Spain 2008 : Kimi Raikkonen extends championship lead in Spain

Another race of attrition today along with a serious looking crash by Heiki Kovalainen. In turn 9 what looked like a left front wheel rim broke sending Kovalainen straight and hard into the tire barriers. Thankfully he will be ok with what looks like no serious injuries.

Kimi Raikkonen led the race from start to finish with perfect pit stops, smooth driving, and a fast (not fast enough according to him) car winning the Spanish Grand Prix in fine style.


As I said, this was a race of attrition with only 13 cars finishing the race and that’s got to be disappointing to many of those teams. This track has seen kilometers and kilometers of testing by all of the teams including just last week. Brand new aero packages as well as other improvements yet crashes and failures littering the track.

The race started with Massa getting the best start moving quickly past Fernando Alonso and right up behind Raikkonen, but predictably backed off of a pass attempt on Raikkonen.

Heart break kid Sebastien Vettel was again knocked out of the race in a first lap crash. David Coulthard and Adrian Sutil bumped, Sutil spun and Vettel had no where to go but into the side of Sutil. Three first lap dnfs for Vettel is hard to take. Sutil, who had been squeezed onto the grass, but had plenty of room to get back to the track bumped Coulthard, was sent spinning, taking out Vettel. Too bad for Sutil with a dnf as a result, but to me, the crash was his fault and bad luck continues for Vettel.

Early on things were looking very good for Alonso . He was able to hang on to both Raikkonen and Massa ahead of him lap after lap. It was thought that he was running much lighter on fuel than the Ferraris and as expected Alonso pitted first on lap 16, but only 3 laps later it was Massa into the pits for his first stop. Throw the lighter fuel load out and the Renault has improved quite a bit especially with Alonso at the wheel.

This was redemption day for Lewis Hamilton and he really looked good. His car was on par with the Ferraris and after Alonso pitted first Hamilton gained 3rd. From then on, the gap between him, Raikkonen, and Massa never changed much the whole race. Lewis pushed probably the hardest he has so far this season and at one point his apex speed in turn 9 was a full 10km faster than anyone. I give Hamilton a 10 out of 10 for his drive today.

Nelson Piquet and Sebastien Bourdais tangled when Piquet seemed to surprise Bourdais in a pass attempt up the inside and Bourdais closed the gap hard on him. Bourdais said after that he simply didn’t see him in his mirrors. The question of mirrors comes up again. They don’t seem to offer as much visibility as they should as we have heard from drivers in the past few races.

It was a predictable start for BMW-Sauber with Kubica hanging tight with both Ferraris and Lewis Hamilton never gaining any ground, but never losing ground.
when Kovalainen smashed hard into the tire barrier, the long safety car and the safety car rules caught Nick Heidfeld and he had to pull into the pits during pit red or else run out of fuel. This of course got him a 10 second stop and go penalty which ended up sending him to the back of the field. I do hope these rules get changes sooner than later. This rule really ensured that BMW-Sauber would not have any chance at holding on to their Constructors championship lead.

It was the end of the road for Alonso in his Renault on lap 34 when the engine gave up and he parked it onto the grass. 130,000 fans at the track fell silent. This ends a promising weekend for Renault with both cars now out of the grand prix. They had a good weekend with an improved car. One issue Renault may have to address is that this is the second engine failure this year after the Renault engine in a Red Bull blew earlier.

Another good drive for Giancarlo Fisichella who managed to hold off Nick Heidfeld who was trying to move up the field after his stop and go. Fisichella held him off for a number of laps before Heidfeld finally passed him for 10th. I give Fisichella a 10 out of 10 for his drive.

This year Coulthard is a magnet for bumps and crashes. Not one, but 2 in this race, but lucky for him, this race he finished despite a bang with Sutil on lap one and Timo Glock trying too hard on an impossible pass hit Coulthard’s rear left puncturing the tire. A long drive back to the pits sent Coulthard to the back once again, but at least he finished and in 12th.

Take away the attrition and you have 2 Ferraris at the front, Lewis Hamilton 3rd, and Robert Kubica 4th with not much difference between them. The gaps from 1st to 4th were steady and pretty consistent through the whole race. If McLaren have rebounded there could now be a 4 team race for the front every race now. If that’s the case, I love it!

1. Raikkonen Ferrari 1h38:19.051
2. Massa Ferrari + 3.228
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 4.187
4. Kubica BMW Sauber + 5.694
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 35.938
6. Button Honda + 53.010
7. Nakajima Williams-Toyota + 58.244
8. Trulli Toyota + 59.435
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber + 1:03.073
10. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Glock Toyota + 1 lap
12. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault + 1 lap
13. Sato Super Aguri-Honda + 1 lap

Not classified/retirements:


Rosberg Williams-Toyota 42
Alonso Renault 35
Barrichello Honda 35
Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 22
Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 9
Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8
Piquet Renault 7
Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1
Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1

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Spanish F1 GP 2008 - Qualifying : Alonso gives Renault 2nd Position in Spain

First qualifying since all the new aero parts and there certainly is some improvements and changes in the top 10. First is Renault and wow, Alonso 2nd after holding pole until Raikkonen pulls out a last lap to squeeze by Alonso. It’s a good bet that Alonso was light on fuel and will be one of the first to pit in the race. Both Renault in Q3 with Piquet in 10th. Now that’s an improvement for Renault with their new fin and Alonso driving.
BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica looked great throughout, but last laps of Q3 send him to 4th when Raikkonen and Alonso battled for pole. BMW sits 4th with Kubica and 9th with Heidfeld.

It was up and down for McLaren all through qualifying and in the end, they still need some speed from that car. Hamilton finishing 5th with Kovalainen in 6th.
Down the grid a bit and disappointment for Honda who had hoped for at least one car in Q3, but not today. Barrichello just missing in 11th and Button 13th.

Both Williams made it to Q2, but that’s as far as they got. Nakajima out qualified his team mate Nico Rosberg by 3 places and starts 12th with Rosberg in 15th.
Mark Webber did his job well today covering for a David Coulthard who failed miserably. Webber into Q3 and will start 7th ahead of Jarno Trulli in 8th and Heidfeld in 9th. His team mate Coulthard, the fast Coulthard in morning practice didn’t even make Q2 and will start 17th in more crash territory. Coulthard did have trouble with traffic and said he wasn’t able to get his tires up to temperature.

I can’t say Force India are too happy today after looking like Fisichella would at least make Q2, neither he or Sutil finished ahead of anyone but Davidson and Sato. Fisichella will start 19th and Sutil 20th.

Sebastian Vettel’s season just isn’t going well. Today he didn’t manage Q2, but team mate Bourdais did. Neither Toro Rosso cars look good for the race.

1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 1:21.813
2. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault 1:21.904
3. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 1:22.058
4. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1:22.065
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.096
6. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.231
7. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1:22.429
8. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota 1:22.529
9. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1:22.542
10. Nelson Piquet Brazil Renault 1:22.699
11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda 1:21.049
12. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1:21.117
13. Jenson Button Britain Honda 1:21.211
14. Timo Glock Germany Toyota 1:21.230
15. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1:21.349
16. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.724
17. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault 1:21.810
18. Sebastian Vettel Germany Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:22.108
19. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Ferrari 1:22.516
20. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Ferrari 1:23.224
21. Anthony Davidson Super Super Aguri-Honda 1:23.318
22. Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 1:23.496

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Spanish F1 GP 2008 - Testing

Kimi Raikkonen gave further credence to the suggestion he will be the man to beat in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona by dominating both practice sessions.Formula One's reigning world champion, who also leads this year's drivers' standings by three points, edged the morning session by just 0.050secs from Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa.
In the afternoon's 90-minute session, when the teams run heavier fuel loads, Raikkonen topped the timesheets again ahead of Renault duo Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso.

His Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was fifth fastest, while the two McLarens were only 11th and 16th.

The teams' differing strategies meant that the timing screens had an unusual look throughout, with Force India holding first and second positions for the first 40 minutes - Adrian Sutil leading the way initially before being beaten by teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.

David Coulthard (Red Bull) ended their moment of glory by lapping in 1:22.321, 0.062 seconds quicker than Fisichella's benchmark, as the session neared its halfway point.
Ten minutes later, Williams took a one-two, with first Nico Rosberg, then Kazuki Nakajima going fastest of all.

Then with 27 minutes remaining, Fernando Alonso hit the front, to the delight of the Spanish fans in the grandstands.

His 1:22.034 lap was 0.138 seconds clear of Nakajima's previous best, but was beaten within 12 minutes by his own teammate Nelson Piquet, who lapped 0.015 seconds faster. Although Alonso subsequently improved his time, he only closed the gap by 0.002 seconds.

Renault then held the top two places until the final four minutes, when Raikkonen moved ahead with a 1:21.935 lap, 0.084 seconds quicker than Piquet.

McLaren did not feature amongst the lead runners. Hamilton had a spin at Turn 10 on his first run, and ended the day in 11th. He then came to a halt in the pit entry on his final lap of the session.

His teammate Heikki Kovalainen managed just eight laps. A gearbox problem kept the Finn in the McLaren garage for most of the first hour, and when he did take to the track, he only completed a handful of laps before his car slowed and came to a halt on the way out of Turn 6.

Behind Raikkonen, Piquet and Alonso, Nakajima held on to fourth place for Williams, with Massa fifth and 0.2 seconds slower than Raikkonen.

Mark Webber and David Coulthard took sixth and eighth for Red Bull, split by Rosberg, while the two Force Indias were shuffled down the order as others improved, but secured the final top ten positions

Pos Driver Team Time Laps

1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:21.935 38
2. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.019 + 0.084 38
3. Alonso Renault (B) 1:22.032 + 0.097 26
4. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.172 + 0.237 35
5. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.229 + 0.294 32
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.238 + 0.303 36
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.266 + 0.331 33
8. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.289 + 0.354 30
9. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:22.383 + 0.448 38
10. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:22.548 + 0.613 38
11. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.685 + 0.750 33
12. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:22.788 + 0.853 38
13. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:23.130 + 1.195 40
14. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:23.224 + 1.289 34
15. Button Honda (B) 1:23.263 + 1.328 34
16. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.264 + 1.329 8
17. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:23.415 + 1.480 31
18. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.661 + 1.726 35
19. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.684 + 1.749 37
20. Glock Toyota (B) 1:23.883 + 1.948 40
21. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:25.110 + 3.175 30
22. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:25.163 + 3.228 31

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F1 2008 - Spanish Grand Prix Preview

They’re on their way back to Catalunya and this time, let’s race. I don’t know about you, but this little early season break of 3 weeks seems like the off season again. Wondering if Alonso will bail on Renault, if DC will retire, Massa gone from Ferrari…ok, ok enough of that. On to the circuit.

The Catalunya circuit is so well known to F1 drivers because of its history and popularity in testing. The circuit is so popular because it offers just about everything a team would want to test on. Long straights, medium and high speed turns, and a few low speed turns ask a lot of the F1 car and driver as well. Not surprising a lot of testing is done here. Some cars will have a new look with horns and fins and holes in the nose etc. This is the race featuring the biggest upgrades.

Aerodynamics, tires, and suspension are the keys to Catalunya giving the engines a bit of a break. Aerodynamics is a key with high down force. I still think it is a bit unfortunate the chicane was added, lessening the importance of the once demanding high speed sections of the circuit.

The removal of traction control has added a little extra in suspension set up. The cars usually run with stiff front suspension for quick maneuvering and a softer rear end for optimum traction when accelerating out of the slow corners. Given the removal of traction control, suspension set up is even more critical for the gear balance they need.

There has been a lot of talk this past week in testing about tires and how they last on this tire demanding track. The high speed corners and rough surface tear tires apart much faster than normal. The tires Bridgestone are supplying this weekend are a hard and medium compound tire. As in the past, left front will be see the most wear especially from turn 3 and 9. A soft compound here probably wouldn’t last the formation lap.

As I said, this circuit is a break for engines with only 64% of the lap at full throttle and the engine isn’t tested in acceleration from the low rev range on up, but only from mid rev range on up. A blown engine here is a bit of a concern I would think.

This is a circuit I love to hate because of the lack of breaking zones and with that, not much passing. Sure, watching the cars through the high speed corners is cool, but a winning strategy is about qualifying and pit overtaking.

Imp Stats
Full throttle: 64%
Brake wear: Medium
Down force level: High – 8/10
Tire compounds: Medium / Hard
Tire usage: Hard
Average speed: 207kph

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