Spanish Grand Prix – race

May 13, 2007 by paul
Filed under: Uncategorized

From yesterday’s qualifying, the provisional grid is: FM, FA, KR, LH, RK, JT, NH, HK, DC, GF, NR, RB, TS, JB, AD, VL, RS, AW, MW, AS, CA, SS.

It’s 22 years since the Spanish Grand Prix has been won by anyone from anywhere other than the front row row of the grid … and then it wasn’t even at this circuit! So will today’s victor be Massa, Alonso or someone who can break that record?

Air temperature 28°C; track temp 47°C; wind 1.3m/s; humidity 44%

Formation lap: FM leads the pack away… looks like most of the drivers are starting on the soft (well, less hard) tyre

Yellow flags on the grid – Trulli’s got his hand in the air

The rest of the grid are set round on another formation lap while JT’s Toyota is pushed in to the pit lane

JT’s pit-car radio: sounds like low fuel pressure, but he’s at the pit lane exit ready to join the back of the pack once the race is underway

The grid reforms – the race distance is now 1 lap shorter

01/65: Looks like a clean getaway
FM & FA neck & neck in to Turn 1
FA is pushed wide in T2, across the gravel
There’s a lot of jostling at the back
Looks like the suspension on AW’s Williams is damaged – he ran into the back of RS when RS slowed to avoid his teammate

02: FM, LH, KR, FA, RK, NH, DC, HK; JB=P11
RS pits
AW pits
FM fastest lap 1:23.751
FA thinks about passing KR

03: FM f/lap 1:23.561

04: FM f/lap 1:23.017
AW is out of the car

05/65: FM, LH, KR, FA, RK, NH, DC, HK

06: On-board camera with GF – looks like he’s fighting with a lot of vibration

07: FM f/lap 1:23.016
LH is 4.5secs behind FM, and has a 1.5s lead over KR

08: MW has problems … he pits

09: FM f/lap 1:22.978
JT pits and parks in the garage

10/65: KR has slowed – he’s crawling in to the pit lane – the marshals have to push him clear of the pit entry

11: SS’s right rear fails at the end of the main straight – he parks on the grass
Looks like there’s part of the tyre carcass near the pit lane exit

12: FM, LH, FA, RK, NH, DC, HK, NR; JB=P10

13: FM f/lap 1:22.710
FM leads LH by 7.2s; FA is 3.9s behind his teammate

14: Retirements so far: AW, MW, JT, KR, SS

15/65: FM f/lap 1:22.680
RS sets personal f/lap (1:24.327) but he’s in last place (P17), 15.3secs behind CA

16: Speed interview MW – sounds like another hydraulic problem

17: Speed intervew JT – confirms it’s fuel pressure

18: FM is still opening the gap over LH and setting fastest sectors/laps – will he pit soon?
Close-up of JB’s front left tyre shows some pretty ugly blistering

19: RB pits from P9

20/65: FM pits from P1 – stopped 9.1s – flames as the Ferrari starts to move – someone uses an extinguisher but FM had already pulled away
FA pits too – 9.7s stop

21: VL is slowing – he pits
DC pits – squeezes past VL in the entry lane and the Red Bull squirms as he brakes to hit the pit speed limit

22: RK pits from P2
JB & GF (P7 & P8) pit together
Slow right rear change for GF
JB exits right alongside Honda teammate RB – did they touch?
JB’s lost his front wing – looks like it was on the kerb, not from contact

23: LH pits from P1 – 8.5s stop – NH takes the lead
JB pits again – new nose goes on – struggling to find a gear to pull away

24: NH pits from P1 – slow changing the front right … and the lollipop man sent him out too soon – the airgun was still attached, and a wheelnut is rolling down the pit lane!

25/65: NH taking the corners quite slowly, understandably, as he heads back to the pits

26: FM, LH, FA, RK, DC, HK, NR, AD (*AD yet to pit)

27: NH back in the pits … and somehow the front right wheel is still on – maybe that was a spare wheelnut?

29: AD pits from P8 – RB takes the spot

30/65: After their extra pit stops, NH is down to P15 and JB in P16/last
Retirements: AW, MW, JT, KR, SS, VL
Closest battles: HK just 0.3s behind DC (P5/P6), and NH 0.2s behind CA

31: HK pits from P6, which will please DC – an early 2nd stop for HK – are they trying to improve his track position?

32: FM just lapped almost 1sec/lap faster than LH & FA

33/65 (half distance): FM, LH, FA, RK, DC, NR, HK, RB; retirements: AW, MW, JT, KR, SS, VL
FM’s lead now 15.1s

35/65: CA given a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags

37: HK’s pit stop was pretty quick – will he need to do a “splash & dash” about lap 50?

39: GF is right on RB’s tail but can’t find a was past

40/65: FM, LH, FA, RK, DC, NR, HK, RB
NR posts another personal f/lap
Apparently KR has already left the circuit

41: GF pits from P9 – 6.7s stop – hard tyres

42: Ferrari pit crew getting ready for FM

43: FM pits – his lead over LH was ~16secs – hard tyres – F1′s commentary points out “No fires this time for Ferrari”
HK & DC pit too

44: LH leads his teammate by 9.1s
NR pits from P5

46: RS pits from P13 and parks in the garage

48: LH pits from P1 – 6.7s stop – hard tyres
NH slowing? – yes, he pits and turns the engine off

49: FA pits from P2 – 6.7s stop – soft tyres – that could help him pass his teammate
Retirements: AW, MW, JT, KR, SS, VL, RS, NH

50/65: CA pits – has he served his drive-through penalty yet?
JB pits from P12

51: FM, LH, FA, RK, DC, NR, HK, GF; JB=P12
FA laps about 0.5secs faster than LH, but there’s still a 15sec gap between them

53: Closest battle is HK 2.4s behind NR

55/65: FM, LH, FA, RK, DC, NR, HK, GF; JB=P12; Retirements: AW, MW, JT, KR, SS, VL, RS, NH

58: GF pit-car radio: no tyre change at next pit stop

59: GF personal f/lap 1:23.560
LH keeps locking up his front left

60/65: GF pits – 4.9s stop – TS passes him in to T1, taking P8

62: TS just staying ahead of GF

63: NR closing on DC – apparently DC has lost 3rd gear
Slow motion replay of LH’s McLaren – is there a piece of bodywork broken on the floor?

64/65: DC’s leading NR by just under 3secs with 2 laps left

65/65: Final lap: FM leads LH by 7.6s
DC only 1.4s ahead of NR – can he keep P5 until he crosses the line?
FM takes the chequered flag
LH takes P2, 10.6s ahead of teammate FA
P4 for RK; 5=DC; 6=NR; 7=HK; 8=TS – first point for Super Aguri

Provisional results:

F.Massa (Ferrari)
L.Hamilton (McLaren)
F.Alonso (McLaren)
R.Kubica (BMW)
D.Coulthard (Red Bull)
N.Rosberg (Williams)
H.Kovalainen (Renault)
T.Sato (Super Aguri) [+1 lap]
G.Fisichella (Renault) [+1 lap]
R.Barrichello (Honda) [+1 lap]
A.Davidson (Super Aguri) [+1 lap]
J.Button (Honda) [+1 lap]
A.Sutil (Spyker) [+2 laps]
C.Albers (Spyker) [+2 laps]
N.Heidfeld (BMW) [DNF]
R.Schumacher (Toyota) [DNF]
V.Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) [DNF]
S.Speed (Toro Rosso) [DNF]
K.Raikkonen (Ferrari) [DNF]
J.Trulli (Toyota) [DNF]
M.Webber (Red Bull) [DNF]
A.Wurz (Williams) [DNF]

Hamilton’s 2nd place makes him the youngest driver to lead the World Championship since Bruce McLaren in 1966.

Interviews:
FM: First corner “was a risk for both of us”; “yes, we [FA & FM] touched”, “very small contact”; he didn’t know about the fire in the first pit stop
LH: “I’m living my dream”
FA: Sounds like he blames Massa for the contact in T1