2010 Spanish Grand Prix Review

When a particular car or driver is untouchable it really is untouchable. Mark Webber fell right into this category today as he stormed to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in Catalunya. The Red Bull Racing driver crossed the line well clear of his rival to take his first win of the season and only his teams second of the campaign. This Sunday walk in the park for Webber underlined Red Bull's superiority throughout the weekend and has certainly left many teams plenty to think about as the Formula One season heads into a crucial period of eleven races in the space of eight weeks.

For the duration of the weekend the two Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber were in a league of their own. On a circuit where so much winter testing had been done previously, the two cars seemed glued to the track in every sense over the course of the weekend. Their closest challenger came from the Mclaren of Lewis Hamilton but even he was at least half a second per lap slower on average. The Red Bulls locked out the front row of the grid for the race and seemed in command until the Mclaren of Hamilton managed to neatly split the two via the pit-stops. The Milton-Keynes outfit seemed poised for one-three finish and plenty of points once again when, their old friend unreliabilty came back to haunt young Vettel yet again.

This problem just doesnt seem to want to go away for Red Bull. But more importantly these problems seem to attack Vettel more harder than his team mate Webber. This raises the question whether or not Vettel is indeed pushing his car far too much and thus, damaging his car throughout the long race. It certainly would make sense. The high artificial kerbs of the Circuit de Catalunya don't do wonders for any car if the driver tends to take his car for a tough ride over them. Throughout the weekend most drivers seemed conservative in navigating through them whereas Vettel seemed to give his car a fair beating by cutting into the apex far too deep. This can damage the undertray and suspension of the car seriously. Perhaps Vettel in doing this does more bad for his car than good. Today however it was his brakes that seemed to give him grief with his team telling him to nurse his car to flag. Fortunately Vettel had a neat cushion over fourth place Schumacher and he didn't surrender further places.

Driver of the day apart from Webber would have definately gone to Lewis Hamilton had he not retired laps from the flag thanks to a puncture. The Mclaren driver put a few disappointing races behind him where he was second to team mate Button and produced a mature and daring drive and had managed to split the Red Bulls thanks to a handy pit stop and a few very quick laps. However with the flag and sight and very decent eighteen points seemingly his, Lewis entered the long turn three which puts supreme pressure on the tyres which on this occasion gave up the chase which sent Hamilton flying into the barriers. Mclaren came into the race with a host of updates on their car and had promised to challenge for the victory going into the weekend. After Friday practice, Jenson Button admitted that the Red Bull cars were far too fast to challenge and he himself had quite a quiet race stuck behind the Mercedes of Schumacher. Mclaren certainly have improved from the opening four races with these upgrades but whether or not Hamilton look back on those lost eighteen points later in the season remains to be seen.

For the fourth race in a row Felipe Massa saw his race pace easily beaten by two time champion team mate Alonso, who finished second to the delight of the home crowd. Ferrari have said they will investigate Massa's form further as the Brazilian doesnt seem to be gluing as well to this Ferrari as his team mate is. It is well to point out that Massa did have a very violent accident less than a year ago in which he very nearly lost his life. This accident could have indeed damaged Massa's driving ability as he certainly seems a shadow of the driver who came to within a lap of clinching the 2008 Drivers crown. Perhaps the Brazillian is now more cautions than ever and has lost some of that courageous spirit that he once had. One thing is for sure, Ferrari will want Massa to up his game soon. With Ferrari second in the Constructors Championship, they will need to be collecting plenty of points at each race and if Massa continues to deliver below-par performances, the Robert Kubica to Ferrari rumours may just become a reality.

A special word must also go out to the one and only Michael Schumacher who produced his best weekend performance of the season so far in fifth and also beat team mate Rosberg for the first time aswell. Mercedes upgrade package for this weekend has definitely seemed to have agreed with Schumacher as he finally seemed to get things together on the track. But it was completely contrasting fortunes for Rosberg who finished well outside the points. Rumours around the Paddock are rife that Schumacher's influence within the team seems to be engulfing Rosberg's and it is more Schumacher's input into the car upgrades which could hamper Rosberg's fine start to the season. This once again underlines the aura surrounding Schumacher who demonstrated such power at Ferrari where he put team mates like Irvine, Barrichello and Massa into the shade. Rosberg may feel peeved after this weekend but has only a week to get himself together. The Mercedes GP battle seems pretty tasty indeed.

The lavish and luxurious Monte Carlo is only a couple of days away with the first bit of action to take place on the unique day of Thursday instead of Friday. This is the first test of twenty plus cars racing through the legendary street circuit with the unforgiving armco barriers awaiting any driver who has a lapse in concentration. This race may just become quite messy as the rich and famous look on from their yachts as they sip their drinks in the sun.

2010 Spanish Grand Prix Preview

The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix sees Formula One return to Europe after a pulsating and draining opening four Grands Prixs. The Circuit de Catalunya is located not far from the wonderful city of Barcelona and is a circuit known all too well by the teams and the drivers. For the majority of the close season winter testing, the teams come to Catalunya to test their new machines. This is thanks to the circuits unique testing layout of fast straights, sweeping corners and some very tight corners which give the circuit a little bit of everything to test the driver.

The start of the European season is a significant point in any Formula One season. With the opening fly-away events out of the way, the European season stretches across the summer and into the final few races. Effectively, the title can be won and lost in the European season. Jenson Button managed to do just than in his Brawn last year, as he managed to create a points advantage so large that no matter what other teams did, he always remained out in front.

For this particular race every team arriving at Barcelona will have some sort of upgrade on their cars which they hope will produce some kind of advantage in their push for that win or much needed points. After their one-two in China, Mclaren come to Catalunya with an upgrade package aimed improving the cars performance in the dry as their two wins this season have come in changeable conditions.

Ferrari's changes between China and Spain have probably been the most as the Scuderia want to get closer to the front of the grid and improve their reliability, which has seen two engine failures for Fernando Alonso and similar problems for Felipe Massa and Sauber, who use Ferrari engines. Ferrari during the three week break have gone to the FIA to ask could they make small changes to their engine and have had their appeal approved by the sports governing body. Also during the three week break, the Italian team has continued to develop their own version of Mclaren's innovative F-duct which improves drag and hence, improves overall speed. Ferrari will be hoping such changes to the car will be able to get them closer to the top step of the podium, which they havent been to since the opening round albeit luckily.

For the other teams around the Grid the Spanish Grand Prix is a chance to either improve or continue their currant form. Renault have been by far the surprise package of the season, with Robert Kubica scoring plenty of points in the opening rounds which has heightened speculation of a 2011 move to Ferrari. Jarno Trulli and Lotus believe that their season starts in Spain, with plenty of improvements to the car which they hope can see the new team push to make it out of Saturday's opening qualifying.

But spare a thought for struggling Virgin F1. After the first volcanic ash cloud kept many teams in China for an extra couple of days, Virgin suffered the worst. The team has already had woes in it's fuel tank department when it was discovered their tank was too small and unable to complete a full race. The delays in China mean only one car (First driver Timo Glock) will have an upgraded car for Spain, while Lucas Di Grassi's tough baptism of fire into the sport looks set to continue.

The stage is set for a very competitive Spanish Grand Prix. Though the circuit in the past has failed to live up to its expectation as the opening round of the European leg, the 2010 version could do the circuit justice. Alot of the drivers on the grid know the circuit like the back of their hand through testing and it will be interesting to see which team has made the most of the three week break after China. Red Bull Racing have had four pole positions in a row but only one race win to their name. The Spanish Grand Prix will probably be seen by many in Red Bull as almost a must win race after their recent woes. Mclaren, Mercedes and Ferrari will all hope with their recent upgrades that they will be able to keep on the pace with the team from Milton-Keynes. The anticipation for the Spanish Grand Prix is just as high as it was for the opening round of the Championship, lets hope we dont have a similar Bahrain bore.

2010 Chinese Grand Prix Review

There is always a certain pressure that is added to any Formula One driver once he wins his maiden World Championship. One of the main questions is will he be able to successfully defend his crown or even put in a worthy defense? After the Chinese Grand Prix today Jenson Button is showing the Formula One world why he is the defending champion. Once again in tough, changeable conditions which included many dashes to the pits, two safety car intervals and two rain showers, the Briton produced a stunning drive and managed to keep his team mate Lewis Hamilton behind and was able to firmly beat him over the course of the race. Button now leads the championship by 10 points, a similar position he found himself exactly a year ago this month.

Jenson seemed in his element throughout a somewhat tough and tricky race which had seen him start from the 3rd row of the grid. An early safety car period and rain shower gave Button an opportunity similar to that in Australia, in which he once again mastered his tyre decision to take full advantage of others who didnt. Though his intermediates were struggling towards the end due to bad graining, Button showed his supreme skill in managing his tyres right to the very end. Hamilton's tyres in contrast to his team-mates were much more worn. Button's smooth driving skill on a slippery track today was just one of the many highlights from an entertaining race. Hamilton may be quick in the wet, but Button's driving today and his second win of the season puts him well into the lead in this interesting Mclaren battle of the team mates.

One has to feel sorry once again for the Red Bulls who after once again locking out the front row of the grid happened to find themselves struggling for a wet performance and finished in the latter part of the points. Sebastien Vettel, who after only one win with four pole positions to show for it, may just rue these opening four races when it comes to the end of the season. The Red Bulls have the qualifying pace but their race performance, reliability and race strategies in these opening four races have since been questionable.

Nico Rosberg finds himself in second place in the championship after a strong drive despite nursing home his Mercedes car to the finish. This has been probably one of the finest races the young German has driven and was at one point in the lead for the race and looking quite handy, until Button's crucial tyre decision. For the fourth race in a row Rosberg comprehensively out-paced, out-qualified and out-raced his illustrious team mate Michael Schumacher. Schmumacher in talking to the media about his struggles seems to be a different man from his Ferrari days. If results went this way in the early naughies, Schumacher would have always been reluctant to talk to the media or even give a slight opinion. Now he seems more inclined than ever. He may not be driving the best and is certainly not at home in this Mercedes car but it looks like Schumi is just happy to back driving, no matter what result.

Another team mate situation that seems to get more and more intriguing is down in the Ferrari pits. Fernando Alonso, like Rosberg for the fourth race in a row has managed to out-pace his team mate and finds himself not only ahead of the Brazilian in the championship, but he seems with each passing race as the true patriarch within the Marenello squad. Rumours have been rife throughout the weekend that Renault's Robert Kubica has been lined up to replace Massa for 2011. Massa has been questioned this weekend and has since denied any reports, even saying he has been in "no rush" to sign any new deal at Ferrari. This is where Alonso comes into play. If he continues out out perform Massa the plucky Brazilian might look to drive elsewhere for the good of his career instead of constantly playing second fiddle to Alonso, who on his day is the best out there. Despite two more stops than team mate Massa, Alonso still managed to finish well ahead of him. One has to wonder will this trend continue.

The Chinese pit lane was the scene of quite a few incidents over the race weekend. Hamilton and Vettel were released side by side down the pit lane during a heated moment during the race where pit stops and track position was crucial. They have since been reprimanded and will face no further action. Hamilton beforehand also made a very late move to the pits despite corning the final turn, decided to make a move to the pits, cutting across the gravel trap and then tightly into the pits. Had there been more traffic, such a move could have been quite dangerous. Fernando Alonso also made an audacious move on non other than his team mate on the tight right angle entrance to the pits, where he managed to squeeze down the inside of Massa and thus first into the pits. Ferrari have since played down Alonso's move with Alonso adding that "If he was not my team-mate, there wouldn't be so much talk about it,".

Formula One now takes a three week break as teams digest the opening four fly-away event. The European season kicks off in May with a visit to Barcelona, scene of many winter tests this year and in the past. Many teams know the Circuit de Catalunya very thanks to this. But the current Icelandic volcanic ash cloud which has brought European travel to a standstill could have a part to play still. Many Formula One teams could find themselves stranded in China for some days yet as travel has been hit hard by this natural occurance. Thankfully, this three week break does give the teams more time than most race breaks which can be two or even a week long. Many teams will be bringing valuable updates to their cars when the Formula One season reassembles in Barcelona. Will it still be Red Bull come then or do Ferrari, Mclaren and Mercedes have something up their sleeves.