![]() ![]() Throughout the 1980s the Spanish Grand Prix took place in either Jarama or Jerez, but in 1991 work finished on a new track just outside Barcelona, in Montmelo: the Circuit de Catalunya (Catalonian Circuit). Two-times F1 world champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, withdrew in protest before the start of the race, citing the circuit as dangerous (a feeling held by many drivers), and sadly he was proved right: on lap 26 Rolf Stommelen’s car skidded off the track, killing five spectators. The circuit held it’s inaugural Formula One Grand Prix in 1969, but it’s last, in 1975, was marked by tragedy. The anticlockwise course had both a very slow and very fast section of track, which made setting up the cars up a challenge. The Spanish Grand Prix has moved countless times through the last century, and older folk in Barcelona still remember fondly the Montjuic street circuit, a difficult track which wound its way around the city’s magical Montjuic mountain. (Today it’s the site of a chicken farm, although the 2km track remains in good condition!). The enthusiasm for racing led to the construction of a permanent track called Sitges-Terrama, which hosted the Grand Prix in 1923 but was abandoned immediately afterwards. And if the temperatures soar it’ll likely take more than a good performance to topple them this weekend.Catalonia has a long racing history, which stretches back to the heady days of 19 when the Catalan Cup was staged on roads around Sitges, just outside Barcelona: Jules Goux won back to back victories with little more in the ways of safety equipment than a pair of goggles and leather gloves. As for Ferrari, their biggest asset is the belief that they have more than a good chance of being at the sharp-end. And while both Ferraris and his teammate beat him up it gave Valtteri Bottas a crucial boost of confidence that could be telling. In Russia, for reasons unknown, Lewis Hamilton was considerably off the pace. “That would already be a good step forward.” Ironically, even without a chassis upgrade the characteristics of the Spanish circuit traditionally plays well to the strengths of the Red Bull. “I hope we can be a bit closer to the top teams or that we can at least follow them,†said 2016 Spanish Gp winner Max Verstappen. The hope is that the introduction of a B-spec car and a “revamped†chassis will allow the team to make a significant step forward. Nevertheless, the season has started with the team significantly off the pace but they hope that their plan to rectify this begins to fall in place this weekend. The overhaul in regulations held the expectation that Red Bull would be a championship contender in 2017. In 2016 the Milton Keyes based team left the Spanish circuit with Max Verstappen as a first-time grand prix winner and with great expectations. The Spanish grand prix weekend, while important for every team and driver on the grid, is vital to the rest of Red Bull’s 2017 campaign. ![]() “Hopefully for Barcelona’s sake it’s hot and therefore these harder tyres work, but if it’s cold then it’s going to be a struggle for everyone.” “I’m not sure if it’ll help us or not but I just don’t think it’s going to be good for anyone,†said Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. While the track surface in Spain tends to be more abrasive in order to get the soft, medium, and hard compounds to its optimal working range will require a substantial track temperature. What may be Ferrari’s Achilles heel are the compounds which tyre supplier Pirelli has nominated for the weekend. Combine these two sectors and you have a layout similar to the circuit de Catalunya. In Bahrain the Ferrari excelled in the high to medium speed first sector and in Russia both the Ferrari’s performance in the final, twisty, sector dwarfed what Mercedes was able to produce. The stellar aerodynamic package that they have produced in 2017 will be the Italian team’s biggest weapon. A quick car through the twisty bits of Catalunya’s final sector invariably translates into a good at street circuits such as Monaco and Singapore.įrom this, it would suggest that Ferrari would be favourite and they are. The high and medium speed turns, which litter the first sector, test stability and grip while the lower speed third sector is the perfect test of low speed mechanical grip. The 4.6-kilometer layout of the Spanish circuit comprises the perfect mixtures to test car balance and aerodynamic efficiency while the start/finish strait provides a modest test of power output. As the fifth round of the 2017 season this staple of the Formula 1 calendar has, over the years, become the definitive barometer of car performance. There isn’t too much about Spain’s circuit de Catalunya that isn’t already known.
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