2015 Pirelli Spanish Grand Prix

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SVT Cobra GT

SVT Cobra GT

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After the lengthy break from the last race in Bahrain where once again Ferrari were a serious threat to Mercedes but failed to knock them off the top step. We now come to the first round of the European leg of the season where teams are bringing their first major upgrades with McLaren being watched by most to see if they will score their first points of the season. It also remains to be seen whether Ferrari will beat Mercedes this weekend. It should be an interesting race so get yourself ready for the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix

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Event date: 8-10 May 2015​
Number of Laps: 66​
Circuit Length: 4.655 km (2.892 mi)​
Race Distance: 307.104 km (190.826 mi)​
Lap Record: Kimi Raikkonen (2008) - 1:21.670​

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2014 Podium:​
1st - Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes​
2nd - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes​
3rd - Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull​

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Sky Sports Classic Races;​
Wednesday - Canada 1995​
Thursday - Hungary 1992
Sunday - Spain 2015 & San Marino 1982​
 
It'll be interesting to see how much these "major upgrades" boost the McLaren-Honda up the grid.

Would I be crazy to think a points finish is possible for at least one McLaren?
 
Its one of the worst tracks racing wise, but at the same time is interesting as its when all the teams start to bring their first set of Major upgrades for the season being the 1st race back in Europe.
 
Maldonado is the most Interesting feature of any Grand Prix.

There will come a day where he will be sacked and utter chaos will be removed.
 
It is not how the race will pan out, to me it will be a simple fact I can't wait until watching another race...

On that note I do have an idea of what someone should eat with any theory about the race. It involves soy sauce, Sailor Jerry and a good time period with bathroom rights ;-).

I am hoping to see McLaren Honda score a single point. That would make this race worth watching. Another bonus to me would be seeing Kimi place better then his teammate. Being a Hamilton fan I guess you know who I would love to see win this race. I also would love to see his teammate pay for his over aggressive passes from the last race.

During the race though I came close last race by a few laps, but Maldonado will be apart of an incident in the 12th lap. If this stands true I have the price to pay to those that want to compete. If I am wrong, I will video myself doing the bartenders challenge that this bartender so chooses to do ;-). This may spell disaster for me :-(.
 
My favorite race here was Schumacher's first win for Ferrari. I like this track even less now since they put that chicane in, which doesn't seem to have had any effect on making the track more racy.
 
I completely dislike the last sector chicane it ruins the flow of the track.

Low speed corners just before straights are how you ensure a pass is not going to happen.
 
For motorbike races and qualifying laps one of my favourites to watch but for some reason it's boring for an F1 race.
 
Peasantslayer
For motorbike races and qualifying laps one of my favourites to watch but for some reason it's boring for an F1 race.
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As a Motorbike track its probably the best track they visit, its a perfect ingredient for good racing.
 
ukfan758
I still don't understand why they added a chicane for the F1 races, there is plenty of runoff for the 2nd to last corner and a mile of it at the last corner. It is not dangerous whatsoever.
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It was put in to aid overtaking down the main straight in the pre-DRS/KERS days - there was no safety issue. Despite what @mustafur says, the best way to keep F1 cars close to each other down a straight is to precede it with a slow corner.

In a fast corner, the lead car has more grip than the chasing car as the lead car is driving through calm air, giving downforce. A following car loses downforce as it runs through the turbulence of the car in front, because the air is moving in several different directions at once rather than neatly over the car as the aerodynamicist's design requires. Less downforce = less grip = less speed on to the straight, which any slipstream effect cannot overcome. Here's a visual example:

BMWSauberF1windtunnel.jpg


That turbulence, and the airflow being above a following car, gives massive understeer through a fast corner, so you can't stay with the leading car. On a straight of course it's an advantage because that exact air effect is slipstream, which we all know and love.

In a slow corner, the loss of grip relative to the lead car is much less. The slower the corner, the more mechanical grip comes in to play over aerodynamic grip. Mechanical grip is not affected by how close you're running to a car ahead*, so through a slow corner you can stay closer to the car in front than through a fast corner.

Coming out of a slow chicane, that loss of grip through the last corner was less than it was with the old circuit design.

Or at least that's the theory. In practice it hasn't really worked.

...but I'm sure you knew all that already.

*Ignoring any tyre overheating issues caused by running in the hot air of the leading car.
 
In theory it makes sense but what we have seen as it does the exact opposite.

With DRS you need the Speed to be as high as possible to make maximum effect with it.

What we do find is the best overtaking spot ends up at turn 10.
 
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