SPANISH GRAND PRIXVIEW - NO JOKE
8 May 2007 | 8:23pm

In 1987, there were only five races outside Europe on the calendar and now, twenty years on, there are nine. Even so, the tradition of introducing major updates to the cars when returning to the comfort  zone  of  Europe  continues,  or  maybe  the  teams  just  feel  there  are  so  few  people  in  the Sepang and Sakhir grandstands that it's not worth showing them anything new.

Red Bull Racing is no exception to the rule and the RB3s that Coulthard and Webber will race at the Circuit  de  Catalunya  on  13  May  have  undergone  changes  in  several  areas.  The  team's  technical director, Mark Smith, talks us through what has been done and why. "Our plans always included an extensive bodywork update to arrive in time for this race. We also planned to introduce a step forward in  transmission  performance  for  Spain.  On  top  of  that,  the  first  three  races  had  thrown  up  some reliability issues and the Barcelona test last week means that hopefully we have addressed those too,
notably the problem we had with the fuel flap. The old design caused us problems at each race so far, either staying open when the car was out on track or staying closed when it should have been open for the pit stops.

"The  aero  package  involves  the  front  wing,  barge  boards  and  rear  bodywork,  including  the appropriate cooling exits. Why do we need these updates? Why did the car not start the year with them  if  they  were  always  planned?  Because  of  ongoing  aero  work  in  the  wind  tunnel,  every  week produces something that will improve performance on the car, from development on the wind tunnel model  and  from  the  work  in  the  Computational  Fluid  Dynamics  department.  A  Formula  One  car  is
essentially in a state of continuous development and the difficult decision is choosing the moment to freeze this work and turn it into a package that is put on the car. You have to assess how much you have  moved  forward  with  your  development,  and  what  are  the  logistical  implications.  For  example, trying to introduce a big aerodynamics upgrade at a flyaway race a long way from the factory is not an easy task. Therefore there are strategic points in the calendar chosen as suitable for introduction of an
upgrade.  On  top  of  that, the  Catalunya  track  is  one  where  your  aerodynamic  package  plays  a  very significant role, so with it also being the first European race, it is a logical choice for introducing new items on the RB3.  What you cannot really separate is what elements of the new aero package are the result  of  constant  work  down  a  set  path  and  what  level  of  improvement  stems  from  resolving shortcomings that have shown up in previous races."

While  much  of  the  aero  work  has  evolved  from  the  white  heat  of  competition  in  the  opening  races, changes to other areas of RB3 followed a more planned route. "The relatively late confirmation of the switch  to  Renault  power  meant  we  were  not  up  to  speed  earlier  in  some  areas,  so  right  from  the beginning  we  decided  for  logistical  reasons  to  target  the  Barcelona  test  for  the  introduction  of  our transmission development and happily the testing was successful in this respect," says Smith.  Another
area which has seen progress is in performance relating to the engine and its and the car's control systems. "From pre-season testing to the time we got to the first race, we had made a significant step forward in terms of traction control and engine braking strategies," continues Smith. "These evolved with  Renault  allowing  for  the  fact  that  the  interface  between  the  engine  control  systems  and  the chassis control systems take time to develop. You can do some work in the laboratory but there is no substitute for track work, as in this case, the driver is the customer of the system, so it is his perception as  to  how  well  it  works  which  drives  this  forward.  There  were  shortfalls  in  the  operation  of  those systems and we have made quite good advances now in that area."

One oft-heard mantra down most of the pit lane so far this season has been the fact that "we need to get to know the tyres better." Mark Smith explains: "At the Malaysian and Barcelona tests, we made some  geometry  changes  that  were  prompted  by  the  new  tyres.  We  identified  areas  where  we  can have better integration with the tyres and have had a couple of suspension developments that have shown a performance gain.

"Most teams will have inevitably got a reasonable update package for this race, but I'm sure we are second  to  no  one  in  the  amount  of  effort  that  has  gone  into  the  design  and manufacture  of many new parts for this race," concludes Smith. "It is a fairly serious list of components. We have been flat out to improve our performance."

From Webby's email update

Very informative article, thanks for that $deezee$.

No worries!
I can't believe the race is on this weekend.... it's been so long,I forgot abt F1!

Yeah, I've been so busy that I've not had time to catch up onwhat's been happening, so I will have to try and find something topost now.
 

Cool! Then you can update me (us) too! hehehe

Some pics from Barcelona

Liuzzi.

Rubens.

Ralf.

Guess who?

Watching practice.

Heikki in wet.

Oh! It's raining there?
Maybe we'll get a wet race?

Thanks for the pics andro!

I thought this was an interesting article.

(btw those wet pics were taken on Tues)

Planet F1 Preview

Like lost and weary travellers, staggering on hands andknees across the desert, we behold the Spanish Grand Prixglistening like an oasis in the distance. At last, motorsport.

The gap between the Bahrain GP and the Spanish GP has been fourweeks, a gap into which the San Marino race would normally havefilled. Bernie Ecclestone cancelled it because the organisersshowed no signs of updating the track to his requirements and therewasn't a deal to be struck. It may be a warning to other reluctantpayers and spenders (i.e. Belgium and France) to fall into line,but has wrecked all continuity in the World Championship. Thisshould never happen again.

We are also expecting a papal visit from St.Michael of Maranello.If you thought the media scrum around Lewis Hamilton was big, it'sgoing to be nothing compared to the re-appearance of themulti-World Champion. Michael has been watching the races on TVthis season as well as making adverts for FIAT and promoting roadsafety.

One wag in the PF1 office suggested that Michael promoting roadsafety was a bit like getting Zinedine Zedane to promoteFranco-Italian sporting links, but The Schum has long been a patronof good causes and was reportedly the single biggest donor to theAsian tsunami appeal. His heart is always in the right place, evenif his car isn't.

Judging from some of the testing times from Barcelona Ferrari don'tparticularly need a boost right now, they still have the fastestcar. The big red point of interest will be who can drive it quickerMassa or Raikkonen. Many people still think that once Kimi becomesestablished in the team he will go on to dominate the Brazilian,and so it is important for Massa to get his victories in early.

What will be just as fascinating is to see the reaction of KimiRaikkonen to the return of Ferrari's favourite son. Felipe Massa wealready know phones Michael before and after (and probably during)every race, Kimi isn't such a fan. Mark Webber suggested earlier inthe year that it might be like the ex-girlfriend turning up.Unfortunately for Raikkonen everybody is still very keen onFerrari's ex-girlfriend.

Aiming to spoil the redwash at the front of the race will be theMcLaren team. There's no doubt that a sell-out Spanish crowd willgive Fernando Alonso extra tenths of a second a lap, so if LewisHamilton can stay close during the race then it will indeed be arevelation. No heroics needed from the Brit in this race, if he canpost a not-too-distant fourth, then that will still be verygood.

The McLaren team are aiming to run their revolutionary front wingin competition for the first time, though Barcelona is not theeasiest of places aerodynamically. It is a circuit where a car'shandling can be badly affected by crosswinds and handling changesfrom lap to lap.

However the teams do know it very well thanks to the relentlesstesting programme. This year we will see the results of the changesto the final corner. Much to the anger of the FIA's Max Mosley thedrivers in the GPDA persuaded the circuit owners to slow down thefinal corner, so that entry into the pitlane wasn't so quick.Outrageous. Didn't they realise that drivers' safety should begoverned by old gits in blazers who drive Honda Civics, not thepeople who know what they're talking about.

This slowing down of the final corner may well help overtaking too,because the theory goes that a slow entry to a start/finishstraight is always better than a fast one, because it means carscan follow closer. However that theory doesn't always work - takethe Hungaroring for example. In the past Spanish GPs have beenamongst the most brain-numbing of affairs with only the rarest ofovertaking moves, so F1 fans will be ready to pass judgement.

Outside of the top four battle it will be interesting to see ifRenault can scare BMW even just a little, or if Red Bull can repeattheir fantastic testing times in a race. And finish as well. Theteam are trying out their experimental seamless shift gearbox thisweekend, so expect to see the track covered in carefully-engineeredparts after about 45 laps. Mark Webber should start taking out betsthat he won't finish races because at least he'll have something tocheer him up on the long walk back to the pits.

Further back on the grid it will be the battle of the factory teamsversus their underfunded but similarly engined rivals. Tree-huggingHonda versus the mighty Super Aguri-Honda and Toyota versusWilliams-Toyota. There is a lot of Japanese 'face' at stake hereand both the senior teams are finding out how F1 is not a businessmodel that responds the same way as car manufacturing.

Though we don't have the prospect of rain spicing up the action, itshould be the coolest race of the year so far and how the team getheat and keep heat in their Bridgestones will be a majorfactor.

It may not be the most dazzling display of F1 you'll see allsummer, but when a parched man crawls to an oasis, the last thinghe does is complain about the quality of the water...

hahahaha St Michael of Maranello - brilliant!

A very funny article hehehe

I notice that the race is on at 2.00pm (Barcelona time), which isthe equivalent of 10.00pm Aust Eastern Standard Time.Ihave checked the TV guide, and see that Ch10 are telecastingit at 11.10pm, which is not too bad, as the race will still be inprogress when the telecast begins in Aust. (at least on the easternseaboard). 

I should be able to get to bed before 1.30am.

Sigh..... they just hate us don't they?

First live timing practice session, begins this evening at 6.00pm AEST.

WOO HOO!!!

I thought I missed it

I've been keeping an eye on the proceedings, and abt 15 mins ago, it was all McLaren. Right now, the top three are:

Alonso
Kimi
Lewis

Followed by the Toyotas and the rest

Woo hoo!!! Hamilton just took number 1!

Anything can happen now, it's too close to call.

The Ferrari's appear to be a couple of tenth's slower than the Mclaren's at this stage.

Yeah, it does look that way andro.

Looking forward to quali tomorrow 

It's going to be tight, Alonso was talking carp like usual.

Alonso was talking carp like usual

As usual!!

At last glance (at end of Fri practice) it was..................

Alonzo
Fisi
Kovalainen
Massa
Lewis
Kimi

I am also looking forward to quali, and it will be interesting to see who gets poll position, as Catalunya is a notoriously difficult circuit on which to pass, although reducing the speed of the last corner before the pit entrance may provide some assistance to the overtakers.

Kimi at speed. (for $deezee)

Wow! Fisi's up there!

Looks to be a very interesting quali! 

For those in Aust - Quali will be on Ten at 12.25am

Come on Kimi, and Filipe. (hope Alonzo and Lewis run out of fuel)

It was an interesting race this time (for a change) with the pit lane problems for Heidfeld and refueling issues for Renault.  Pity about Mark Webber - he seemsed to be cursed or something How about Hamilton leading the championship?  Not bad for a rookie

I thought it was so-so.... apart from the one million retirements

I don't like Massa, so I can't believe he won and Kimi DNFed.... GRRRRRRRR 

It is great to see Hamilton lead it isn't it? I was so tickled last nite.... If not for that, I have to admit, my interest in this season was waning..... but maybe that's cos of the loooooong gap bet last nite's race and the last one.

Can't wait for Monaco... one of my fav races! 

There was some good, fast driving last nite, but not much good racing I thought

Well at last Massa has woken up to the argy bargy start tactics of Alonzo, he tries to elbow his way to the front every time. (Schumi never let him get through).

Kimi obviously failed to bay his electricity bill, and they turned his power off.

If Alonzo can't dictate the race from the front, then he is lost, this was again proven to be true last night.

Lewis is going well, and if he can maintain his edge, he may well be the next MS.

I am also looking forward to Monte Carlo with anticipation.

I'm not so sure abt Alonso not being able to win when he doesn't have the lead. Both McLarens were slower than the Ferrari

Alonzo is a poor loser, he blamed Massa for that first corner incident, even though it was obvious that Massa had the inside running.

To me Alonzo is nothing but a bully and a poor loser.

Oh yeah! I saw that, and I have to say, I didn't approve...

Silly fella

Then again - reminds me of someone 

yeah Alonso made me want to punch him.

Pity about Kimi, I like Massa, but Kimi is known to be the hardest driver on the cars in the entire field (McLaren mechanics said he has almost no respect for mechanical things, he breaks everything) Congrats to Massa, but bad for constructors... Hamilton... you're future world champion over the next few years buddy. 

I'm angry with McLaren for not being able to handle their reliability issues when Kimi was there....

In a way its like Webby going to all the teams who can't make a car which will finish the race. Are they jinxed? 

Then again - reminds me of someone 

I wonder who that could be??  hahaha.

Reminds me of the days when Stirling Moss was driving, he was probably the best driver in the world at the time, but never won a world championship, as the cars (notably BMW) kept breaking.

It appears that the alternator malfunctioned on Kimi's car, and as F1 cars do not have a battery like normal cars, once the alternator stops that is then end of everything.

Don't know what brand of electrics Ferrari are using, but I really think that it was just bad luck that It malfunctioned on Kimi's car.

And Webby, well what can you say?? He certainly appears to be jinxed!!

Edit:- Stirling Moss drove for BRM not BMW. (oops).

Yeah, it's too early to say that reliability problems are following Kimi around, but there ain't any doubt abt Webby!

it was a pretty decent race... better than i expected. at last turn 1 delivers some excitement at the sharp end of the grid (promised every race but never delivered). i'll preface this by saying i'm not a massa fan at all but good for him sticking to his line, algonzo might have been ahead but  that would've been just lame to let him through, i bet st michael was yelling on the radio at him not to drive like a little biatch again. enough has been written about the bmw pitstop, it was farical, i'm still not sure if it was the real wheel nut or the spare, reading nick's comments afterwards it sounds like he made the best he possibly could of a bad situation, get it together bmw, you are now a (well deserved) top 3 team, nice to see kubica up there.

while the old fart (DC) is impressing, some kids are in the limelight for now (am i the only one so tired of hamilton propoganda? let's not forgot sutil owned him at times in f3), there's clearly no schum up or down the pitlane, there's just no such team leader, motivator and driver with integral technical understanding, sorely missed.   

some post race comic relief as usual from planet f1 "Schumi Watchers
It was reassuring to have Michael back in the pitlane, but he looks so much better in all-red than all-white. As he crossed the pitlane you didn't know whether to ask for his autograph or a Quatro Staggione and garlic bread." LOL! hope you guys caught that with australian coverage. 

HAHAHAHAHHA

So funny! Esp the St Michael bit. ROFL! 

Yeah, I agree that Hamilton is being over hyped, esp from the Eng press, but he has performed consistenly, so no complaints from me. Except I wish the press would shuttu....