2018 Spanish Grand Prix grid

52 comments on “2018 Spanish Grand Prix grid”

1. 

   MG1982 (@mg1982)
   12th May 2018, 15:04

   Ferrari best car, uh?! Remains to be seen…
   1. 

      Tim
      12th May 2018, 15:09

      Apart from at every race this year…
      1. 

         Tim
         12th May 2018, 15:14

         Ferrari have already had 2 front row lockouts ( should have easily been 3 if Kimi didn’t bin it in Baku.) this is the first time Bottas has made the front row. It’s also 3-2 in pole positions. so yes, Ferrari is the best car this season.
         1. 

            MG1982 (@mg1982)
            12th May 2018, 15:21

            Yeah, glad you remembered about AUS. So, it’s 3-2 indeed… but only so far! I was wondering if it’s the best car over the length of the entire season, not just 5 races. Things kinda turned over now, plus the changes to the tyres, so remains to be seen if Ferrari is the car to beat anymore.
            1. 

               Tim
               12th May 2018, 15:39

               You’re comment doesn’t make sense @mg1982

               It doesn’t “remain to be seen” because we’ve seen 5 qualifying sessions and the Ferrari has been better at 3 events. 3 is more than 2 so they’ve been the best car this season.
         2. 

            Hugh (@hugh11)
            12th May 2018, 15:26

            at every race this year…

            It’s also 3-2 in pole positions.

            Something’s not quite adding up…
            1. 

               Tim
               12th May 2018, 15:41

               We’ve had 5 qualifying sessions 3+2 =5

               What are you struggling with @hugh11
            2. 

               Hugh (@hugh11)
               12th May 2018, 15:58

               I think I’m struggling with the fact that you seem to think that 3/5 races is ‘every race’. Must be me being stupid thing, so silly, 3/5 is obviously 100%. My mistake.
         3. 

            FlatSix (@)
            12th May 2018, 15:27

            Yeah, it’s not like Hamilton was dominant in Melbourne, Bottas had every chance to win in Bahrein, Bottas was about to win in China, and both Hamilton and Bottas formed a proper treat to Vettel in Baku. Yes, Ferrari has the undisputed best car. Could you either be more objective or not post at all?
            1. 

               Tim
               12th May 2018, 15:46

               @flatsix.. That is how you spin a story to suit an agenda.

               “Hamilton was dominant in Austrailia”

               “Hamilton and Bottas were a proper threat to Vettel in Baku”

               Vettel was dominant in Baku but lost the lead due to the safetycar. I’d actually say Baku and Austraillia were simmilar in terms of domination but youse spun it completely there ! Yet you accuse me of not being objective…
            2. 

               Kingshark (@kingshark)
               12th May 2018, 16:32

               So you’ve just acknowledged that Mercedes was dominant around Melbourne, which disproves your own claim that Ferrari have had the best car at “every track”.

               Mercedes had slightly better race pace than Ferrari in Bahrain too.
            3. 

               anon
               12th May 2018, 17:09

               @flatsix, but, equally, Vettel has suggested that he could have pushed harder in China and built more of a gap, suggesting that was more of a strategic mistake on Ferrari’s part – equally, Vettel was, if anything, catching Bottas before the safety car came out and seemed liable to repass Bottas on track, suggesting that Vettel was slightly quicker than Bottas was if he could close tuck in so closely behind him and, if anything, slightly close up on him.

               Equally, without the safety car period in Baku, Vettel would have comfortably won that race – he’d dominated the opening phase of the race and, under green flag racing conditions, Bottas would have come out about 10 seconds behind Vettel. Given how most drivers struggled to get the tyres up to temperature – particularly Mercedes – and the small number of laps available to close the gap, Bottas just wasn’t in a position to catch Vettel under normal conditions and Vettel would have won in a fairly dominant manner.
   2. 

      Mark
      12th May 2018, 15:14

      lets keep it to the facts please….. Tires manufactured specifically for Mercedes because of their whining during testing and Mercedes is the only team to get heat in them and Mercedes is on pole……
      Vettel called it during testing. Bush league by Pirelli the FIA and Mercedes.
      1. 

         Tim
         12th May 2018, 15:18

         Except all the other teams who used them to set their best times… Plus let’s not forget the Ferrari is actually illegal this race. They are lucky to even be racing. It’s clear running an illegal car is wrong but the good old FIA can’t have the golden team miss a race… Yet you complain about tyres that are the same for everyone…
         1. 

            Mark
            12th May 2018, 15:21

            the tires were switched to favor Mercedes because they whined about it during testing…all the other teams said the tire was fine…. why did pirelli change the tires to obviously benefit 1 team???
            1. 

               bosyber (@bosyber)
               12th May 2018, 15:31

               Please, if all you go for is truth filtered through Ferrari-red glasses Mark, at least then use what they say; Vettel mentioned both Red Bull and Mercedes pushing for it.

               Anyway, Pirelli decided to do it because they thought it would lead to less problems getting and keeping tyres into the right temperature range across the grid, according to their PR statements.
            2. 

               anon
               12th May 2018, 17:15

               As bosyber notes, apparently Vettel must have been lying to the press when he accused Red Bull of also lobbying for the tyres to be changed then – or is it too inconvenient to acknowledge those accusations? Furthermore, it’s interesting that Vettel now seems to be downplaying some of his earlier comments – perhaps because it seems that the changes actually seem to be working pretty well for Ferrari as well.
         2. 

            L (@lebz)
            12th May 2018, 15:22

            Explain how the Ferrari is illegal when the FIA clearly said mirrors on halos are banned from the NEXT race…
            1. 

               Aldoid
               12th May 2018, 15:29

               They are illegal now, but Ferrari said they weren’t able to switch back to the next spec until next race. It’s more involved than just bolting on a new halo: they’d have to have new bodywork with mirrors attached, but otherwise equal to the upgrade package they brought. The FIA made a concession. They discussed it on Sky.
            2. 

               Aldoid
               12th May 2018, 16:03

               To add, it’s not the mirrors themselves that are the problem. It’s the winglets attached to them.
2. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   12th May 2018, 15:05

   The first Mercedes front-row lockout this season and the first since last season’s Abu Dhabi GP.
3. 

   hahostolze (@hahostolze)
   12th May 2018, 15:05

   God I love how close that was. Mercs close to each other, Ferrari just not getting the SS quite where they wanted them in the final run, and the Red Bulls not improving much on their first runs, could have been even closer, but sets up a great race tomorrow if the new tarmac allows for slightly better following. Kudos to Gasly and Leclerc too, well done indeed.
4. 

   Tango (@tango)
   12th May 2018, 15:05

   Charles Leclerc is agai showing up on the radar. Great quali, sooo close
5. 

   Kingshark (@kingshark)
   12th May 2018, 15:08

   Pirelli modify the tyres, Mercedes front row lockout. What a surprise.
   1. 

      Makana (@makana)
      12th May 2018, 15:13

      I don’t get how this happened and why Ferrari are so “cool” about it!?
      1. 

         Tim
         12th May 2018, 15:14

         Because it’s fake news @makana
         1. 

            Mark
            12th May 2018, 15:18

            Vettel has previously indicated his suspicions about the change. Before it was announced the Ferrari driver said rival teams had been “[trying] to get the tyre supplier in the direction that suits their car best.”

            fake news huh? thats from this very site
            1. 

               Makana (@makana)
               12th May 2018, 15:20

               So will Ferrari just accept? Strange.
            2. 

               Tim
               12th May 2018, 15:27

               Yes Mark, because it’s not a fact. It’s one drivers thought about a rival team..

               Vettel can suspect that Hamilton drives around with a lucky carrot on his head. If that’s then reported on here it would t make it a fact.

               The fake news is people spreading false and wrong information. So that’s exactly what you’re doing. Twisting headlines into facts for your own agenda. Fake. News.
            3. 

               Ed
               12th May 2018, 18:30

               Vettel was all about a ‘party-mode’ Mercedes had after trailing Hamilton for almost a sec on the first race.
               Then, he took 3 poles and nobody even mentions party-mode anymore.

               Vettel talks way too much. He talks like Ferrari is a smaller team, with little influence and no technical capacity to equal Mercedes.
         2. 

            hahostolze (@hahostolze)
            12th May 2018, 15:20

            It’s not so much fake news as there are differing explanations. Yeah, Mercedes and Red Bull complained after winter testing, but Pirelli said it had noticed the need anyway and was not influenced by their complaints. I think teams also had to concur (?). So not fake news, just differently interpretable.
   2. 

      anon
      12th May 2018, 17:23

      @kingshark, it could also be interpreted as “FIA taking stricter measures to monitor oil consumption and Ferrari now seem to have taken a step backwards in qualifying trim”. You seem to have neglected to mention that the FIA has recently been introducing new inspection measures and restrictions on when oil can be replenished, and has stopped teams from replenishing the oil tank during qualifying (something that Ferrari seemed to always need to do during the qualifying sessions in previous races).
6. 

   carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
   12th May 2018, 15:09

   Could Ferrari not find 2 tenths on the supersofts? Was it really that bad?
   1. 

      hahostolze (@hahostolze)
      12th May 2018, 15:11

      Quite late in the day, quite windy, more cloudy. Don’t know, but I think that may have changed the track just a tad.
7. 

   MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
   12th May 2018, 15:12

   Damn, williams even slower Than not running at all. Should have switched those trucks going to Spain and the Monaco Historic maybe
8. 

   budchekov (@budchekov)
   12th May 2018, 15:12

   Adios Ferrari (cover up most of the front tires wear on TV cam) ‘mirrors’ next race, can’t someone accidentally break them off for this one?
   1. 

      Tim
      12th May 2018, 15:20

      They should get a race ban for 1) being illegal and 2) making everyone throw up looking at it.
      1. 

         FlatSix (@)
         12th May 2018, 15:24

         Luckily we have you to point out the car is illegal and not a very experienced team of marshalls and engineers who run the business. Do you never think before you post?
         1. 

            budchekov (@budchekov)
            12th May 2018, 15:28

            Surely we live in a time where rules should be determined by the number of TwitBook for/against posts..
         2. 

            Tim
            12th May 2018, 15:29

            But it’s been ruled illegal and has to be removed for the next race @flatsix… Do you ever think before you post ?
            1. 

               FlatSix (@)
               12th May 2018, 15:31

               Oh my apologies, I didn’t knew they’re going to race “the next race” before this sundays race.
            2. 

               Tim
               12th May 2018, 15:35

               Thanks for the apology. It’s not easy to admit when you’re wrong and doesn’t happen much on here @flatsix
            3. 

               FlatSix (@)
               12th May 2018, 15:37

               …
9. 

   Mach1 (@mach1)
   12th May 2018, 15:15

   The best part of this is that I was only 12 one hundredth of a second off in my pole prediction with the correct guy. Did anyone get closer? I went for 01:16.185…. Closest I have been is two thousandth off…but I’ll take this…
   1. 

      bosyber (@bosyber)
      12th May 2018, 15:33

      Well done @mach1, I was too optimistic, going for a 1:15.8, but at least I guessed the right guy :)
   2. 

      Billys (@bilarxos)
      12th May 2018, 21:57

      1:16.102 and lewis on pole .
10. 

    Aldoid
    12th May 2018, 15:23

    Proper qualy. Anybody’s race tomorrow among the top three teams. Anybody still hung up on who’s got the “best” car has completely missed the plot, IMO. The Red Bull, Mercedes & Ferrari are within a few tenths of each other (as it should be… that’s the point of “Formula Racing”…), but obviously have different strengths & weaknesses that different track characteristics highlight or mask accordingly. None of them are clearly ahead yet, on either one lap or race pace. I don’t see it being much different until after the summer break, if at all. I hope it stays just as close, personally. At the end of it I’d rather Lewis get to 5 before Seb, but if the racing’s good along the way I won’t be too cut up. Hell, I’d get a kick out of it if either of the Finns took it. Or Daniel for that matter… don’t really like Max yet… definitely has the ability, but not driving smart enough to win championships at the moment.
11. 

    Hugh (@hugh11)
    12th May 2018, 15:28

    Rip Hulkenberg… Only gonna be 20-1 this season then. Renault confirmed that the car still had issues on the 2nd run (it didn’t sound too good then either). Ah well, gotta let Sainz have his fun at his home race
12. 

    budchekov (@budchekov)
    12th May 2018, 15:30

    Rock on K Mag..with a little demolition in front, podium possible ?
13. 

    Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
    12th May 2018, 15:38

    Two RBRs used two different compounds in Q3 – yet the difference is so little. McLaren seems to have their updates working and as the season progresses, they may take on and beat Haas for the fourth fastest team. LeClerc is very impressive. Mercedes set up the car just right for Q3 and Hamilton delivered. Hulkenberg was unlucky and so am I because he was my turbo driver choice in the official F1 Fantasy game.
14. 

    Badger74 (@badger74)
    12th May 2018, 16:22

    Did Fernando make it through Q1 on Mediums?
    1. 

       Sviat
       12th May 2018, 17:34

       Yep. This was a really strange qualification.

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