Mercedes were some eight-tenths of a second per lap quicker in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. They tend not to have the same kind of performance advantage in the races, and when they do the desire not to over-stress their machinery means we rarely see it.
But with Lewis Hamilton running a three-stop strategy and getting in clear air near the end of the race, more of Mercedes’ true performance was revealed. None of their rivals got within 1.6 seconds of his best lap time, and Nico Rosberg cruised to victory with a best lap 0.8s faster than anyone else managed – the same margin we saw in qualifying.
Rosberg finished the race three-quarters of a minute ahead of the next non-Mercedes: Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari, which lost on average almost seven tenths of a second per lap to the race winner.
Vettel, however, is optimistic the gap won’t be that large at the upcoming races. “If you look at the gap in the race it was the biggest gap we’ve had so far,” he acknolwedged, “but I think we’re quite confident that we’re going in the right direction.”
“For some reason, I don’t think we were so competitive here which explains the gap. Now we’re obviously trying to understand and find the reasons. Either this track didn’t suit us or the conditions really suited Mercedes.
“I think it’s more likely to be one of the two, because if you take the average, obviously we’ve been closer in the last couple of races, so I’m looking forward to Monaco and looking forward to being closer to them again.”
Spanish Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded):
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | |
Nico Rosberg | 95.658 | 92.313 | 91.755 | 92.027 | 91.908 | 91.539 | 91.585 | 91.567 | 91.403 | 92.079 | 92.2 | 92.129 | 92.201 | 92.447 | 95.74 | 110.606 | 91.846 | 91.515 | 91.489 | 91.442 | 91.324 | 91.4 | 91.562 | 92.03 | 91.793 | 91.676 | 92.529 | 91.266 | 91.278 | 91.54 | 91.74 | 91.677 | 92.19 | 92.306 | 92.385 | 91.692 | 92.083 | 91.88 | 91.585 | 91.599 | 91.612 | 91.222 | 91.793 | 91.999 | 95.985 | 109.361 | 90.095 | 90.229 | 90.062 | 90.673 | 90.474 | 90.073 | 89.109 | 89.293 | 89.5 | 89.582 | 89.743 | 90.145 | 90.062 | 90.286 | 90.426 | 89.987 | 90.321 | 90.263 | 90.318 | 90.958 |
Lewis Hamilton | 98.042 | 92.766 | 92.342 | 92.303 | 92.492 | 92.509 | 92.341 | 92.521 | 92.428 | 92.011 | 92.322 | 92.492 | 95.648 | 112.065 | 91.033 | 91.149 | 91.158 | 91.998 | 91.279 | 91.508 | 91.819 | 91.539 | 91.755 | 91.712 | 91.96 | 92.138 | 91.796 | 92.118 | 92.165 | 92.702 | 92.711 | 95.769 | 110.278 | 89.91 | 90.201 | 90.291 | 90.5 | 91.237 | 91.738 | 91.456 | 91.02 | 91.012 | 90.413 | 91.258 | 90.469 | 89.94 | 90.024 | 89.965 | 90.795 | 91.115 | 94.037 | 108.96 | 88.401 | 88.27 | 88.725 | 88.716 | 88.774 | 88.899 | 88.64 | 89.697 | 90.249 | 90.471 | 91.148 | 91.018 | 91.379 | 92.509 |
Sebastian Vettel | 96.832 | 92.821 | 92.317 | 92.515 | 92.325 | 92.718 | 92.01 | 92.331 | 92.562 | 92.498 | 92.4 | 92.512 | 92.292 | 95.928 | 109.159 | 91.736 | 91.546 | 91.897 | 91.764 | 91.618 | 91.646 | 91.509 | 91.646 | 91.634 | 91.654 | 92.07 | 91.934 | 92.371 | 92.129 | 92.268 | 92.528 | 92.397 | 92.413 | 92.366 | 93.16 | 92.497 | 92.733 | 92.76 | 92.921 | 96.714 | 109.623 | 91.185 | 91.237 | 91.613 | 91.673 | 92.494 | 91.516 | 91.545 | 91.827 | 91.655 | 91.705 | 91.738 | 92.074 | 91.735 | 91.799 | 92.199 | 92.125 | 91.641 | 91.576 | 91.075 | 90.737 | 90.923 | 91.16 | 91.375 | 91.477 | 91.059 |
Valtteri Bottas | 99.104 | 93.075 | 92.708 | 92.857 | 92.913 | 92.989 | 92.758 | 92.794 | 92.77 | 92.871 | 92.877 | 92.992 | 92.881 | 92.94 | 95.919 | 110.187 | 91.598 | 91.408 | 92.109 | 92.055 | 91.566 | 91.873 | 91.874 | 91.794 | 91.781 | 92.181 | 91.925 | 91.961 | 92.256 | 92.098 | 92.16 | 92.452 | 92.555 | 92.607 | 92.872 | 93.133 | 92.719 | 93.017 | 94.249 | 93.319 | 93.335 | 96.366 | 109.209 | 90.711 | 90.747 | 90.956 | 91.16 | 90.977 | 91.475 | 91.303 | 91.087 | 91.166 | 91.303 | 91.11 | 91.623 | 92.166 | 91.807 | 92.048 | 91.864 | 92.151 | 91.746 | 91.829 | 92.101 | 92.004 | 91.63 | 91.701 |
Carlos Sainz Jnr | 101.484 | 95.305 | 95.335 | 95.088 | 95.453 | 95.844 | 95.338 | 94.354 | 94.526 | 94.6 | 94.626 | 94.728 | 94.685 | 97.444 | 112.837 | 93.964 | 93.925 | 95.228 | 94.164 | 94.41 | 93.732 | 93.559 | 93.535 | 93.784 | 93.496 | 93.647 | 93.778 | 94.118 | 93.951 | 93.904 | 93.914 | 94.102 | 93.821 | 94.143 | 93.557 | 94.902 | 93.836 | 93.412 | 93.148 | 93.406 | 93.472 | 96.338 | 111.764 | 92.837 | 93.991 | 92.198 | 91.898 | 92.309 | 92.56 | 92.686 | 92.321 | 92.343 | 92.691 | 92.662 | 92.983 | 94.43 | 92.094 | 92.092 | 91.849 | 91.642 | 93.413 | 91.156 | 92.061 | 92.167 | 93.224 | |
Max Verstappen | 100.837 | 94.592 | 94.404 | 95.574 | 94.239 | 94.269 | 94.422 | 95.074 | 94.208 | 94.495 | 94.865 | 94.307 | 98.738 | 114.957 | 94.2 | 94.304 | 93.809 | 94.001 | 93.887 | 93.929 | 93.783 | 94.267 | 95.083 | 94.186 | 93.801 | 93.885 | 94.052 | 93.499 | 93.405 | 94.08 | 93.565 | 93.8 | 94.127 | 93.961 | 93.841 | 93.923 | 97.82 | 111.79 | 93.972 | 93.233 | 93.243 | 93.446 | 93.004 | 92.669 | 92.254 | 91.896 | 92.337 | 92.176 | 92.269 | 94.108 | 92.852 | 93 | 92.969 | 92.356 | 92.302 | 91.968 | 92.419 | 92.582 | 92.293 | 92.284 | 95.811 | 93.294 | 92.405 | 92.615 | 93.107 | |
Kimi Raikkonen | 99.95 | 93.753 | 92.958 | 93.219 | 93.084 | 93.149 | 92.929 | 92.881 | 92.754 | 92.756 | 92.75 | 92.732 | 92.978 | 92.921 | 92.504 | 92.554 | 96.178 | 111.144 | 92.54 | 92.859 | 92.427 | 92.383 | 92.435 | 92.244 | 92.42 | 92.511 | 92.536 | 92.4 | 92.314 | 92.076 | 92.325 | 92.606 | 93.282 | 93.319 | 93.278 | 92.555 | 92.469 | 92.723 | 93.203 | 93.475 | 96.471 | 108.305 | 90.91 | 90.342 | 90.361 | 91.998 | 89.931 | 90.239 | 90.807 | 91.04 | 91.374 | 90.304 | 90.533 | 90.402 | 90.841 | 90.906 | 91.23 | 91.759 | 91.966 | 92.116 | 91.747 | 91.807 | 92.133 | 92.095 | 91.639 | 91.727 |
Daniil Kvyat | 104.331 | 96.381 | 95.274 | 95.263 | 95.282 | 95.329 | 94.74 | 94.467 | 94.939 | 95.121 | 98.232 | 112.642 | 93.025 | 93.222 | 94.496 | 93.836 | 93.462 | 93.17 | 93.502 | 93.214 | 93.685 | 94.141 | 92.795 | 93.395 | 93.353 | 93.398 | 93.488 | 93.326 | 93.829 | 93.477 | 93.419 | 93.931 | 94.05 | 93.936 | 93.788 | 93.556 | 93.786 | 97.516 | 112.578 | 91.887 | 93.91 | 92.113 | 94.369 | 92.531 | 92.419 | 92.49 | 92.687 | 92.538 | 92.247 | 92.184 | 94.229 | 92.483 | 92.197 | 94.05 | 92.486 | 92.381 | 92.945 | 92.86 | 92.615 | 92.603 | 92.702 | 93.055 | 94.887 | 92.385 | 95.121 | |
Felipe Massa | 101.963 | 95.272 | 93.305 | 93.263 | 93.557 | 92.877 | 93.098 | 92.905 | 93.091 | 93.081 | 93.082 | 93.131 | 92.989 | 96.684 | 110.774 | 91.703 | 91.714 | 92.159 | 92.031 | 92.4 | 92.318 | 92.343 | 92.26 | 92.266 | 92.433 | 92.396 | 92.435 | 92.306 | 92.932 | 92.526 | 92.581 | 96.249 | 110.503 | 91.109 | 91.517 | 91.495 | 91.334 | 91.901 | 92.253 | 91.923 | 91.816 | 92.029 | 92.493 | 91.804 | 92.817 | 92.578 | 97.032 | 109.611 | 90.64 | 90.743 | 90.374 | 90.683 | 90.74 | 90.675 | 90.905 | 91.375 | 91.055 | 90.991 | 90.617 | 90.773 | 91.034 | 91.818 | 92.027 | 92.05 | 91.11 | 91.92 |
Daniel Ricciardo | 103.028 | 95.92 | 95.077 | 94.721 | 94.54 | 93.848 | 93.731 | 93.864 | 94.122 | 93.891 | 95.231 | 93.992 | 96.742 | 111.763 | 93.339 | 92.756 | 93.074 | 93.033 | 94.071 | 92.956 | 93.14 | 92.943 | 92.723 | 92.848 | 92.961 | 93.339 | 93.231 | 93.248 | 93.291 | 93.09 | 93.017 | 93.133 | 93.228 | 93.21 | 93.192 | 93.21 | 93.188 | 93.576 | 93.377 | 93.594 | 93.22 | 96.347 | 113.781 | 91.953 | 92.252 | 92.181 | 91.946 | 92.213 | 94.292 | 93.843 | 92.105 | 91.682 | 91.402 | 91.234 | 91.276 | 91.124 | 93.98 | 91.487 | 91.535 | 91.371 | 91.574 | 91.718 | 91.95 | 91.631 | 91.559 | |
Romain Grosjean | 102.44 | 95.224 | 94.997 | 96.815 | 94.719 | 94.772 | 93.717 | 93.855 | 94.077 | 93.783 | 94.984 | 94.489 | 94.16 | 93.65 | 97.243 | 112.203 | 92.521 | 92.904 | 93.112 | 93.8 | 92.846 | 92.987 | 92.694 | 92.955 | 93.224 | 93.606 | 93.517 | 93.134 | 93.373 | 93.354 | 93.384 | 93.574 | 93.568 | 93.254 | 93.486 | 93.518 | 93.425 | 93.604 | 93.751 | 97.464 | 123.666 | 92.07 | 92.041 | 92.084 | 93.251 | 91.945 | 92.069 | 92.358 | 92.962 | 92.716 | 93.672 | 92.896 | 92.514 | 92.547 | 92.686 | 94.183 | 92.759 | 92.684 | 92.599 | 92.649 | 92.438 | 92.71 | 92.217 | 91.986 | 92.668 | |
Pastor Maldonado | 103.399 | 94.913 | 95.037 | 94.346 | 93.42 | 93.591 | 94.303 | 93.129 | 93.717 | 93.755 | 93.609 | 93.709 | 93.769 | 97.97 | 118.037 | 124.449 | 92.912 | 92.958 | 93.368 | 93.145 | 93.548 | 93.419 | 93.382 | 93.569 | 94.208 | 95.464 | 93.443 | 93.252 | 93.493 | 96.61 | 93.319 | 93.169 | 93.084 | 93.395 | 93.168 | 93.13 | 93.103 | 93.461 | 93.477 | 94.464 | 93.604 | 93.397 | 97.23 | 112.872 | 99.776 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Fernando Alonso | 104.024 | 96.01 | 95.251 | 95.137 | 94.966 | 95.101 | 94.789 | 94.508 | 94.528 | 94.737 | 94.885 | 94.815 | 94.577 | 94.618 | 94.687 | 94.399 | 94.231 | 94.305 | 94.259 | 94.292 | 97.703 | 113.516 | 93.387 | 94.207 | 94.154 | 98.902 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jenson Button | 106.194 | 97.384 | 96.01 | 95.398 | 95.527 | 95.511 | 95.318 | 95.043 | 94.943 | 94.95 | 98.323 | 115.051 | 95.094 | 94.652 | 95.309 | 94.656 | 95.031 | 94.563 | 94.867 | 94.74 | 94.741 | 94.55 | 94.169 | 94.595 | 94.477 | 97.1 | 98.203 | 112.599 | 92.357 | 92.36 | 92.655 | 94.202 | 92.995 | 93.53 | 92.977 | 92.709 | 92.933 | 93.462 | 93.004 | 93.417 | 93.078 | 92.827 | 92.792 | 96.283 | 112.524 | 91.162 | 91.352 | 91.487 | 91.6 | 91.888 | 91.429 | 91.615 | 91.382 | 91.692 | 92.308 | 93.506 | 91.924 | 92.274 | 91.963 | 91.853 | 92.007 | 92.146 | 92.072 | 92.468 | 92.752 | |
Felipe Nasr | 104.865 | 96.486 | 95.455 | 95.198 | 95.292 | 95.516 | 94.901 | 94.437 | 94.846 | 95.252 | 95.233 | 98.232 | 112.65 | 93.349 | 93.687 | 93.371 | 93.887 | 93.794 | 94.02 | 94.201 | 93.616 | 93.728 | 93.861 | 93.935 | 93.623 | 93.938 | 93.668 | 93.815 | 93.635 | 94.17 | 94.072 | 94.426 | 94.388 | 95.858 | 94.241 | 93.808 | 94.154 | 94.523 | 98.029 | 113.445 | 91.928 | 92.312 | 92.348 | 92.228 | 92.437 | 92.447 | 92.43 | 92.955 | 93.446 | 92.22 | 94.084 | 93.104 | 93.789 | 92.899 | 92.905 | 92.765 | 93.448 | 92.873 | 92.948 | 92.72 | 92.568 | 92.615 | 93.2 | 93.382 | 93.347 | |
Marcus Ericsson | 105.239 | 96.614 | 95.561 | 95.179 | 95.393 | 95.46 | 94.853 | 94.737 | 94.731 | 95.241 | 95.12 | 94.994 | 94.131 | 94.567 | 94.854 | 94.373 | 94.545 | 98.496 | 114.085 | 92.311 | 92.857 | 93.422 | 93.422 | 93.931 | 94.028 | 94.691 | 92.977 | 93.396 | 93.455 | 93.726 | 94.098 | 93.541 | 95.631 | 93.753 | 93.692 | 93.85 | 93.971 | 93.985 | 94.091 | 93.317 | 93.312 | 93.145 | 93.359 | 95.334 | 99.152 | 112.506 | 92.288 | 92.517 | 94.047 | 92.597 | 92.497 | 92.222 | 92.515 | 92.891 | 92.696 | 92.526 | 92.888 | 92.935 | 92.866 | 93.249 | 93.146 | 93.133 | 94.948 | 93.454 | 94.043 | |
Nico Hulkenberg | 106.537 | 96.46 | 95.766 | 95.297 | 95.155 | 95.476 | 95.026 | 95.067 | 94.633 | 98.005 | 113.834 | 93.399 | 93.244 | 93.173 | 93.668 | 93.317 | 93.682 | 94.048 | 93.91 | 95.745 | 94.198 | 93.698 | 93.883 | 94.388 | 94.391 | 97.88 | 112.61 | 92.53 | 92.833 | 92.777 | 93.228 | 93.339 | 93.18 | 93.225 | 93.239 | 93.561 | 93.082 | 93.447 | 94.422 | 93.006 | 93.637 | 93.448 | 94.321 | 93.38 | 93.309 | 94.629 | 93.519 | 93.342 | 97.071 | 110.343 | 90.888 | 91.372 | 91.495 | 92.061 | 91.718 | 91.678 | 91.763 | 91.586 | 91.914 | 92.645 | 93.374 | 93.986 | 93.708 | 93.558 | 94.081 | |
Sergio Perez | 105.766 | 96.644 | 95.617 | 95.17 | 95.369 | 95.453 | 94.94 | 94.833 | 94.869 | 95.031 | 95.11 | 95.006 | 94.451 | 94.611 | 94.49 | 94.475 | 94.853 | 95.1 | 97.991 | 111.921 | 93.174 | 93.438 | 93.569 | 93.739 | 94.311 | 94.434 | 94.117 | 94.292 | 93.791 | 94.48 | 95.764 | 94.745 | 94.512 | 96.531 | 94.678 | 97.204 | 111.622 | 91.932 | 92.358 | 92.963 | 92.051 | 92.239 | 92.238 | 92.453 | 92.605 | 92.802 | 92.819 | 94.436 | 92.792 | 94.42 | 92.713 | 92.555 | 92.617 | 92.677 | 92.802 | 93.183 | 93.056 | 93.055 | 93.156 | 93.181 | 93.124 | 93.294 | 94.517 | 93.718 | 94.074 | |
Will Stevens | 108.007 | 98.017 | 97.471 | 97.192 | 97.261 | 96.879 | 96.714 | 96.974 | 96.869 | 96.993 | 97.098 | 97.814 | 97.159 | 97.557 | 97.468 | 100.618 | 120.058 | 95.563 | 96.747 | 95.955 | 97.853 | 96.234 | 96.271 | 95.944 | 96.241 | 96.27 | 96.001 | 98.224 | 96.892 | 96.461 | 96.571 | 101.514 | 117.937 | 97.359 | 96.029 | 95.529 | 95.75 | 97.899 | 95.655 | 95.562 | 97.384 | 97.097 | 95.376 | 95.361 | 96.35 | 95.395 | 100.082 | 115.035 | 93.655 | 93.844 | 93.988 | 95.139 | 94.944 | 94.353 | 94.568 | 98.147 | 98.48 | 95.04 | 94.729 | 94.796 | 94.806 | 96.162 | 95.904 | |||
Roberto Merhi | 107.6 | 97.686 | 97.466 | 97.353 | 96.971 | 96.753 | 96.91 | 96.973 | 96.858 | 97.335 | 99.296 | 98.307 | 98.47 | 97.894 | 98.347 | 98.562 | 101.07 | 117.525 | 96.663 | 97.51 | 97.042 | 96.47 | 96.239 | 96.513 | 97.431 | 97.872 | 96.885 | 98.545 | 99.317 | 101.955 | 117.676 | 96.64 | 98.885 | 98.252 | 96.937 | 96.952 | 98.249 | 96.677 | 96.71 | 96.555 | 97.386 | 96.786 | 96.291 | 96.57 | 96.593 | 99.358 | 97.936 | 97.571 | 100.662 | 116.689 | 94.211 | 96.302 | 96.512 | 95.863 | 95.345 | 95.167 | 96.054 | 95.044 | 95.307 | 96.221 | 95.237 | 94.742 |
Spanish Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
Rank | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Gap | On lap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’28.270 | 54 | |
2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’29.109 | 0.839 | 53 |
3 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’29.931 | 1.661 | 47 |
4 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’30.374 | 2.104 | 51 |
5 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’30.711 | 2.441 | 44 |
6 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’30.737 | 2.467 | 61 |
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’30.888 | 2.618 | 51 |
8 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’31.124 | 2.854 | 56 |
9 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’31.156 | 2.886 | 62 |
10 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Honda | 1’31.162 | 2.892 | 46 |
11 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull-Renault | 1’31.887 | 3.617 | 40 |
12 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’31.896 | 3.626 | 46 |
13 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’31.928 | 3.658 | 41 |
14 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’31.932 | 3.662 | 38 |
15 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’31.945 | 3.675 | 46 |
16 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’32.222 | 3.952 | 52 |
17 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’32.912 | 4.642 | 17 |
18 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1’33.387 | 5.117 | 23 |
19 | Will Stevens | Manor-Ferrari | 1’33.655 | 5.385 | 49 |
20 | Roberto Merhi | Manor-Ferrari | 1’34.211 | 5.941 | 51 |
2015 Spanish Grand Prix
- Solid Spain win earns Rosberg Driver of the Weekend
- Catalunya serves up another Spanish GP to forget
- 2015 Spanish Grand Prix team radio transcript
- Top ten pictures from the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix
- 2015 Spanish GP Predictions Championship results
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
10th May 2015, 18:42
Not a great weekend for Hamilton fans, but that third stint still gave cause for joy. A pity the Mercedes pit wall called off the fight in the final stint. Of course Rosberg was too far ahead for Hamilton to catch him, but it’s always better to finish a race with a reducing gap.
Finally, only the Mercedes driver beat Stoffel Vandoorne’s GP2 pole time. I do not wish to add too much to the current trend of talking F1 down, but I wish they could simply take 100kg off the cars. I don’t mind that aero has been cut recently, and the engines are good too, and the tyres ensure that the races are not too processional, but in race trim the cars are pretty slow these days.
petebaldwin (@)
10th May 2015, 19:22
They were right to all it off though and not just for the team – for Hamilton’s title chances as well. He wasn’t going to catch Nico and finishing 2nd doesn’t mean he’s lost many points. He wasn’t even going to get within 5 seconds of Nico to put pressure on.
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
10th May 2015, 20:53
yeah, a blown engine would’ve been a much bigger probem than finishing second.
KiwiUK (@kiwiuk)
10th May 2015, 21:44
Comparing qualifying times to fastest lap times is comparing apples to oranges. Considering quali alone you can see that every F1 driver, bar the 2 Manors, beat Stoffel’s quali time
Scalextric (@scalextric)
10th May 2015, 19:09
Not sure anyone is actually rivaling Mercedes at the moment. Having said that, the gap to the next teams was somewhat exaggerated in the race. Hamilton’s third stint was one of the rare occasions when a driver could push for an entire stint. He wasn’t conserving tyres, fuel or power unit components. The other top teams were at least conserving tyres for most of the later stages.
I hope the partial success of this strategy will lead to more teams trying this in the future, because then we get to see some more aggressive driving, but it does require that little extra fuel economy and a dose of Mercedes or Mercedes-like reliability. And some tactical courage or flexibility.
BasCB (@bascb)
11th May 2015, 8:39
also, lets not forget that the Mercedes’ advantage here last year was also clearly more than at other tracks @scalextric. On the other hand, it does not seem like Ferrari have really solved their issues with development (with Kimi running without and Vettel with the new bits to compare and collect data on them), Red Bull is still very much on the back foot and Williams so far has not made that step up (although they were closer in the mid/second half of the year last year too)
HK (@me4me)
10th May 2015, 19:38
Comparing Vettel and Bottas, Ferrari should be aware of the challenge from behind.
rm
10th May 2015, 20:03
I’ll grant you that, at least on this track, Williams were closer to Ferrari than Ferrari were to Mercedes. Still, Vettel finished about 15 seconds ahead of Bottas and Kimi also had better pace but was unable to overtake Bottas, just as Hamilton was unable to overtake Vettel on track even though he had a faster car.
Shaken not stirred (@shakennotstirred)
10th May 2015, 20:06
Mercedes’ margin over the others on race day was close to the advantage they had in testing. This suggests that Ferrari et al haven’t made significant performance gains since testing. Instead the track and temperatures at the other tracks allowed them to perform better. If true Mercedes will walk it in the constructors champs as Barcelona is seen as a good evaluation of overall performance.
Duc Pham (@ducpham2708)
10th May 2015, 20:29
It’s a fair win for the Mercedes, but I can understand Ferrari’s decision to put Vettel on an alternative strategy.
Looking at the times, it’s realistic too admit that Mercedes was wayyy faster today. Going on the same strategy would bring no opportunity at a win. Different strategy and some unexpected occurences (safety cars, crashes,…) can bring an unexpected win.
Ferrari knew they secured the 3rd place, Bottas was too far behind to challenge Vettel. Why not give something a shot?
kpcart
10th May 2015, 23:13
oh come on keith, you surely realise that Hamilton was last of the top drivers to switch to mediums…. less fuel in the car meant he could get those times while vettel and Rosberg were running hards with laps on them at the same time Hamilton was doing those laps. the advantage is there, but it is not 1.6 seconds per lap.
@HoHum (@hohum)
10th May 2015, 23:36
WOW ! 3 pit stops, how exciting, can’t wait to see the race (highlights) to-night zzzz z z z z.
Key (@key75)
10th May 2015, 23:52
Ferrari can’t really work the hard orange tires in normal track conditions!
Mediums it’s fine, softs even better, but that hard ones it just take ages to light them up!
If you would look at Vettel’s last stint, he sets his best time almost in the middle of the stint, so it took almost 10 laps to get them warm enough! It’s really one of the worst things about Ferrari’s car this year.
erix
11th May 2015, 3:34
I saw Mercedes lapping very quickly and then suddenly the same pace with Ferrari towards the end, perhaps they still have some horsepower in reserve and use it when it matters.
Chandu
12th May 2015, 13:39
Actually Kimi was catching Vettel in the last stint with the faster Medium tyres. Kimi was catching Vettel a second per lap till he reached behind Bottas. With 8 laps to go and nearly 8 seconds far from Vettel, if Bottas wasn’t there, or if Kimi was able to overtake him, Vettel and Kimi might have finished very close. Also Kimi overtook Massa and that also must have taken some seconds from Raikkonen. I am not talking here about Vettel vs Raikkonen. Its about the Upgraded Ferrari vs Older Version.
The question is, whether the upgraded car of Vettel wasn’t better than Kimi’s older car? And still Arrivabene says that the new car is better than the older version. Not at all a good weekend for Ferrari. But keep fighting.. Forza Ferrari!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Leonardo David
12th May 2015, 21:56
Anyone noticed how Maldonado was the closest to the battle between Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams? only Ricciardo was as close as he was but Pastor was slightly faster… also, times went lower since lap 40, why?