Vamos! Round 6 of the 2022 Formula 1 season is the Spanish Grand Prix! The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been hosting grand prix races since 1991 and will host the 66 lap race on Sunday. In Miami, all of the teams went in not knowing what to expect because it was a new track. However, the Spanish track was used for pre-season testing in February, so teams already have data on how their cars perform here. This historic track should give us some traditional European racing, which is much needed after the fanfare and extravaganza that was the Miami Grand Prix!
This weekend has a normal race schedule: FP1, FP2, FP3, Qualifying, and a race. No sprint. Practice sessions will not be as important as they were in Miami because the drivers and teams all know this track very well. Drivers have driven in Barcelona since their early days in motorsport, so they won’t have to spend practice getting a hang of the track. Even for Zhou Guanyu, the rookie, it shouldn’t be too hard to drive the track in a F1 car because he drove the track during February’s pre-Season testing! The comfort teams feel at this track means that instead of focusing on the track, they can focus on their set-ups and the car during practice.
Weekend Schedule (all in EST):
Practice 1: Friday, 5/20, 8:00-9:00 A.M.
Practice 2: Friday, 5/20, 11:00-12:00 A.M.
Practice 3: Saturday, 5/21, 7:00-8:00 A.M.
Qualifying: Saturday, 5/21, 10:00-11:00 A.M.
Race: Sunday, 5/22, 9:00-11:00 A.M.
Over the course of the season, teams are allowed to install upgrades to their cars; they just can’t debut a completely different car. Traditionally, teams debut a slew of upgrades during the weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix because of their familiarity with it. They understand the track, had pre-season testing at it, and have had enough time in the season to know what they need to fix. Teams compare their data from the very beginning of the season to their data and performance now. This year, teams might be especially keen to reveal their major upgrades because the Spanish Grand Prix marks the start of a series of tricky, twisty tracks in the race schedule. Next weekend is the Monaco Grand Prix, which is a very difficult street circuit. Teams will want to maximize their performance for that iconic race.
This weekend will show us how well the Mercedes upgrades from Miami are working. They seemed to be helping during the Miami Grand Prix, but at the same time, Mercedes struggled. Spain will give us a better understanding of how effective these upgrades really were. The midfield cars are all performing so similarly that the order of the teams changes from track to track. However, new upgrades could bump certain teams up to be “best of the rest”. It will be interesting to watch and see how this affects racing. Unfortunately, Haas might get the short end of the stick this weekend. They have decided not to showcase their upgrades in Spain because they feel that they don’t need it. Their car is performing well enough at the moment that Haas thinks it can wait four to five races and see how other cars are performing. I think that Guenther Steiner, Haas’ team principal, wants to scout the competition!
After hosting 31 Formula One races on this track, its history will also test the FIA. This year, the FIA introduced many new racing regulations to allow for closer racing. The regulations and new cars make it easier for wheel to wheel racing to occur without damaging tires or losing speed. They are why Verstappen and Leclerc can drive one directly behind the other without losing pace. The track is historically known for making overtaking difficult. The short, 4.675 km track of 16 corners, 2 straights, and 2 DRS zones doesn't provide many major overtaking zones. If overtaking is shown to be easier or more likely in Spain, the FIA’s regulations will be proven to serve their purpose.
This weekend doesn’t really have favorites yet. During testing in Barcelona, Ferrari primarily outperformed Red Bull. Since then, Red Bull has upgraded their car and brought it back into championship contention, so we don’t know who will dominate this weekend. The track is also a mix of low and high speed corners, making certain sectors good for Red Bull and other sectors good for Ferrari. The Ferrari car is great at low speed, technical circuits while the Red Bull excels at high speed tracks. We will probably get quite a few Verstappen-Leclerc-switcharoos during the race! It seems almost as if this track was made for these two to battle!
Since we don’t have favorites for who will win the race, let’s talk about my favorites!
Carlos Sainz! The Spaniard is going to have his home race! Sainz has always been supported by his home country, even if his car wasn’t very good. This year, he has a championship contending car! This means that the home crowd will be going crazy about him. After a bit of a disastrous start to the season, I think this kind of energy will be really good for Sainz and Ferrari. They have the momentum from their podium in Miami, so maybe a maiden pole position is possible! That achievement at your home race would be really special!
Alex Albon! That man’s red hair seems to be doing the trick! I think we should keep an eye on him because he has scored points twice this season and made up more than five places in the past three races. The points might not seem impressive, but in a Williams, it’s incredible!
Mclaren! I know, the Papaya boys did not have a very good weekend in Miami. But I have hope for Barcelona. Norris went fastest on the second day of pre-season testing and he has gotten a podium this year! I think there is pace in that Mclaren, they just have to find it.
Fernando Alonso is also at his home race. He’s kind of like a national hero due to his former world champion status, so he’ll have the support of everyone in Spain this weekend. His last race win was in Spain, so hopefully Alonso and Alpine can get a good result!
Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi! I am saying it again this weekend, they have to get points! During Miami, Schumacher was really close to scoring points but a collision with Sebastian Vettel ruined his chances. If Albon is able to score points, I think Latifi should be able to because they have the same car. Although this track makes overtaking difficult, I will still be rooting for Schumacher and Latifi to score some points! Or at least one point. They just have to get into P10!
Honorable Mentions:
This week is Carlos Sainz’s home race and next week is his teammate, Charles Leclerc’s home race. The support Ferrari is going to get these next two weeks is going to be incredible!
I forgot to mention it during the Miami race recap, so I will talk about it here. Lando Norris wore a helmet that looked like a basketball! I know some people thought it was weird, but I felt like it was kind of cool! They somehow managed to make the helmet look like an actual basketball. And let’s be honest, the only person on the grid who would think about doing something like this is Lando Norris.
Mercedes reserve driver, Nyck de Vries will be driving for Williams during FP1. Part of F1’s driver program includes allowing reserve or junior drivers to drive the car during practice or test sessions. So, we won’t see Alex Albon’s red hair on Friday morning’s FP1 session, but he’ll be back for the rest of the race weekend.
This track is where Max Verstappen got his first ever F1 race win! He became the youngest driver to ever win a Formula One Grand Prix because he was 18. What’s even crazier than his age was the fact that it was his first race with Red Bull. Yes, that’s right. After being promoted mid-season to drive for Red Bull, Max Verstappen won the race where he made his Red Bull debut. Absolutely insane!
I think this week should be fun! The layout of the midfield cars should switch around a little after all of the upgrades are installed, and the Red Bulls and Ferraris will be battling at the front of the pack. All 20 cars should be fighting for overtakes! Remember to cheer Latifi and Schumacher on so that they score points! I will be back after the race to see if my predictions were right!
Happy Race Weekend!
~ Divya
Where I got these
from:
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/05/16/de-vries-to-drive-for-williams-in-barcelona-fp1/
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/110820/highlights-gp-spain-here-s-what-we-can-look-forward-to.html
https://www.lrs-formula.com/c/57-pdt_1920/barcelona-catalunya-circuit.jpg
https://firstsportz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CC_Express_20220321_2204100.jpg
https://www.grandprix247.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/1-albon-with-red-hair-f1-miami.jpg
https://e0.365dm.com/13/05/1600x900/Fernando-Alonso-Spanish-GP-2013_2943272.jpg
https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Webp.net-resizeimage-1-8.jpg