After a two week break Formula One returns to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
Jenson Button has dominated the opening races but most teams will be heading to Barcelona with significant upgrades so expect Toyota and Red Bull to be nipping at Brawn’s heels.
While McLaren, Renault and Force India have already run interim double-decker diffusers, Spain will see Ferrari deploying their version and we will find out if Adrian Newey has managed to wrap a new diffuser around the Red Bull’s fancy rear suspension.
BMW have abandoned KERS for now and are hoping a significant aero update (although without a double-diffuser) can salvage their terrible start to the season. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen is optimistic:
The aerodynamic package we will line up with in Barcelona is extensive and affects practically every part of the car. That is why I am convinced that we will take the first step in Barcelona. We are expecting to be more than half a second quicker per lap.
Heikki Kovalainen still can’t remember anything about the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix after parking his car in the wall but the high-downforce Circuit de Catalunya probably won’t suit the McLaren. Lewis Hamilton will be hard pressed to equal his fourth place in Bahrain but having the best KERS on the grid might help.
To make your predictions in round 5 of the f1buzz prediction game, just leave a comment on this post with your driver predictions for the race in the following format:
Pole:
First:
Second:
Third:
Fastest lap:
The deadline is start of qualifying on Saturday. Good luck!
The results for round 4 of the prediction game are up and there were some big winners.
Three people correctly predicted the first two places, getting a big haul of points and allowing Andrew to jump to the top of the standings, five points clear of second place.
I was the only one who thought there would be a Toyota on the podium and a few people thought Alonso should have done better than eighth.
Still, Fernando’s single point doesn’t look too bad when you consider that his water bottle had broken and he drove the entire race in 50 degree heat without water only to collapse when getting out of his car.
This weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix looks set to be the first ‘normal’ Grand Prix of the season; Australia finished under the safety car, China started under the safety car and Malaysia was a total wash-out. The weather forecast for Bahrain though is hot and dry which should favour the Brawn GP cars. As long as there are no sand storms…
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber had the measure of Brawn in the wet last weekend but Button and Barrichello were faster in qualifying so they go to Bahrain as favourites.
Ferrari tested in Bahrain over the winter so they will be hoping that experience will give them an advantage but if the Red Cars finish out of the points again it will make for Ferrari’s worst start to a Grand Prix season in history.
Force India are the only other team yet to score a point but they will be taking a new diffuser with them to Bahrain as well as some other aero updates. Even so, team boss Vijay Mallya isn’t confident of scoring on Sunday:
As usual, we know points are going to be very difficult to achieve and we should not set this as a goal for Bahrain. Instead, we need to focus once more on reliability and consistency and look to be there if circumstances allow.
Will Brawn GP return to their winning ways or will Red Bull score their second win? Will McLaren continue their improvement from China or will they suffer some crazy penalty from the race stewards? Will Ferrari remember how to go fast or will Kimi Raikkonen not even bother to race and sit in the garage eating ice creams and looking bored?
To have your say in round 4 of the f1buzz prediction game, just leave a comment on this post with your driver predictions for the race in the following format:
Pole:
First:
Second:
Third:
Fastest lap:
The deadline is start of qualifying on Saturday. Good luck!
Listening to the whinging of Renault’s Flavio Briatore you could be forgiven for thinking that the FIA had handed the Championship to Brawn GP by ruling their double-decker diffuser legal but Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber proved that cars with ‘standard’ diffusers can still win races by taking a stunning one-two victory in China last weekend.
Even though the Brawn GP cars were carrying more fuel and were faster in qualifying, Vettel was flawless in the wet race conditions and Button could only manage third place with Barrichello behind him in fourth.
While no-one thought (correctly) the Red Cars would be a threat, Andrew was the only one to predict a podium for Vettel and so managed to narrow Sergio’s lead to three points.
Keep an eye out for the Round 4 post which will be going up soon!
Image: Getty
The last Chinese Grand Prix was only six months ago but thanks to a change in the 2009 schedule F1 returns to Shanghai this weekend and it is time for round 3 of the f1buzz prediction game.
Like Sepang, the Shanghai International Circuit is a modern, smooth track designed by Hermann Tilke. The unique first corner with its constantly tightening radius can be hard on tyres so, as in Australia, tyres could be critical.
KERS will play a role, too. The first two races showed that KERS is as useful for defending a position as it is for overtaking so if Renault, Ferrari or McLaren can get in front they could be hard to pass.
But the favourites are still likely to be the ‘diffuser’ teams that dominated the first two races. Brawn GP will be hoping to make it a hat trick in China but Red Bull and BMW won’t make it easy for them.
The other big question mark that is looming over Brawn, Toyota and Williams is the outcome of the FIA Court of Appeal proceedings into the legality of the controversial diffusers the three teams are running. The decision is expected on Wednesday afternoon so you might want to hold your predictions until then. Of course, the deadline for predictions is qualifying on Saturday so there is plenty of time!
To enter, leave a comment on this post with your driver predictions for the race in the following format:
Pole:
First:
Second:
Third:
Fastest lap:
Here is the full list of drivers names.
Good luck!