27th Spanish Grand
Prix: a headache for the drivers.
Ferrari welcome wet
weather, Williams won’t...
Michael Schumacher dislikes it,
most drivers find it difficult and it takes it’s
toll on machinery of all kinds. Importantly, it has
been the epicentre of testing both in and out of
season for the majority of teams. Being in the deep
south of Europe does not guarantee constant fine
weather as last year revealed when most unexpectedly
Schumacher driving what everyone thought to be a
rather recalcitrant Ferrari through heavy
rain, literally cruised to his first definitive
victory for the Scuderia, a minute ahead of
another great ‘wet’ racer Jean Alesi.
"I wouldn’t have put a penny that I
would win the race after qualifying and my results in
Brazil (3rd after qualifying 4th) and Monaco (spun
off on the first lap)." He said after the race. "The
beginning of the race was a disaster but later I
started to relax and feel comfortable and was
overtaking my rivals by trying different lines. I was
freezing cold in the car but we held on for that
first win".
One of the most
advanced circuits that the Formula 1 circus visit, It
is the curves and corners that set the Circuit
de Catalunya apart from the others. With the
exception of the new, remodelled Osterreichring,
renamed as the A-1 Ring in Austria, the
venue for the Spanish Grand Prix remains the most
recent circuit to be added to the Formula 1 calendar.
The track is extremely undulating, the curves are
long, and sweep at a constant radius, which means
that high levels of G-force are exerted on the
drivers pushing their physical strength and stamina
to the limit. More than half the corners are greater
than 90 degrees.
Technical Director Gary
Anderson of the Jordan Peugeot team says
of Catalunya, "At a normal 90 degree corner
balance is not crucial, as, by the time the driver is
half way through the turn, he can see the exit and he
is not trying to drive the car through the middle of
the corner. The number of corners greater than 90
degrees at Barcelona means balance is extremely
important and specifically the need to keep the front
end of the car pointing into the bend for a longer
period. Cars have to have a very different set-up to
that of the other circuits." He continued "To
get a good balance in these low speed corners, you
are compromising traction and the driver is having to
work with the car which would be a little
‘pointy’ in fast 90 degree corners."
(Which could of course
explain why Schumacher breezed it in the wet last
year. With nothing to lose on the wet track, they
decided to run with maximum downforce and extremely
soft spring settings. The relatively slow speeds in
the sharp corners was ideal, whilst not compromising
an exceptional configuration for the fast 90 degree
bends).
Catalunya is the
latest in a string of tracks that have at one time
hosted the Spanish race, the first, held in 1913 over
3 laps of a 90 Km circuit at Guadarrama
was won by Carlos de Salamanca, driving a Rolls
Royce. Various sites hosted the event. Alberto
Divo won in 1923 in a Sunbeam, at the Sitges-Terramar
Autodrome on the coast south of Barcelona and a year
later another Sunbeam, driven by one Harry
Segrave won on the Lasarte circuit
near San Sebastion. The first World Championship
event was held in 1951 on the Pedralbes
street circuit on the outskirts of Barcelona. Montjuich
Park in the centre of the city then followed,
interspersed with races at Jarama.
Finally Jerez succumbed to the new
purpose built arena circuit of Montmelo-Catalunya
in 1991, the stadium of which, was to become the
centre piece of the Spanish Olympics the following
year. Five Spanish drivers have competed in their own
Grands Prix, none of whom really made a mark in the
annals of F1. Last year, run-off areas were enlarged
and the Nissan Corner slightly altered on the
4.72 Km circuit.
Irrespective of
weather conditions, qualifying should pose little
problem for all the teams that have tested in
Barcelona over the past five months. It would be
naive to assume that time hasn’t been spent in
fine tuning both wet and dry set-ups for the circuit
and most of the cars should be on the pace straight
away.
Either of the Williams
should be a stone cold cert for pole with
fastest times in the low 1.18’s but, whilst
there are several drivers still getting to grips with
this unforgiving track, hungry new boys Giancarlo
Fisichella ("I am working on the last two
right hand corners, as I find these difficult.")
and Ralf Schumacher ("The track is
bumpy and we have had to work very hard to get the
right set-up."), are looking to make their
mark. Rubens Barichello flushed with success
from his second place at Monaco for Family Stewart,
may be flying on the wings of invincability (and also
the new Zetec Project 6 version Ford engine).
Benetton Drivers Alesi and Gerhard Berger will
be desperate to qualify in the top ten as will the McLarens
of David Coulthard and Mika Hakinnen.
Last year 2.4 seconds separated the first 10 places
but with so many competitive teams looking to
impress, one can expect this gap to be significantly
narrower.
With the new spec Yamaha
engine which has shown to produce less power than the
old and being ditched in favour of the devil they
know, TWR Arrows driver Damon Hill will
be glad if he can equal his 1.20.65 pole position
from 1996 and, if that puts him in the top 10 then he
will have done well. But to complete a race for the
first time this season, would be for him, a personal
triumph.
It seems that everyone
is praying for rain, again. Martin Whitaker,
Ford Director of European Motorsport commented, "The
performance of the Stewart Ford in the wet is
exceptional so I don’t suppose anyone in the
team will be too upset if the conditions of last
years race were repeated."
Even Schumacher senior
wishes he was somewhere else. "To be honest I
would prefer to cancel Spain because it is not a
circuit that suits our car but now that I have opened
a small gap, I suppose I can afford to go for a
finish in the points. It definitely will be
tough." Poor old Michael, resigned to having
to go for a points finish. Ho Hum, but finish in the
points, he surely will, probably just behind Jacques
Villeneuve.
It seems that Goodyear’s
asymmetrical tyres are almost a match for the Bridgestone
wets that have still to be tested in anger
(Intermediates were used in Monaco) so don’t
expect surprises. The top four will probably not
change, but inclement weather could benefit the teams
that are prepared for all conditions and, to look at
the sky rather than their crystal ball.
Chris Richardson
