2022 Spanish Grand Prix - Catalunya, May 20 - 22

[JPower]

These two quite short straights will be not enough for RBR to gain lap time vs. Ferrari's cornering speed, imo.
If quali will end like Leclerc 1st + Max 2nd ( which I bet) then the one who will be ahead after T1 will win the race.

It might be time for Sainz to have his first pole position...

You think he can beat car 16 here? I doubt it.

Why not? If he's on his game it should be possible.

Another unknown are the upgrades. If they make the car more predictable and tenable to Carlos' driving style, I think we could see the intrateam battle change some.

[bas550]

https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/news-f1- ... nal-sector

does anyone know if it's approved to remove the chicane or not?

No it is not changed for this year. You would have heard about that long before the date of the race. The FIA and promoter are thinking about changing to the other layout though.

It would be fantastic if they get rid of that horrible chicane, go back to the old layout but add a small banking to the final corner. It should increase speed by a decent margin and allow for a great first corner battle.

[SirBastianVettel]

It would be fantastic if they get rid of that horrible chicane, go back to the old layout but add a small banking to the final corner. It should increase speed by a decent margin and allow for a great first corner battle.

Why just a small banking, why not go full Zandvoort?

[Mogster]

How would you install banking on the side of a hill?

The problem with Barcelona’s final corner is the proximity of the main stand and the end of the pit wall. It was very dangerous previously, check some onboards.

[SirBastianVettel]

Maybe lower the inside of the corner? Also perhaps they could install SAFER barriers? I don't know if it's feasible, I just think it would be a great upgrade to the track (especially for Formula 1 cars).

[bas550]

How would you install banking on the side of a hill?

The problem with Barcelona’s final corner is the proximity of the main stand and the end of the pit wall. It was very dangerous previously, check some onboards.

Unless it's changed for this season, there's no grandstand immediately on the last corner that could harm people. Last time I was there you can walk there, so better fencing will soon fix that issue. In zandvoort the fencing is much closer (immediately on the edge off the track).

It would be fantastic if they get rid of that horrible chicane, go back to the old layout but add a small banking to the final corner. It should increase speed by a decent margin and allow for a great first corner battle.

Why just a small banking, why not go full Zandvoort?

Even better!

[deadhead]

Why not? If he's on his game it should be possible.

Another unknown are the upgrades. If they make the car more predictable and tenable to Carlos' driving style, I think we could see the intrateam battle change some.

Perhaps, so far this year he hasn't shown he can do it but maybe this is the time to that. I looked at the results from last year, I think Sainz was more comfortable in last year's car than this year, and he still lost in quali, so LEC is not bad around this track.

And yes, very possible the upgrades help him gain confidence, but same goes for the other car?

[JPower]

Why not? If he's on his game it should be possible.

Another unknown are the upgrades. If they make the car more predictable and tenable to Carlos' driving style, I think we could see the intrateam battle change some.

Perhaps, so far this year he hasn't shown he can do it but maybe this is the time to that. I looked at the results from last year, I think Sainz was more comfortable in last year's car than this year, and he still lost in quali, so LEC is not bad around this track.

And yes, very possible the upgrades help him gain confidence, but same goes for the other car?

I think Sainz has much more to gain there in Leclerc. I've seen nothing to suggest Leclerc has any tentativeness in the F1-75 regardless of setup. Sainz, on the other hand, definitely does.

We'll find out pretty shortly.

[SirBastianVettel]

For anyone who likes to place a bet and has faith in Aston Martin's photocopier this would be the time to place a bet. The odds are still great

Couldn't help myself to place a small bet on Vettel finishing in the top 3, I can eat out for a whole month if he manages

[chrisc90]

For anyone who likes to place a bet and has faith in Aston Martin's photocopier this would be the time to place a bet. The odds are still great

Couldn't help myself to place a small bet on Vettel finishing in the top 3, I can eat out for a whole month if he manages

250/1. Got to be worth a cheeky tenner!

[waynes]

no offence, I do some silly bets on f1 (number of finishers, first lap leader, first car retired tied with first driver to retire) but Vettels odds seem exceptionally silly on Betfair. Either they know something we dont (probable) or Aston really are in trouble. Or even more fantastically, the odds are actually a true reflection

or not when you look at the drivers with better odds



something isnt quite right with those odds to me but hey i'm just a degenerate gambler and see a car thats not the slowest and a driver who is driving very well. I'll take it. And here's the proof

[KeiKo403]

With last years cars (Hamiltons pole time) recording a 1:16.741 and the fastest lap on this track from pre season running (also Hamilton) being a 1:19.138.
2.397 seconds difference for those interested.

Does anyone have any thoughts of a representative pole lap time?

I could do some crude calculations based off of Bahrain testing and the Bahrain GP but given the short time between those 2 events I didn’t think it worth while.

[search]

Vettel himself said that he expects no immediate progress due to the update. Sure, he may be wrong, but best thing I realistically can see is 5th best team, so that would still require 6 DNFs ahead to finish on the podium. The fact that others with a smaller chance have lower odds, doesn't necessarily mean that those on the Aston Martin are wrong.

[AMG.Tzan]

Why are FP1 & FP2 so late today??

Usually in Europe they start earlier in the morning…

[KeiKo403]

FP2 doesn’t start until after the Qualifying and Race end times. Would be quite unrepresentative running