his departure from the red team.

This race was first run in 2005 and won by then McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen from pole position. Last year was the first race not won from pole, Jenson Button beating Sebastian Vettel en route to his world title. Historically Turkey has had a high finishing rate with over 85% of starters seeing the chequered flag and close racing has been the norm with an average winning margin of seven seconds.

What can we expect from this weekend?

The expectation is once more for Red Bull to stretch away at the front of the field. Webber has dominated the last two weekends with pole positions and race wins so the main question ahead of this weekend’s race is whether his teammate Vettel can get his performances on a par. The team claim he was hampered by a damaged chassis in Spain and Monaco so this race will give us an understanding of just how much that issue affected the young German.

Top speed has generally been rewarded by fast lap times and strong finishes around this track so this should be a great opportunity for McLaren and Ferrari to utilise their F-ducts and hopefully bring the fight to the Red Bull team. Outside of the main contenders Force India have historically been very fast down the straights so this could be another race weekend where Adrian Sutil performs well.

Last season Brawn GP left Turkey knowing that they no longer had the fastest car on the grid as Red Bull moved past and started to show their true potential. It is only now that the Milton Keyes based team have shown just how good they can be and there is little to suggest that they will be caught anytime soon. It would be brave to bet against another Red Bull win and with Mark Webber in such strong form if would be tough to bet against the Australian making it a hat trick of victories.

Webber needs to capitilise his new found position

It may have taken Red Bull six races to take the lead in both championships but with momentum on the team’s side it seems unlikely they will fall behind any time soon.

Mark Webber has delivered back to back wins to quench all talk of the team looking elsewhere for a front running driver to partner Sebastian Vettel; in fact the Australian may have taken on the mantle as the man to beat after dominating in Spain and Monaco.

Vettel needs to take the ascendency back within his own team before he can contemplate challenging for the title. Red Bull announced during the week that they found a fault in the German’s chassis so it will be very interesting to see how his performance relative to his teammate in the last two races was affected by this problem. If Webber can continue his rich vein of form in Turkey a momentum shift within the team could occur and put all of the pressure on Vettel’s shoulders.

Webber showed in Monaco that he really is at the top of his game, regardless of issues that may have affected his teammate. His pole lap around the streets was impressive but his race pace was superb as he pulled away from Vettel at will. The German was unable to stay with Webber and was losing 0.4 seconds a lap at times to his teammate. Vettel was only spared a crushing defeat by four safety car periods closing the pack back up.

Webber was under considerable pressure heading into the last two races from both within the Red Bull team and the media. His performances will have done al lot to silence his critics but much more importantly they will also have illustrated to the management of his team that he deserves a new contract.

A crucial career step upcoming

As a direct result of having a short season, and generally two weeks between races, perceptions are formed easily and momentum is everything in motorsport. Webber, for the first time in his career, is on the crest of a wave. After years as a nearly man on the cusp he now has the chance to be the dominant driver at the pinnacle of the sport. It is quite a change in fortunes for him but now he needs to capitalise on this form and make sure he can turn it into a top line drive for next season.

Ferrari has been linked to the Australian recently but a move to Maranello would be filled with danger for Webber with Fernando Alonso already moulding the team around him; as shown by Felipe Massa’s performances and the apparent cooling of his relationship with the team.

The next few weeks are crucial for Webber and any move away from Red Bull would be ill advised. He has the potential to become a world champion this year and with Adrian Newey designing the team’s cars the team should develop a string of great cars for the next few years that would allow Webber to challenge for multiple titles. While the lure of racing the red cars would undoubtedly be strong, Red Bull have the performance capabilities that Ferrari have been lacking recently

A flawed regulation comes sharply into focus

After the race much of the attention centred on Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso and an overtaking move that will be hotly debated before the next Grand Prix in Turkey. Due to the advent of new safety car regulations, which do not appear to be fully defined for all possible eventualities, confusion reigned supreme after the race.

Four laps from the end the safety car was deployed after Jarno Trulli clashed with Karun Chandhok in an ill advised and opportunistic overtaking attempt that blocked the track. In Formula 1 the safety car does not take the chequered flag before the winning driver so on the final lap it peeled off into the pitlane in readiness for Webber to win the race. In the past drivers were not allowed to overtake until the start/finish line so when the safety car pulled in drivers would slowly take the flag and end the race.

A new regulation for 2010 allows drivers to race once they have passed the safety car line before the start line. From this point the track is ‘live’ once again. However under Formula 1’s sporting regulations "if the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pitlane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking." This is a direct contradiction of the new general safety car rules above and when the car pulled in Schumacher overtook Alonso after the safety car line believing he had made a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre. However the stewards disagreed and Schumacher was penalised twenty seconds which cost him a points scoring position, Mercedes will appeal this decision.

The confusion surrounding this incident was caused by the marshals waving green flags and thus signalling that the drivers were free to race again. In previous years, such as Australia last year the track was still under caution without the safety car as yellow flags were still waved at all marshal posts and the SC boards were still shown. When Schumacher saw the green flags he immediatly saw that the track was live once more and began looking for a chance to take sixth, Alonso made a mistake and Schumacher pounced into the final corner.

By having a rule for one period of the race and another for the final lap the FIA left the opportunity for an incident like this to occur and this regulation needs to be tightened for future races.

The immediate reaction of the racing fraternity was that Schumacher had made a successful manoeuvre. If paddock insiders fail to understand the regulations fully then how can the average punter be expected to understand, and accept such inherently flawed regulations.

Alonso leads the way in Monaco

Fernando Alonso was fastest after the first practice session ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Spaniard hustled his Ferrari through the streets to the fasest time just ahead of Vettel’s Red Bull and Kubica’s Renault. Only 0.089 seconds seperated the top three. They were followed by Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber in fourth. The Australian who dominated in Barcelona steadily improved throughout the session and set his fast times during a thirteen lap stint to end his session. 

The expectation ahead of this weekend was for traffic to play a massive part during practice and qualifying with the slower new teams expected to be mobile chicanes. First practice did very little to allay those fear as drivers tripped over one another consistently. The best example was Mark Webber exiting the chicane and staring into Bruno Senna’s gearbox. At the end of the lap Webber tried to open a gap in front for a flying lap and nearly clashed with Sebastian Buemi’s Toro Rosso in the last corner as the Swiss driver came upon the cruising Red Bull. 

Michael Schumacher added to a positive Spanish GP with the sixth fastest time ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The German looked confident in attacking the slower corners which proved to be his bane in the Chinese Grand Prix. He clearly has alot more confidence in the car now and will look to turn that confidence into a good weekend.

It wasn’t so rosy on the other side of the Mercedes garage with Nico Rosberg struggling with a car problems and having to spend half the session getting work done to solve mechanical problems. Rosberg knows that this is the most important weekend of his season, if he is beaten by Schumacher again the momentum of the team could continue to slide in the seven times world champions direction. Team principal Ross Brawn has said this will not be the case but Schumacher knows how to mould a team around him and it would not be the first time that he became Brawn’s lead driver.

Only two drivers, Karun Chandhok and Komai Kobayashi ended their sessions in the barriers. All the drivers know that any time lost in Monaco is impossible to catch up on and history shows that once you lose track time it severely hinders your pace for the rest of the weekend. 

Pos  Driver         Team                   Time

 1.  Alonso         Ferrari               1:15.927

 2.  Vettel          Red Bull-Renault      1:16.000  + 0.073 

 3.  Kubica         Renault               1:16.016  + 0.089

 4.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      1:16.382  + 0.455 

 5.  Massa          Ferrari               1:16.517  + 0.590

 6.  Schumacher  Mercedes              1:16.589  + 0.662

 7.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      1:16.647  + 0.720

 8.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1:16.692  + 0.765

 9.  Sutil            Force India-Mercedes  1:16.805  + 0.878

10.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:16.857  + 0.930

11.  Rosberg      Mercedes              1:17.149  + 1.222

12.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth     1:17.331  + 1.404

13.  Liuzzi          Force India-Mercedes  1:17.704  + 1.777

14.  Petrov         Renault               1:17.718  + 1.791

15.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:17.991  + 2.064

16.  Hulkenberg  Williams-Cosworth     1:18.397  + 2.470

17.  de la Rosa   Sauber-Ferrari        1:18.434  + 2.507

18.  Kobayashi   Sauber-Ferrari        1:18.547  + 2.620

19.  Glock          Virgin-Cosworth       1:19.527  + 3.600

20.  Kovalainen  Lotus-Cosworth        1:19.606  + 3.679

21.  Trulli          Lotus-Cosworth        1:19.902  + 3.975 

22.  di Grassi     Virgin-Cosworth       1:20.566  + 4.639

23.  Senna         HRT-Cosworth          1:21.688  + 5.761

24.  Chandhok    HRT-Cosworth          1:21.853  + 5.926

Hondas lead the way in preperation for the NW200

John McGuiness ended the day second ahead of Saturdays NW 200

HM Plant Honda rider Steve Plater ended the first day of practice as the man to beat on the Triangle as he lapped at 118.45 mph in Tuesday evenings Superbike practice session for this weekend’s North West 200.

The Englishman has won eight times on this circuit, between the towns of Portrush, Port Stewart and Coleraine, and looked very comfortable on his bike throughout the sessions. His teammate John McGuiness backed him up in second at 117.42 mph and looked to have the better of Plater for most of the session as the riders bedded themselves into the track ahead of Thursday’s sessions. The weather is expected to close in for Thursday and rain is expected so riders knew it was important to set fast times in this session.

One rider that was showing a great turn of speed was Stuart Easton on the Swan Honda. He was clocked at 204.1 mph through the speed trap into University on his out lap and went even faster later in the session when he became the first man past 205 mph. Easton couldn’t match his fellow Honda riders throughout the rest of the lap and ended the day in third.

The first Irishman was Michael Dunlop in fourth at 116.87 mph. The local hero was as aggressive as ever on the roads and could spring a surprise on raceday. His brother William dominated the 125 session finishing it 1.5 mph ahead of Chris Palmer.

Superbike first practice times
1 Steve Plater (Honda) 118.45
2 John McGuinness (Honda) 117.42
3 Stuart Easton (Honda) 117.09
4 Michael Dunlop (Honda) 116.87
5 Conor Cummins (Kawasaki) 116.39
6 Ryan Farquhar (Kawasaki) 116.09

Supersport
1 Bruce Anstey (Suzuki) 114.00
2 William Dunlop (Yamaha) 113.76
3 Keith Amor (Honda) 113.36
4 Ryan Farquhar (Kawasaki) 113.32
5 Guy Martin (Honda) 113.18
6 Michael Dunlop (Yamaha) 113.06

125cc
1 William Dunlop (Honda) 96.73
2 Chris Palmer (Honda) 95.31
3 Renzo van der Donckt (Honda) 94.34

A look ahead to the Monaco Grand Prix

This weekend sees the jewel of Formula 1’s crown, the Monaco Grand Prix, take centre stage as the race around the streets of the tiny principality form the most famous track on the Formula 1 calendar.

There is no greater challenge for a driver than racing on the tight and twisting public roads that are lined with barriers waiting to punish any mistake by the drivers with each corner littered with a history of past accidents by some of the greatest drivers of all time, whether it is Senna crashing going into the tunnel in ’88 or Schumacher at Porter in ’96 each corner has a history of epic proportions.

Monaco has historically been a car breaker with half of all cars finishing the race that have started. This has improved in recent years but even so only an average of 13 cars has finished in the last decade. This race will be exceptionally tough on the components of the cars and with the lack of in race refuelling it can be expected that teams will place a greater emphasis on durability rather than outright speed.

The Circuit

With its tight and twisting nature Monaco places a greater requirement on mechanical grip than almost any other circuit Formula 1 visits throughout the year. Melbourne places a similar requirement on the cars and Red Bull was the class of the field in the dry in Australia so the team will look to replicate that form this weekend. They will once more take the fastest car in the field to Monaco but will face stiff competition as there are five different previous winners challenging Webber and Vettel for victory. The past winners are Button, Alonso, Trulli, Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, long renowned as a ‘Monaco Master.’

Weather for the Monaco Grand Prix

Changeable weather is forecast for this weekend’s race but it is expected that most of the rain will pass the Rivera by the time cars roll out for practice tomorrow. The expectation if for it to be cloudy but there is only a 15% chance of rain according to local stations.

Statistics

Obviously enough with the tight track configuration it is necessary to qualify at the front of the field to have a successful Grand Prix; the winner generally comes from the first three on the grid. Olivier Panis is the lowest qualified driver to emerge victorious having won the wet 1996 edition from 14^th on the grid. This race coincidently was the second most mechanically challenging race ever with only 7 of 22 cars finishing. The 1990 race won by Senna was slightly more taxing on cars and drivers (7 of 26.)

Monaco was one of the races that formed the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship but due to financial issues the race was not restaged until 1955, since then it has had an uninterrupted presence in the championship.

Senna is the most successful driver to grace the principality with six wins ahead of Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher with five apiece.

What can we expect from this weekend?

The Red Bull’s will once more be expected to arrive in Monaco with the fastest car but the one thing that Monaco has always been able to provide is a shock result. This is one of the last circuits on the calendar that can allow the driver to make a massive difference and as a result it is generally more beneficial to look at past Monaco Grand Prix rather than this seasons race weekends to find the potential form for this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton will once more look to showcase his abilities on the streets where he won in 2008, but with Michael Schumacher looking more confident in the Mercedes from Barcelona he could be primed to spring a surprise this weekend. The raw pace of the updated Mercedes wasn’t all that impressive in Spain but the fact that Schumacher looked confident in how it would react and handle could make him a legitimate contender on Sunday.

Webber gets off the Mark in Spain

Mark Webber became the first driver to convert a pole position into a race win in Formula 1 this season as Red Bull’s Australian driver dominated the first Grand Prix of the European season.

Matadors were not required to wave a red flag in front of the car to make the Red Bull’s charge in Barcelona as the team showed once again that they have the fastest car on the grid. It was not all plain sailing for the Milton Keynes based team however. Sebastian Vettel started alongside his teammate on the front row, but near the end of the race had fallen to fourth with brake problems. He eventually finished on the bottom step of the podium in third after Lewis Hamilton retired with two laps to go.

Vettel’s race once more illustrated that while Red Bull has easily the fastest car, it is not the dominant car that it should be. The team has been plagued with failures this season and have consistently found a way to hamper their own title challenge thus far.

This race was not a thriller by any stretch but it has helped to show a clearer picture of what to expect this year. Red Bull is still the car to beat with McLaren and Ferrari considerably further back in terms of sheer pace. Mercedes have made a large step forward in making Michael Schumacher more confident in the car and he outpaced his teammate for the first time. In the early races Schumacher was unable to hustle the car around the circuit as he did in his heyday but in Barcelona he finally had the confidence to push the car and dictate how he wants to drive the Mercedes.

Barcelona traditionally is a circuit that showcases the car’s performance at the expense of the driver; that is the reason why the grid in Spain can resemble Noah’s Ark-with each team’s cars lining up two by two, and that is how the Red Bulls entered turn one with Webber in front.

It stayed like that until the pitstops when Lewis Hamilton managed to get past Vettel after battling with each other as Hamilton exited the pits. They have Lucas di Grasi to contend with as well and it was three abreast into the turn. Vettel had two options, try and hang it out around the outside and get by Hamilton or run wide onto the Astroturf and concede the position. He took the easier latter option and gave up the position and didn’t challenge the Briton for the remainder of the race.

World champion Jenson Button had a trying day as he struggled with a car ill suited to his requirements to such an extent that he had snap oversteer at times. He fought it out with Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher, with the German emerging ahead. Button lost track position after his pitstop and while he was clearly faster he could not find a way past a revitalised Schumacher.

The seven times world champion outpaced his teammate, Nico Rosberg, all weekend and was in the top eight all weekend. Schumacher defended his position brilliantly from Button even if the Briton failed to see it that way afterwards, “I didn't really know where Michael was on the outside of me, he turned in and if I didn't back out of it we would have crashed. So he didn't really give me a lot of room there. There you go, you'd think with his experience he would know. It wasn't really the right move.” It’s tough to see why Button was incensed as Schumacher only defended the position as any other driver would, it may just be that Button is attempting to get inside Scumacher’s head and unsettle the German. It is highly unlikely such tactics will be successful.

The main action away from the front was with Jamie Algusuari’s Toro Rosso. The Spaniard managed to collect a point after finishing in tenth after an exciting race. He made a great start and was running well before a poor pitstop put him back in the pack, it was here that when lapping Karun Chandhok that he clashed with the Indian after turning into the Hispania driver. The stewards gave him a drive through penalty so a finish in the points should satisfy the increasingly impressive youngster.

Vettel began to suffer from brake issues as the race neared its conclusion and had to make a precautionary pitstop to change his tyres allowing Fernando Alonso through. Vettel was in trouble now though and had to do his best to limit the forces placed on his car, as the race winded down he was in fourth.

Then with two laps to go Hamilton suffered a left front wheel failure that left him as a passenger through turn one heading straight to the scene of his accident. The former world champion finished another promising race without the points haul it deserved. To the hometown crowds delight Alonso was now in second and even with his problems at the end Vettel was able to make it two Red Bulls on the podium as he finished in third.

Webber had a lonely race at the front and won comfortably to put himself firmly in contention for the title after a trying start to the year. 

Optimism abounds as Formula 1 heads back to Europe

Formula 1 returns after a three week break this weekend, with the Circuit de Catalonya hosting the Spanish Grand Prix.

Traditionally this race has tended to be pivotal to the outcome of the world championship as teams debut major developments on their cars. Ross Brawn, team manager for Mercedes, illustrates the optimism of the teams. “The start of the European season is the first opportunity to make significant changes to the car and the Spanish Grand Prix will see the first step in our development programme. We look forward to evaluating the impact on our pace whilst remaining conscious that this is very much a first step in improving our competitiveness.”

Each team will have major aerodynamic upgrades on their cars and a true picture of the form for the remainder of the season will begin to take shape. Red Bull has dominated qualifying this season with its one lap pace leading to pole position at every race thus far. The team however has struggled in races to turn their low fuel speed advantage into victories. Speculation has been rife as to the reasons for their low fuel pace, most linking the team to ride height control systems, but it will be interesting to see if they can maintain the advantage now that their opposition will bring new development parts to each race weekend.

The Circuit

As a result of the new packages this has the potential to be a very telling race as to what to expect for the rest of the year. No circuit places a greater level of importance in aerodynamics than Barcelona. With a mixture of fast corners, slow corners and a 1km straight where cars can reach speeds of 200mph teams face great challenges to achieve the required balance in their cars. Drivers need to have as little aerodynamic drag as possible; drag is the limiting factor in the top speed achievable by a car. However they also need to allow the driver to have sufficient grip in the corners to have the confidence to push the car as hard as possible.

Weather for the Spanish Grand Prix:

The other factor that teams need to concern themselves with is the weather. While the conditions are generally very pleasant in Spain at this time of year with clear skies and high temperatures making this a great race for spectators it can create issues for the team with their cars. The high temperatures make tyre degradation an issue for the drivers. Barcelona loads up the left front tyre for prolonged period of the lap and also has quite an abrasive surface. When this is mixed with high temperatures drivers can have problems nursing their tyres to the finish and require additional pitstops to the one stop race expected. For each stop a driver will need a window of 20 seconds to their rival.

This season the Red Bull has had a tendency to wear their tyres out faster than rival teams and this could be the chink in the armour for Ferrari and McLaren to exploit. The Ferrari’s have been very kind on its tyres and with Fernando Alonso racing in front of his home fans he should be supremely motivated to add to his season opening victory in Bahrain. Championship leader Jenson Button has also shown the ability to nurse his tyres efficiently and this could set him in good stead for this weekend.

Statistics for this race:

Qualifying is even more crucial here than at other venues, the driver on pole position has gone on to win 15 times since 1991 and has been the victor for each of the last nine years. Only Michael Schumacher in the wet of 1996 has won from off the front of the grid, and even then he qualified third on the grid. As a result it is pivotal for a driver to qualify at the sharp end of the field if they are to challenge for victory.

What to expect:

The expectation will be for Red Bull to once more have the fastest car over a single qualifying lap but with the team possibly marginal on tyre wear an intriguing fight for victory could ensue if a Ferrari or McLaren can qualify alongside one of the Red Bulls on the front row of the grid. This race will tell us exactly where each team stands, and also what work they will need to do over the summer.