[shibujp]

Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana 2021

First started in 1991 the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya had it's first Formula 1 GP the same year. It has been a fixture since then of every F1 season and Formula 1 fans are very familiar with this ciruit as being one of the pre season testing venues where we all get a insight into the pecking order post winter development. This ear though it was not used for pre-seaosn testing. The biggest news for this year is the reprofiling of Turn 10 which has been done to improve driver safety but we hope it also would improve overtaking on this circuit which has not exactly been conducive to overtaking in the past.



Layout
The track has two DRS zones one each on the back straight as well as the start finish straight. Would be interesting to see how this combines with the new reprofiled Turn 10.



Lap record is null due to the changes in track profile.


Schedule


Tyre Choice
Tyre of choice seems to be medium though most teams were forced to slip on the softs to achieve maximum performance on a single lap in free practice yesterday.


Weather
Sunday has a chance of rain and low temperatures which may setup a great race.


Turn 10 Reprofile
The turn La Caxia has been reprofiled and the old profile can be seen as the grey line which is essential a sharp hairpin that needed heavy braking after the back straight. Being more free flowing we should see some good chances for overtakes here.

"The altered corner profile of Turn 10 provides another new challenge that could influence the way the drivers approach the lap. We've seen in the past that strategy has been one of the key differentiating factors at Barcelona and we would expect this to become the case once more this weekend." as per the official F1 site.


Drive on,
Shibu

[VRJ]

Hey Shibujp, thanks for the information. Will definitely be an interesting race. I’m Team Checo all the way. The top and the mid field is very tight this year. I’m loving it. Probably be more interesting after Hamilton retires. But, that’s a topic for a different thread.

I think what would be very interesting for us BHP’ians is if we have two polls for every F1 race thread:

1. One before the race, a vote about who might win. It’ll be an interesting conversation about the strengths, weaknesses and history of the performance of teams and drivers in previous races at the track.

2. Two being after the race. A rating for the race. 1 star to 5 stars. I see this rating system a lot on Twitter and will definitely lead to interesting conversations as well.

If two polls aren’t possible in one thread, then at least let’s have a “Rate the race” poll in the respective F1 race thread. Mods, please do give it a thought.

Cheers!

[shibujp]

Free Practice
Free practice threw up a few surprises. Notably the subdued performance of the Red Bulls and the McLarens. Subdued because you are never quite sure whether they are sandbagging or suffering from actual performance deficits till qualifying. Alpine too surprised in a good way though but repeatedly ending up in the upper echelons of the leader board.

FP1 Report

FP2 Report

2020 Report

Hamilton qualified on pole and won the race leading from start to finish. Bottas was mugged at the start by Verstappen and Stroll but then managed to overtake Stroll to retake 3rd place. The podium was completed by Verstappen in second and Bottas in third. The strength of Racing Point last year was indicated by their 4th and 5th places in the race. Quite a distance for Aston Martin to catch up given their performance this year after losing critical downforce. Vettel finished 7th notable after running half the race distance on softs which again is a possible indication for possibilities in this year's strategy.

Originally Posted by VRJ

Hey Shibujp, thanks for the information. Will definitely be an interesting race. I’m Team Checo all the way. The top and the mid field is very tight this year. I’m loving it. Probably be more interesting after Hamilton retires. But, that’s a topic for a different thread.
Cheers!

Thanks. I agree with you that the mid field is very tight. I am sure that you will be seeing that in today's qualifying where it is going to be a dash till the end of each qualifying session. Regarding a poll, yes only one poll can be added and I think adding a poll rating the race would be better as it is easier for even the less F1 savvy to relate too. Will add one shortly.

Drive on,
Shibu

[speedmiester]

Looks like Mercedes is again the team to beat. Alpine have shown good pace and so is the Ferrari of Leclerc.

With the changes to the braking zone at Turn 10, this should open up more DRS assisted overtaking at this corner.

Spanish GP is usually a snooze fest as it is very hard to overtake, hoping for some action on the track this time around.

[Fiestaboy]

Though Redbull looked very strong during the start of the season, after 3 races & today's qualifying - looks like Merc has tiny bit margin still at the front.
Since Spain has a mix of all (low, med & high speed corners) coming out from this race will give more clear picture of who is at front.

If Redbull is in second position, in season development of theirs's will be strong & that can give them opportunity to fight this year.

[shibujp]

What a milestone for Lewis Hamilton! 100 poles. I doubt this record will be easily eclipsed anytime soon. As mentioned by him, it also needs a team as dominant as Mercedes.

However the laps itself were not as flawless as you come to expect from the top few front runners. No one improved on their last laps. Tire management across sectors seem to be crucial. Drivers pushing hard in the first sector seemed to take too much out of the tyre and pay the price in the last sector where the reprofiled Turn 10 put extreme requirements on the tyre as it is literally almost flat-out after a DRS zone. The minute details in Formula 1 never cease to amaze.

The Alpines qualified really strong as promised during their FP runs. Ocon in P5 and Alonso in P10.

Leclerc in P4 is sure to put the screws on Bottas and the 600 meter run to turn one means that the slip stream is going to be especially powerful. And the rest of the top 10 is no slouch either...Sainz, Riccardo, Norris and Perez.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[JoshMachine]

By claiming his 100th pole under not-so-ideal car condition, Hamilton showed (again!) that he is really the man amongst the boys!
No wonder, his boss (Toto Wolff) was full of praise for him.

When the race gets over today, don't think there would be any surprises on who takes the podium. The top 3 getting to the first corner should retain the same position till the chequered flag, with the flat straights and very few overtaking moments.

The fight today, should be mostly in the mid-lineups, amongst the Ferraris, Mclarens and the impressive Alpines, with the Red Bull playing possible spoilsport.

[mayankk]

Masterful from Lewis and Mercedes.
This was one of the most mature drives from him, aligning perfectly with the decided strategy, and pounding in lap after lap of domination!
What a drive. What a win!!!

[VRJ]

Funny how a brilliant tyre strategy and a safety car can change the fate of a race. Good start by Max, but a brilliant strategy and drive by Hamilton. Not sure what was running through Horners head, after all these years they still can’t predict or outsmart Mercedes and Toto . Very disappointed with Red Bull. Unfortunate pitstop and a bad strategy let down Max. I really wanted him to win.

Surprised how Bottas didn’t let Hamilton through. I don’t blame Bottas, but certainly wasn’t expecting it. Good drive by Charles and Danny. Nice to see Vettel and Alonso battle. Alpine seems to have good pace at Qualification but somehow loose it during the race. Aston Martin (pink Mercedes) had very good pace last year, but not sure what happened this year. Overall, it was a good race and proved wining a race is a team effort.

Cheers!

[iamahunter]

The Mercs have a massive speed advantage over all the other teams. How easily Hamilton and Bottas take down others on the straights is just a proof of the same.

Redbull are lacking pace in the straight line, also the their 2nd driver should come up to pace if they are serious about the constructor's championship.

Ricardo seems to be coming up to speed with its new team now.

Also glad to see Ferrari's coming up.

Someone should teach the Hass driver the meaning of blue flags, sirf team pappa ki hai, pura F1 nahi..

[SShandilya]

These races are becoming so boring and predictable.
The sport is dying for sure

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

When the race gets over today, don't think there would be any surprises on who takes the podium. The top 3 getting to the first corner should retain the same position till the chequered flag

Feel vindicated when the results are what I thought they will be - Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas at start and on the podium.

Today’s brilliant tyre /pit stop strategy by Mercedes combined with Hamilton’s conscious driving- reminded me of Ferrari’s yesteryear’s a when Michael Schumacher used the similar skills to perfection!

Wonder who will go down in history as the more accomplished champion.

My heart will go out for red.

[akash_v12]

What in the world was RB thinking? Max could’ve easily been pitted on Lap 45 and still made it out ahead of Lewis, given they had a 3s stop. Max was losing time and it was clear enough. Lewis & Bono’s enthusiasm to make up the gap was very encouraging. Just shows how the fight between RB & Mercedes is going to be this year.

Schumacher had a great start, the boy’s got some great talent. His team-mate somehow ends up being the absolute jerk, blocking the Mercs again (as heard by us when the radio between the FIA & Toto came up.) We’ll just have to see the rest of what happens.

Pace wise, I feel RB is much ahead while strategy wise Merc is definitely smarter.

Good improvements from Ferrari too! Both cars on the pace today.

[Yusha]

Originally Posted by akash_v12

What in the world was RB thinking? Max could’ve easily been pitted on Lap 45 and still made it out ahead of Lewis, given they had a 3s stop. Max was losing time and it was clear enough. Lewis & Bono’s enthusiasm to make up the gap was very encouraging. Just shows how the fight between RB & Mercedes is going to be this year.

Pace wise, I feel RB is much ahead while strategy wise Merc is definitely smarter.

Good improvements from Ferrari too! Both cars on the pace today.

There was no guarantee that Max would have come out ahead of Lewis. Lewis was eight tens faster in the first sector after he pitted.

The reason RB did not put Max is that they had no fresh mediums and softs would not have lasted 23 laps at the pace Max would have have to drive to keep Lewis behind on mediums.

The RB is faster than MB on softs but slower on mediums. That’s the difference between the cars. RB should be faster In races where softer compounds will be used, like Monaco and Baku.

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by Yusha

There was no guarantee that Max woneuld have come out ahead of Lewis. Lewis was eight tens faster in the first sector after he pitted.

I did mention a perfect stop (<3s for Max was needed). The Pit Window is around 22s for entry to exit and IIRC at the end of Lap 43/44, Max had a clearance of about 23.9-24s.

No doubt that the Merc is quick, but even on the second stint on the C2s, Max was able to hold off Lewis pretty well. Only for the shock horror of him pitting to come up next.

For some reason, RB thought that 1.8s/lap was not quick enough for HAM to catch VER till the end of the last lap. Simple calculation based on tyre degradation gives me an average 1.3/1.4s gained per lap by Hamilton till the end. Hamilton pitted on Lap 42 which meant that he had around 22 laps to complete. 22*1.3 = 28.6s which was enough considering the RB's tyre-destroying nature & Verstappen pushing the car to the limit. Even after Max saying that they would not be able to hold on for much, they kept him out for track position & track position only when they knew that they would lose it anyways. RB have also not learnt from their mistakes in Hungary 2019, and in their fight for the championships, it is essential that they do.

Apologize for the rant. I still feel that this was an opportunity lost. RB's strategy is now basically giving away free wins to Mercedes. But, Verstappen didn't ever leave a stone unturned.