You only need to look back at the practice results from the last Spanish Grand Prix to see how dramatic the change in the competitive order has been since then.
In practice for this race 12 months ago Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari were separated by two-tenths of a second. Today the spread is over a second and a half.
Lewis Hamilton had almost a second in hand over any non-Mercedes car in second practice, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to discover Mercedes were keeping more in reserve than any of their rivals.
Nor does Nico Rosberg seem to have anything for his team mate so far. Missing part of the first practice session due to a problem with his energy recovery system won’t have helped. Meanwhile Hamilton set the fastest times in all three sectors, and said afterwards: “I’ve not had such a good Friday for a very long time.”
Jenson Button was second-quickest in the first practice session but he believes that isn’t representative of their real performance.
“In this afternoon’s warmer temperatures, it was harder for us to get the car working properly,” he said. “When you’re limited on downforce, the car seems to operate properly within a very narrow temperature range.”
“This morning, I think we looked quicker than we actually were. We’re now trying to work on the balance to improve our long-run pace a little more – and I think we can make the car a bit stronger for tomorrow.”
The tyre Pirelli have brought this weekend are highly durable – some drivers have complained they are too conservative. That being so, instead of the four pit stop strategies we saw last year, expect an upper maximum of three on Sunday.
Longest stint comparison – second practice
This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) during their longest unbroken stint:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | |
Daniel Ricciardo | 91.27 | 91.636 | 91.902 | 92.369 | 92.378 | 91.973 | 92.235 | 92.135 | 91.815 | 91.826 | 91.939 | 91.969 | 93.736 | 93.348 | 101.773 | 91.75 | 91.863 | 91.843 | 91.879 | 91.988 | 92.282 | 92.143 |
Lewis Hamilton | 91.385 | 91.743 | 91.038 | 91.999 | 90.584 | 90.636 | 90.761 | 91.216 | 91.891 | 91.043 | 91.187 | 91.078 | 90.869 | 91.334 | 99.999 | 91.341 | 91.064 | |||||
Nico Rosberg | 90.947 | 96.626 | 90.704 | 92.533 | 92.795 | 93.917 | 91.181 | 91.559 | 92.406 | 92.301 | 92.779 | 91.68 | 95.911 | 91.435 | 91.444 | 91.716 | ||||||
Fernando Alonso | 92.37 | 92.64 | 93.065 | 93.4 | 92.519 | 92.451 | 92.949 | 92.86 | 92.885 | 92.892 | 93.721 | |||||||||||
Kimi Raikkonen | 93.193 | 92.318 | 91.992 | 92.17 | 91.917 | 92.386 | 93.131 | 92.416 | 92.355 | 92.692 | 92.184 | 92.222 | 92.727 | |||||||||
Romain Grosjean | 92.859 | 92.765 | 93.109 | 92.995 | 93.402 | 93.103 | 92.829 | 100.66 | ||||||||||||||
Pastor Maldonado | 94.108 | 93.32 | 92.868 | 93.749 | 93.167 | 92.999 | 93.057 | 93.737 | 93.176 | 92.733 | 93.894 | 93.344 | 94.231 | 94.86 | 95.834 | 95.816 | 93.725 | 94.286 | 93.934 | |||
Jenson Button | 92.835 | 93.149 | 92.7 | 93.351 | 98.583 | 93.098 | 93.118 | 92.959 | 93.25 | 93.071 | ||||||||||||
Kevin Magnussen | 92.398 | 92.853 | 92.944 | 93.513 | 94.741 | 93.797 | 94.302 | 93.932 | 94.656 | 93.865 | 93.693 | 93.653 | ||||||||||
Nico Hulkenberg | 93.229 | 92.798 | 93.065 | 93.26 | 92.781 | 93.225 | 93.319 | 92.97 | 93.062 | 92.787 | ||||||||||||
Sergio Perez | 92.701 | 92.056 | 92.103 | 95.671 | 92.497 | 92.251 | 92.706 | 93.195 | 95.93 | 93.21 | 92.817 | 92.995 | 92.964 | |||||||||
Adrian Sutil | 94.67 | 93.887 | 93.829 | 93.851 | 93.259 | 93.725 | 93.956 | 95.293 | 94.601 | |||||||||||||
Esteban Gutierrez | 101.448 | 89.105 | 110.458 | 89.834 | ||||||||||||||||||
Jean-Eric Vergne | 93.135 | 93.35 | 95.049 | 93.805 | 93.462 | 93.675 | 93.521 | 93.099 | 93.095 | 93.467 | 93.491 | 93.657 | 93.291 | |||||||||
Daniil Kvyat | 92.33 | 92.988 | 92.998 | 93.55 | 93.248 | 93.189 | 93.225 | 93.643 | 94.291 | 93.314 | 93.205 | 94.339 | 93.396 | 93.345 | ||||||||
Felipe Massa | 93.176 | 93.54 | 92.994 | 93.469 | 92.81 | 92.534 | 92.953 | 92.819 | 93.376 | 93.245 | 93.797 | 93.894 | ||||||||||
Valtteri Bottas | 93.644 | 93.365 | 92.886 | 92.81 | 93.433 | 93.641 | 93.458 | 93.4 | 93.425 | 93.436 | 93.366 | 93.716 | 93.94 | |||||||||
Jules Bianchi | 99.438 | 93.874 | 94.015 | 93.98 | 93.782 | 93.772 | 94.611 | 94.122 | 93.745 | 93.922 | ||||||||||||
Max Chilton | 94.89 | 94.294 | 94.483 | 95.074 | 94.241 | 94.901 | 94.552 | 94.315 | 94.209 | 94.508 | 96.241 | 94.972 | ||||||||||
Marcus Ericsson | 96.032 | 95.41 | 95.038 | 95.258 | 95.354 | 95.349 | 95.344 | 96.234 | 95.774 | 95.598 | 96.469 | 96.062 | 96.944 | 97.893 | 97.489 | |||||||
Kamui Kobayashi | 96.32 | 96.095 | 96.075 | 95.295 | 94.997 | 95.631 | 96.023 | 96.607 | 96.504 | 97.675 | 97.338 | 96.959 | 96.668 | 98.946 | 96.805 | 97.716 | 98.607 | 97.349 | 98.795 |
Sector times and ultimate lap times – second practice
Pos | No. | Driver | Car | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate | Gap | Deficit to best |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 23.391 (1) | 32.369 (1) | 29.764 (1) | 1’25.524 | 0.000 | |
2 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 23.537 (2) | 32.619 (2) | 29.817 (2) | 1’25.973 | 0.449 | 0.000 |
3 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 23.823 (4) | 32.639 (3) | 30.047 (3) | 1’26.509 | 0.985 | 0.000 |
4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 23.773 (3) | 32.887 (4) | 30.377 (5) | 1’27.037 | 1.513 | 0.084 |
5 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 23.902 (6) | 32.956 (5) | 30.438 (6) | 1’27.296 | 1.772 | 0.000 |
6 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 24.071 (9) | 33.157 (8) | 30.373 (4) | 1’27.601 | 2.077 | 0.187 |
7 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 24.183 (12) | 33.075 (6) | 30.509 (7) | 1’27.767 | 2.243 | 0.044 |
8 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 23.963 (7) | 33.105 (7) | 30.751 (11) | 1’27.819 | 2.295 | 0.047 |
9 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 24.092 (10) | 33.180 (9) | 30.552 (8) | 1’27.824 | 2.300 | 0.000 |
10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 23.847 (5) | 33.277 (11) | 30.925 (15) | 1’28.049 | 2.525 | 0.000 |
11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 24.018 (8) | 33.306 (12) | 30.750 (10) | 1’28.074 | 2.550 | 0.000 |
12 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 24.104 (11) | 33.411 (13) | 30.731 (9) | 1’28.246 | 2.722 | 0.000 |
13 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 24.192 (13) | 33.195 (10) | 30.897 (14) | 1’28.284 | 2.760 | 0.000 |
14 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 24.288 (15) | 33.631 (15) | 30.755 (12) | 1’28.674 | 3.150 | 0.024 |
15 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 24.431 (16) | 33.552 (14) | 31.017 (16) | 1’29.000 | 3.476 | 0.105 |
16 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 24.256 (14) | 33.633 (16) | 31.177 (17) | 1’29.066 | 3.542 | 0.063 |
17 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 24.507 (18) | 33.966 (17) | 30.888 (13) | 1’29.361 | 3.837 | 0.132 |
18 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Ferrari | 24.502 (17) | 34.170 (18) | 31.319 (18) | 1’29.991 | 4.467 | 0.000 |
19 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | 25.079 (21) | 34.295 (19) | 31.672 (20) | 1’31.046 | 5.522 | 0.102 |
20 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham-Renault | 24.966 (20) | 34.716 (20) | 31.656 (19) | 1’31.338 | 5.814 | 0.000 |
21 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | 24.907 (19) | 34.862 (21) | 31.817 (21) | 1’31.586 | 6.062 | 0.000 |
Complete practice times
Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | Total laps | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’27.023 | 1’25.524 | 50 | ||
2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’28.168 | 1’25.973 | 45 | ||
3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’27.973 | 1’26.509 | 59 | ||
4 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’28.128 | 1’27.121 | 56 | ||
5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’28.337 | 1’27.296 | 52 | ||
6 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’28.423 | 1’27.788 | 64 | ||
7 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’27.891 | 1’27.811 | 55 | ||
8 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’28.791 | 1’27.824 | 44 | ||
9 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1’28.744 | 1’27.866 | 76 | ||
10 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’28.792 | 1’28.049 | 59 | ||
11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’28.828 | 1’28.074 | 48 | ||
12 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’28.859 | 1’28.246 | 54 | ||
13 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’29.688 | 1’28.284 | 49 | ||
14 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’28.698 | 33 | |||
15 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’28.779 | 1’29.129 | 52 | ||
16 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’29.105 | 24 | |||
17 | Felipe Nasr | Williams-Mercedes | 1’29.272 | 15 | |||
18 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’29.944 | 1’29.493 | 47 | ||
19 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Ferrari | 1’29.820 | 1’29.991 | 48 | ||
20 | Giedo van der Garde | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’30.440 | 22 | |||
21 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | 1’30.748 | 1’31.148 | 47 | ||
22 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’30.942 | 4 | |||
23 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham-Renault | 1’30.997 | 1’31.338 | 60 | ||
24 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | 1’31.421 | 1’31.586 | 61 |
Speed trap – second practice
# | Driver | Car | Engine | Max speed (kph) | Gap | |
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 335.1 | |
2 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Renault | 334.5 | 0.6 |
3 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | Mercedes | 333.6 | 1.5 |
4 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | Renault | 332.2 | 2.9 |
5 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | Mercedes | 331.5 | 3.6 |
6 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | Mercedes | 330 | 5.1 |
7 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | Mercedes | 329.9 | 5.2 |
8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | Mercedes | 329.6 | 5.5 |
9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | Renault | 329 | 6.1 |
10 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | Mercedes | 327.8 | 7.3 |
11 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber | Ferrari | 326.9 | 8.2 |
12 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | Ferrari | 326.9 | 8.2 |
13 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | Ferrari | 326.7 | 8.4 |
14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | Mercedes | 325.9 | 9.2 |
15 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham | Renault | 325.4 | 9.7 |
16 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham | Renault | 324.5 | 10.6 |
17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | Ferrari | 322.4 | 12.7 |
18 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | Ferrari | 321.6 | 13.5 |
19 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | Renault | 320.4 | 14.7 |
20 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia | Ferrari | 318.6 | 16.5 |
21 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | Renault | 317.7 | 17.4 |
2014 Spanish Grand Prix
- Vettel’s recovery run earns him Driver of the Weekend
- Spanish Grand Prix continues ratings rise since 2011
- 2014 Spanish Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- 2014 Spanish GP Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix
Image © McLaren/LAT
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
9th May 2014, 20:57
That was a looong run from Ricciardo. Is he going to do a one-stopper on Sunday? He actually has decent straight-line speed, too. I’ve put him third in my predictions.
HiPn0tIc (@hipn0tic)
9th May 2014, 21:48
Yes but only until Vettel let him throw…tough luck…
Atticus (@atticus-2)
9th May 2014, 22:25
Nah, 22 laps will be enough for a 2-stopper. Meanwhile the 16-17 lap stints of the Mercs will do for a 3-stopper. Of course, with almost no fall off whatsoever, I guess they could just as well extend it a lot more for a 1-stopper and a 2-stopper respectively.
Still, the Red Bull could make it with one less, which is encouraging considering their massive 1s per lap disadvantage.
HiPn0tIc (@hipn0tic)
10th May 2014, 10:03
Even with a less stop, RBR chances are marginal…i really don’t believe, and know even in dowforce MW05 proved to be the best
Kingshark (@kingshark)
9th May 2014, 20:57
Interesting how Mercedes are 1-2 in every sector, so much for Red Bull having more downforce and/or better drivability than Mercedes. RBR are 3 tenths slower than Merc in both the downforce sector (S2) and the mechanical grip sector (S3).
timi (@timi)
9th May 2014, 21:27
@kingshark Right on. The two must be closely matched on DF, it can’t just be the engine, else McLaren, Force India et al would be right up there as well. Mercedes have done a stellar job from the engine to aero, it really is astounding
Rosa (@ciaran)
9th May 2014, 21:47
Insane speed trap figures there. I can’t wait to see how these cars fare at Monza!
Dave (@dworsley)
10th May 2014, 3:49
Yep, the speed trap figures almost match Monza’s FP2 from last year, just 5 km/h slower on average. These cars are are actually ahead of 2004 qualifying speed trap figures for most of the races so far this year.
Michael C
9th May 2014, 21:56
You just get the impression that we are seeing one of the greatest driver/car combinations of all time. It may not be as entertaining on Sunday, but you have to credit Mercedes and Lewis for providing us with what Nigel Mansell described as “almost perfection”.
@HoHum (@hohum)
10th May 2014, 1:19
Really?, your comment may be truthfull, I just don’t think you made the same comment about Vettel last year and we have 3 or 4 years to go before LH/MB equal the SV/RBR record. A change is as good as a holiday though.
DonSmee (@david-beau)
10th May 2014, 3:19
Well, Ho Hum. We know know that Vettel wasn’t all that he’s cracked up to be.
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
9th May 2014, 23:28
Looking at those speed traps, it seems that Renault have caught up substantially.
@HoHum (@hohum)
10th May 2014, 1:20
Looking at RBR or Torro Rosso ?
philprojectd (@philprojectd)
10th May 2014, 5:07
I find it extremely interesting how Torro Rosso managed to get so high up in the speed trap when no other Renault powered car even comes close, especially their big brother team. They must be running very little wing considering straight line speed has been the weakest link of the Renault PU all season long thus far. Nonetheless their p2 times don’t necessarily reflect a severe lack of downforce when compared to the teams around them so it’s even more intriguing. Torro Rosso is making strides this season, Lotus is still miles away from them in terms of race pace.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th May 2014, 7:43
Guess its time to do the “and who will be in for 3rd and behind that game again. So far it looks like another runaway victory for Hamilton. Lets hope for some upsets for him, maybe a Maldonado or even Rosberg getting on top of himself and not messing up and then really fighting for the victory (would have to be nailing pole to do it most likely)