Spanish GP Preview

Posted on Tuesday 04 May 2010

When: Friday 7 to Sunday 9 May, 2010
Where: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Round: 5 of 19
Lap distance: 4.655km/2.892miles
Race: 66 laps – 307.104km/190.825miles
Race start: 14.00 (local)/12.00 (GMT)

Circuit lap record: Rubens Barrichello (Brawn-Mercedes)
2009 pole: Jenson Button (Brawn-Mercedes)
2009 fastest qualifying lap: Rubens Barrichello (Brawn-Mercedes)
2009 winner: Jenson Button (Brawn-Mercedes)
2009 fastest lap: Rubens Barrichello (Brawn-Mercedes)

Sam Michael, Technical Director
We spend a lot of time testing in Barcelona so we know the track well. That brings obvious advantages for the drivers, but it also enables us to spend more time working on different programmes during the practice sessions. We will have some aero updates for the car in Barcelona, including a new front wing, sidepod and revised wing mirrors. We will also be running additional test parts in order to further develop the blown rear wing that we had limited time with in Shanghai.

Rubens Barrichello
Most of the drivers know Barcelona inside out. It’s a great track, particularly for qualifying and that can really be the determining factor of the weekend. The circuit has a combination of high and low speed sectors but the priority is to achieve good speed going into the corners, rather than focusing on the long straight, so you have to have a strong aerodynamic set-up. Turn three is challenging and you are looking to go flat out there for qualifying. The four-through-seven corner sequence is where you can make up the most time on the lap so getting that hooked up is important too.

Overtaking is kind of limited because everyone has so much experience of the track. The biggest variable is normally the weather. I’ve raced at Catalunya plenty of times; it’s a circuit I like a lot and I think someone with experience will do better there.

Nico Hülkenberg
I’ve enjoyed the first few races so I’m looking forward to Spain and working together with the team again. I’ve covered a lot of kilometres testing in Barcelona over the past couple of years, and I’ve raced there in GP2, so I’m confident I know the track well enough to hit the ground running. It’s a good circuit to drive and gives everyone a clear indication of how strong your aerodynamics are.
 
The track flows nicely and has some testing corners. The first sector is especially quick. Turn three is a fast right hander, turn nine too, and both are a lot of fun to drive. Like everyone else, we will have new parts for Barcelona so there’s some expectation to do better there than in China. I’ve been to the track so many times but I’ve never really seen the city itself. Now that I’m actually racing in F1, I doubt that’s going to change!

Barcelona, Technically
Current testing restrictions mean teams can’t automatically determine their baseline race set-ups months in advance. Where once they might have spent weeks pounding around Barcelona during the winter, this time there was only four days before the season begun. Familiarity is no safeguard against all eventualities, either: changes of wind direction can affect performance on the long main straight (previously suitable wing settings and gear ratios suddenly become redundant, for instance). The circuit is chiefly notorious, though, for its lack of passing opportunities.

Kilos per lap: 2.30 kg/5km
Time loss per 5km of fuel: 0.08 s/lap of fuel
Vmax: 306kph
Average speed: 210kph
Average corner speed: 144kph
Turn angle: 116°
Temperatures: Ambient 24°C / Track 36°C
Greatest power reduction: 1002 mbar pressure
Pit lane loss: 18.6s lost
Pit lane length: 370m
Safety cars: 0.6 average per race

Circuit Statistics Legend
Kilos per lap: This indicates the amount of fuel required to complete a lap of each circuit normalilsed for a 5km lap, thereby indicating the relative fuel demands of each circuit.
Time loss per 5km of fuel: This metric indicates the relative penalty at each circuit of carrying 5km of fuel.
Vmax: The highest top speed at each circuit, one variable in the aero map for each track profile.
Average speed: Velocity averaged over the circuit distance, another variable in determining the aero map.
Average corner speed: In contrast to Vmax which indicates highest speeds normally achieved on the longest straight of the circuit, average corner speed indicates the aggregated speeds through all corners on any given circuit, providing an insight into the nature of the circuit profile.
Turn angle: Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit's corners expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute the corners in the circuit's configuration and the greater propensity for understeer to compromise lap time.
Temperatures: Average ambient and track temperatures have a bearing on many variables, from tyre warm-up to significant car cooling requirements. And if you need to open the bodywork for cooling, you have to consider the potential drag penalties.
Greatest power reductions: Air density has a bearing on engine power and the most influential factor in air density is air pressure, determined by the elevation above sea level.
Pitlane loss: The time lost (excluding stationery time) entering and exiting the pitlane, providing an indication of not just the pitlane length, but also its profile.
Pitlane length: The entry to exit distance of each pitlane.
Safety cars: A variety of past statistics indicates the likelihood of the safety car's possible intervention.