Questions for the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix
An awesome foursome for Lewis Hamilton? Which team will make the biggest step? And can Sebastian Vettel sort his head out?
Thursday 8 May 2014 17:27, UK
Who will bring the biggest upgrade?
There's always one buzzword in F1 at this time of year: development. The start of the European season, which Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya has staged in all but one occasion since 2006, is habitually the time when the first major in-season upgrades from the factories are delivered to the race track, although it's hard to recall many times in recent years - 2012 aside, perhaps, when both Ferrari and Williams suddenly emerged as front-runners at Barcelona - when that has resulted in a sea-change in the pecking order. Spain 2014, though, should be a little different. The embryonic nature of the 2014-spec cars and their turbo engines means there are still big chunks of time to find from teams' respective packages in one go, rather than the handful of tenths that has tended to be the case at the end of F1's last technical era. Across the course of the more logistically-challenging quartet of flyaway races, for example, Renault managed to steadily improve the power of their V6 units while Lotus went from propping up the grid in Australia to making Q3 just five weeks later in China. The need for everyone but all-conquering Mercedes to deliver on such theory this weekend is especially acute if the inter-team championship fight is to be anything but a formality. While the prospect of a Red Bull or Ferrari wiping out the W05's advantage in one single almighty swoop is wholly unrealistic, it's imperative the chasing pack start closing a gap which has seen Mercedes triumph in the races by an average of 25 seconds. While Renault-powered Red Bull have made no secret of where they are expecting improvements to come from, Ferrari are looking to build on what appeared tangible gains in China, even if the front-limited nature of the Shanghai circuit did perhaps flatter the F14 T. Fast-improving Lotus have promised a big package of improvements including engine mapping, new cooling and bodywork items while Sauber, similarly point-less after the first four rounds, will bring a lighter C33 and widespread aero changes to Barcelona. McLaren, too, are hoping for progress after back-to-back scoreless races with the MP4-29 and have signalled that the "root of our under-performance has been comprehensively analysed". Yet, for all the promise of steps forward elsewhere, one disheartening prospect shouldn't be ruled out: Mercedes actually increasing their advantage. It may be hard to see how the Brackley team can improve on an average winning margin of 25 seconds from the opening flyaways, but yet how much of their W05's full potential have we really seen? "I don't think Mercedes in any race yet are pushing," former Red Bull Race Engineer Mark Hutcheson suggested on the post-China Midweek Report. "I even heard that they have upgrades that they're not bringing because they've got no need to." With a near-100 point Constructors' Championship lead already, Mercedes' distant rivals really have to hope that proves to be the wildest of paddock conjecture.
@JamesGallowayF1 Just when will the Mercedes duopoly end?
Lewis Hamilton is odds-on (4/7) to prolong his winning streak by taking the chequered flag for the first time in Spain, with Sky Bet expecting Mercedes'
There's always one buzzword in F1 at this time of year: development. The start of the European season, which Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya has staged in all but one occasion since 2006, is habitually the time when the first major in-season upgrades from the factories are delivered to the race track, although it's hard to recall many times in recent years - 2012 aside, perhaps, when both Ferrari and Williams suddenly emerged as front-runners at Barcelona - when that has resulted in a sea-change in the pecking order. Spain 2014, though, should be a little different. The embryonic nature of the 2014-spec cars and their turbo engines means there are still big chunks of time to find from teams' respective packages in one go, rather than the handful of tenths that has tended to be the case at the end of F1's last technical era. Across the course of the more logistically-challenging quartet of flyaway races, for example, Renault managed to steadily improve the power of their V6 units while Lotus went from propping up the grid in Australia to making Q3 just five weeks later in China. The need for everyone but all-conquering Mercedes to deliver on such theory this weekend is especially acute if the inter-team championship fight is to be anything but a formality. While the prospect of a Red Bull or Ferrari wiping out the W05's advantage in one single almighty swoop is wholly unrealistic, it's imperative the chasing pack start closing a gap which has seen Mercedes triumph in the races by an average of 25 seconds. While Renault-powered Red Bull have made no secret of where they are expecting improvements to come from, Ferrari are looking to build on what appeared tangible gains in China, even if the front-limited nature of the Shanghai circuit did perhaps flatter the F14 T. Fast-improving Lotus have promised a big package of improvements including engine mapping, new cooling and bodywork items while Sauber, similarly point-less after the first four rounds, will bring a lighter C33 and widespread aero changes to Barcelona. McLaren, too, are hoping for progress after back-to-back scoreless races with the MP4-29 and have signalled that the "root of our under-performance has been comprehensively analysed". Yet, for all the promise of steps forward elsewhere, one disheartening prospect shouldn't be ruled out: Mercedes actually increasing their advantage. It may be hard to see how the Brackley team can improve on an average winning margin of 25 seconds from the opening flyaways, but yet how much of their W05's full potential have we really seen? "I don't think Mercedes in any race yet are pushing," former Red Bull Race Engineer Mark Hutcheson suggested on the post-China Midweek Report. "I even heard that they have upgrades that they're not bringing because they've got no need to." With a near-100 point Constructors' Championship lead already, Mercedes' distant rivals really have to hope that proves to be the wildest of paddock conjecture.
@JamesGallowayF1 Just when will the Mercedes duopoly end?
Lewis Hamilton is odds-on (4/7) to prolong his winning streak by taking the chequered flag for the first time in Spain, with Sky Bet expecting Mercedes'
