2013 Spanish Grand Prix - Barcelona

[Just_a_fan]

Great work by Nico. Vettel will probably take Hamilton by the first corner - comment made during FP was that the clean side of the grid is worth a grid place so the first corner should be "interesting".

The McLarens look a bit sad although Button is looking very fragile at the moment. It almost reminds me of the Alonso/Hamilton days.

I think Alonso and Kimi are dark horses for the race - both look to have good long pace. I'd still reckon on Vettel being narrow favourite for the race.

[QLDriver]

Wasn't his Q3 lap actually faster? In Q2 he was at risk of being eliminated so I'm assuming he just pushed harder than the rest.

[Poleman]

Impressive speed in S3 by the Mercedes...Could it be the their suspension system that is working for them? I suspect they gain a lot of speed and stability through that downhill off-camber corner into the braking zone of the final chicane.I think its T13...

[Morteza]

Wasn't his Q3 lap actually faster? In Q2 he was at risk of being eliminated so I'm assuming he just pushed harder than the rest.

Forgive me! I had things mixed up!

[Anon123]

I wonder what Rosberg's race pace will look like because he looked quicker than Lewis in Bahrain Q3 but he ate his tyres.

[RicerDude]

I wonder what Rosberg's race pace will look like because he looked quicker than Lewis in Bahrain Q3 but he ate his tyres.

Anthony Davidson said that Hamilton looked like he was saving his tires more than Rosberg so maybe they have different set-ups?

[WhiteBlue]

Fantastic result for Mercedes. Nice for Nico to be in front of Lewis but potentially his car is more qualifying biased. Surprisingly the Ferraris are way back in the third row considering the pace they showed in free practise. But Alonso is always good for making up places at the start and in the race. I expect a good race with some dramatic on track action hopefully. I don't want to see 90 min of tyre managing.

[SilverArrow10]

I wonder what Rosberg's race pace will look like because he looked quicker than Lewis in Bahrain Q3 but he ate his tyres.

Anthony Davidson said that Hamilton looked like he was saving his tires more than Rosberg so maybe they have different set-ups?

I do believe that Hamilton is set up more from the race. It could help in the inter team battle that no doubt is going to go down tomorrow. I also think that neither are going to fight for the race victory, however podiums possibly. Cant wait for the first corner tomorrow.

[GrizzleBoy]

Comparison of Rosberg/Hamilton lap:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH3R5ANY-bw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LfHOSUfGbc[/youtube]

Now watch them both together and watch the difference in steering input as they go around the corners together:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuGq5FcK7qw[/youtube]

Rosberg's car is beautifully balanced, but he is obviously pushing much harder just watching his input on the wheel. What do you guys think this means for tomorrow in terms of setup/balance/wear etc?

Also listen to the difference in downshifting. Lewis' downshifts sound veeery lazy. Its not something new for this race though, his downshift style has changed considerably in the Mercedes.

Listen to how he used to downshift:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj8WMlhFJ5I[/youtube]

[Mestrades]

I have the impression that Mercedes hasn't shown his full potential on these practices. They don't do a qualy lap on P3, they only have done a loaded stint with soft tyre, but nothing else.
I really think we will see a Mercedes on pole.

Prediction completed!

[turbof1]

Mercedes should be doing better on this circuit concerning race pace. During practice they didn't seem to have as much tyre wear/degredation as usual.

Ferrari must be having their hands in their hair. Doing all weekend long during practices outstanding and then suddenly everybody else show their hand.
"Ah so mister Alonso, you have 3 kings? Looks like I flushed you at the river."
"That's nothing, I have 4 of a kind, jacks."
"Bitch please. I have a straight flush right here."

[dren]

If Mercedes was fueled accordingly, their stints in FP3 look promising...

From Intelligent F1:
http://intelligentf1.wordpress.com/2013 ... cedes-win/

[munudeges]

Raikkonen is in a very nice position I'm sure he's happy with. He probably didn't expect to be in front of the Ferraris. All he really needs to do is be somewhere near the front.

[rjsa]

3 places for FM and EG

[RicerDude]

Rosberg's time was quicker than Webber's 2011 pole time.
Webber 2011 pole: 1:20.9
Rosberg 2013 pole: 1:20.7