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Thursday 16 May 2013

Spanish Grand Prix Race Report

After a Spanish Grand Prix that contained a whopping 82 pit stops in total, here's what I made of each driver and team.


Race rating: 5.5/10



Drivers



Car 1 (S VETTEL, G3 R4): Sebastian's race was a surprisingly quiet affair. A decent start saw him make up time on the mobile chicane that was Rosberg, but was slow to clear the two Mercedes cars. For the remainder of the race he didn't really feature. A spurt late on almost got him noticed by Massa, but a lackluster performance by Vettel has closed up the championship
4/10

Car 2 (M WEBBER, G7 R5): If Sebastian Vettel had a quiet race, then Mark Webber was very much under the radar. Another disappointing weekend for the Aussie puts his championship aspirations into further doubt. Is his driving being affected by plans for next year though?
3/10

Car 3 (F ALONSO, G5 R1): Fernando Alonso could have potentially performed better in qualifying, but an excellent start putting him ahead of both Raikkonen and the dismal Hamilton set him up for a near-faultless race. Under no pressure for the win after half-distance, Fernando Alonso can enjoy a classy victory.
8/10

Car 4 (F MASSA, G9 R3): A questionable three-place grid penalty for allegedly holding up Mark Webber in qualifying put Felipe on the back foot heading into Sunday, but the return of the '2008 Felipe' continued this weekend. A well-deserved podium is his reward for a solid race. Could he have caught Raikkonen? Unlikely.
7/10

Car 5 (J BUTTON, G14 R8): Yet another appalling weekend for the team that ended 2012 with the fastest car. Arrived with upgrades but they were unable to use some of them as they had not passed scrutineering. A poor display in qualifying considering that Sergio Perez made it into Q3, but better pace after the first stint show that there are signs of improvement in both the driver and the car. Handicapped by low tyre pressures after an unusually slow formation lap, he struggled in the first stint and fell to 17th
5/10

Car 6 (S PEREZ, G8 R9): A vast improvement on previous qualifying efforts saw Sergio get into Q3. An average race spent largely under the radar as 'Checo' aimed to score valuable points to overhaul Force India in the points table. An unremarkable weekend for the Mexican.
5/10

Car 7 (K RAIKKONEN, G4 R2): Lotus have been easy on their tyres all year and it has paid off once again, with a solid second for Kimi Raikkonen for the second race in a row. An average start saw him ahead of Hamilton but behind Alonso, where he would remain for the rest of the race. Able to use a three-stop strategy to near perfection
7/10

Car 8 (R GROSJEAN, G6 RDNF): A poor weekend for the driver that returned to form in Bahrain. Was unable to maximise the potential of the car in qualifying and then suffered a suspension failure just eight laps into the race. A weekend to forget for him.
1/10

Car 9 (N ROSBERG, G1 R6): Mercedes suffered at the hands of the tyres once again in Spain. Nico Rosberg was stunning in qualifying, but average at best in the race. The German drove a cautious first stint but that was not enough to save his race.
4/10

Car 10 (L HAMILTON, G2 R12): The Spanish Grand Prix was a horror show for Hamilton fans. The driver widely believed to be the best qualifier on the current grid was beaten to pole by Rosberg, then suffered a poor start  to drop behind Vettel and Alonso. After that, he just went backwards. A weekend to forget for Hamilton.
1/10

Car 11 (N HULKENGERG, G15 R15): Sauber brought upgrades for Spain but Nico Hulkenberg still languished down in 15th. Add to that a penalty for an embarrasing collision in the pit lane and you have a weekend that will not live long in the memory
2/10

Car 12 (E GUTIERREZ, G19, R11): A poor display in qualifying by the Mexican who is currently the highest placed rookie in the championship. After failing to get out of Q1, he put on a good display to just finish outside of the points, featuring his best racecraft of the year so far. If he can improve his qualifying pace then points may be around the corner.
4/10

Car 14 (P DI RESTA, G10, R7): Once again taking advantage of a competetive car compared to Force India's rivals (Sauber, Williams and Scuderia Toro Rosso), Paul outqualified Sutil with ease and drove a controlled race to seventh.
6/10

Car 15 (A SUTIL, G13 R13): An unremarkable qualifying left Sutil in a reasonable shape for the race. A very early first pit stop didn't help proceedings, but this is yet another weekend where he has been outshone by teammate Di Resta.
5/10

Car 16 (P MALDONADO, G17 R14): Despite extensive upgrades brought to the Spanish Grand Prix, both Williams cars were knocked out in Q1. From there, Maldonado could do very little. An unusually quiet weekend for the Venezuelan.
4/10

Car 17 (V BOTTAS, G16 R16): A more positive weekend for the Finn than has been seen so far this season. After outqualifying his teammate Pastor Maldonado, Valteri drove a quiet and unassuming race. However, there must be concern at Williams, after winning this race last year, they are still without points.
5/10

Car 18 (J VERGNE, G12 RDNF): After closing the gap to teammate Ricciardo in qualifying, Jean-Eric Vergne was heading for a finish in the lower reaches of the points until being taken out by Hulkenberg following Sauber's pit stop blunder. A positive weekend cut short.
5/10

Car 19 (D RICCIARDO, G11 R10): Daniel Ricciardo's strong season continues with yet more points for the Australian driver in a crucial battle at Scuderia Toro Rosso for Mark Webber's seat for 2014 if he retires (which now looks likely. Click here for more). A strong race from Ricciardo after just missing out on Q3 shows just how far he has come since his debut with HRT at Silverstone in 2011.
7/10

CAR 20 (C PIC, G22 R17): A disaster in qualifying for the Frenchman. Despite receiving a raft of upgrades for his Caterham (including a new vanity panel) that his teammate did not have, Charles still lined up 22nd and last on the grid. An uneventful race saw him 17th, but this was largely thanks to the three retirements in this race rather than demon overtaking manoeuvres. However, he did finish ahead of the Marussia cars, so credit must go there
2/10

CAR 21 (G VAN DER GARDE, G18 RDNF): The strongest qualifying performance of the year from the Dutchman saw him line up 18th, ahead of his more experienced teammate and both Marussia cars. Unfortunately, his race ended prematurely thanks to an errant wheel, but it seems that Giedo van der Garde may just be finding his way in Formula One now.
4/10

Car 22 (J BIANCHI, G20 R18): Jules continues to impress in his rookie year, this time outqualifying the newly-upgraded Caterham of Charles Pic as well as his teammate. A strong race for the Frenchman saw him edge out Max Chilton to take eighteenth place overall, largely through the etirements of Grosjean, Vergne and van der Garde.
5/10

Car 23 (M CHILTON, G21 R19): There is definite improvement as far as Max Chilton is concerned, with the young Briton just shy of outqualifying Jules Bianchi for the first time. A strong race followed, featuring a long battle with Jules Bianchi, before just being edged out of eighteenth place. Hopefully more performances like this to follow.
7/10

Teams

Infinity Red Bull Racing Renault: The reigning champions were sore losers in Barcelona, with team owner Dietrich Mateschitz claiming that it "was not racing" as tyre wear was the focus for the drivers. Never mind that in 2011 Sebastian Vettel won the Spanish Grand Prix in a race that featured only two less pit stops and Red Bull never complained once!
4.0/10

Scuderia Ferrari: The masters from Maranello were at it again, with a masterful win for Fernando Alonso and a pleasing third place for Felipe Massa. Qualifying pace is lacking a little bit but typically monstrous starts make up for that.
8.5/10

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: The woes for the Woking Wonders continue withthe upgrades that could be used on the car failing to significantly improve the pace of the MP4-27, with other upgrades not being subjected to full scrutineering and they could not therefore be used. Signs of minor improvement but this is not good enough for a team of this calibre. A team in trouble
3.0/10

Lotus F1 Team: Once again qualifying let the team down a touch, but solid race pace was once again the team's trump card. Romain Grosjean's return to form was somewhat spoilt by a lap eight suspension failure, but Lotus are more than a match for reigning champions Red Bull
6.5/10

AMG Mercedes-Benz GP Petronas: After displaying stunning qualifying speed despite solely focussing on race pace in the free practice sessions, the race itself was a disaster for the team. I suspect it is only a matter of time before "2011/12 Lewis Hamilton" returns to the cockpit as he will soon start to lose patience with races that see him (and Rosberg) fall backwards.
3.0/10

Sauber Ferrari: Despite upgrades to the rear of their car, the Swiss team struggled once again in Spain. Gutierrez's fastest lap the only consolation for a team that was on the podium four times in 2012.
4.5/10

Sahara Force India Mercedes: Once again Force India were strong in Spain, with Paul Di Resta squeezing into Q3 and then storming up to seventh in the race, just ahead of the two McLarens. Sutil, on the other hand, started and finished thirteenth, thus highlighting just how good Paul Di Resta was on both Saturday and Sunday
6.0/10

Williams Renault: Williams won this race last year, and despite extensive upgrades to their car, even points were out of the question on Sunday, their car suffering horrific oversteer. A poor weekend for a team of this calibre, and it looks like 2013 could be even worse than 2011, which was the worst year in the team's illustrious history, unless direct action is taken now
3.0/10

Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari: Another strong weekend for Ricciardo saw him score another valuable point for the team, though Vergne's retirement bringing the Faenza-based team back to Earth. The car looks good, and more points should follow in Monaco and Canada.
5.5/10

Caterham Renault: An extensive upgrade package failed to shift Charles Pic off the back row, and a pit stop blunder saw Van der Garde's wheel fall off on lap twenty one. An average weekend at best.
4.0/10

Marussia Cosworth: Despite both cars being outqualified by Van der Garde's Caterham on Saturday, both Marussia cars were more competitive than we have seen so far this year in the race itself, although Pic did eventually finish ahead of both Chilton and Bianchi. With Chilton's pace improving all the time, could 2013 be the year that Marussia score their first point?
5.5/10

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