Tyre Management A Key Improvement Area For Mercedes At Spain

Mercedes are aiming to improve their tyre management during the Spanish Grand Prix next time out, as the German marque aims to improve upon their overall race pace after a slightly disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix. Despite qualifying on pole, Nico Rosberg plummeted through the order to eventually finish 9th.

The underlying reason for this woeful race pace for the German marque was due to severe tyre wear, which has so far been the team’s achilles heel during the opening four races of the season. After a gap of three weeks between the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix, the team’s executive director Toto Wolff and team principal Ross Brawn have explained how the team has been working tirelessly back at the factory to find solutions for these issues. Just like the majority of the grid, Mercedes will be introducing several new upgrades for the Spanish Grand Prix which will naturally be evaluated during the three practice sessions prior to the all-important qualifying session and the race.

“In the two weeks since we returned from Bahrain, there has been a lot of hard work taking place in Brackley and Brixworth to prepare for the start of the European season in Barcelona next weekend.” Explained Ross Brawn, “We have focused our efforts in two key areas; finalizing our upgrade package for Spain and understanding our comparative lack of race pace in Bahrain. We have made progress in the latter area and will evaluate some developments over the upcoming race weekends to help improve the situation. We´re not there yet but we are making progress and of course, performing in the race is what really counts.”

Mercedes performed rather well during winter testing around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, and are hopeful of replicating such pace during the forthcoming race weekend. However, with the change in weather conditions from winter testing and the various improvements up and down the grid, Mercedes are remaining realistic ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. Due to the many laps completed during winter testing, both the team and the drivers believe the Circuit de Catalunya will be the perfect benchmark to asses the team’s new upgrades.

“The three-week break between the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix was welcome, as it gave us extra time to analyze in detail what happened at the last race.” Said Toto Wolff, “We have built a good picture of our varying levels of race performance and why we under-performed overall in Bahrain. In Barcelona, we will test some solutions aimed at improving our tyre management in addition to our planned upgrade package. The circuit itself is well known as a benchmark for aerodynamic performance and we performed strongly there at the end of winter testing. Our target is to improve our Sunday afternoon performance to match what we have delivered on Saturday in the past two races. It will certainly be interesting to see what gains everybody has made since the last time we were at the circuit and how the planned upgrade packages work from car to car.”

There is no denying that Mercedes has enjoyed a competitive start to their 2013 campaign, with two back-to-back pole positions and two podium finishes at the hands of Lewis Hamilton. However, their overall lack of race pace has prevented the German marque from battling for race victories with Lotus, Ferrari and Red Bull. Both the team and the drivers will understandably be hoping for an improvement at Barcelona, as the European gets underway.

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Sauber Set To Introduce New Rear-Wing For Spanish Grand Prix

Sauber are planning on introducing a new rear-wing for the Spanish Grand Prix next time out around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, a race where many teams are expected to introduce their first true upgrades package after the first four flyaway races. These upgrades for Sauber will consist of a new rear-wing and various aero updates.

After a slightly uncompetitive opening four races for the Hinwil-based outfit, they will understandably be hoping that their new upgrades allow them to move further up the order after once again becoming stuck within the highly competitive midfield. Although Nico Hulkenberg scored a handful of points at the Malaysian and Chinese Grands Prix and even led eight laps around the Shanghai International Circuit, his team-mate has unfortunately been unable to enjoy such successes in his debut in the sport.

Despite several strong seasons in the GP2 Series for Lotus GP [now known as ART Grand Prix], the Mexican driver has struggled greatly during his first few races behind the wheel of the Ferrari-powered C32 machine. During qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Gutierrez crashed heavily in the inclement weather conditions. At the Malaysian Grand Prix he managed to qualify 14th and finish 12th, however he failed to continue improving at the Chinese Grand Prix after a collision with the Force India of Adrian Sutil.

Naturally Esteban Gutierrez’s uncompetitiveness is not all his fault, as Sauber’s new car has not yet lived up to their C31 machine of last season, which immediately enabled Sergio Perez to step upon the podium at the Malaysian Grand Prix and again later in the season at the Canadian and Italian Grands Prix. However, both Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez will be hoping the dawn of the European season is a change in luck as they continue to strive for competitive results for the outfit. During Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, the duo will evaluate the new upgrades. The team’s ambition is to see both of their drivers finish in the points, something which has not occurred for the outfit since the Italian Grand Prix last season.

“Although Barcelona is a track we know well from winter testing, the higher temperatures do change how the tyres perform, so we have to adapt to that. The first two sectors are biased towards higher speed corners, whereas the third sector is dominated by a technical sequence of lower speed corners, hence the set-up is always a compromise.” Explained Sauber’s Head of Track Engineering, Tom McCullough. “We have some further aero updates, including a modified rear wing, and we will be evaluating these during Friday practice. Qualifying is particularly important here as overtaking can be difficult in the race. Our target for the race is to finish with both cars in the points.”

Last season Sauber were an extreme threat to many of the front-running teams such as McLaren and Ferrari, with both Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi both qualifying and finishing the races competitively. Such a threat seems to have vanished during the winter period for Sauber, however they will no doubt continue to improve as the season progresses. Both Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez know what it takes to be competitive, and simply require a machine capable of taking the fight to the sharper end of the grid.

Picture Copyright © Sauber Motorsport AG

Heikki Kovalainen Suffered From KERS Failure During Indian Grand Prix

Heikki Kovalainen lost out due to a KERS failure during the latter stages of the Indian Grand Prix, which forced the Finn to cede his track position to team-mate Vitaly Petrov. Despite this unfortunate turn of events, Kovalainen was still able to finish the race ahead of the Marussias and HRTs in 18th position.

After starting the race from 20th on the grid, Heikki Kovalainen was able to enjoy a positive start after picking several places through the opening few corners. As the opening stint played out, Caterham decided switch from a two-stop to a one-stop strategy, with tyre degradation less of an issue around the Buddh International Circuit. However, roughly two thirds of the way through the race, Kovalainen suffered the KERS failure which plagued him until the end of the race.

“My start was good.” Explained Heikki Kovalainen, “We had planned to do two stops but with the way the car was performing we went long on the first stint and switched to a one stop, boxing just after halfway. I had a good stop but about two thirds of the way through the race I had a KERS problem which meant I had to let Vitaly [Petrov] pass. From there it was really just a matter of getting my car to the end of the race. Losing KERS obviously didn’t help but it was still pretty easy to pull away from the cars behind and without that problem I’m sure I’d have finished higher.”

Despite the KERS issue on the car, both Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov remain confident for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend, with the team set to introduce several new upgrades to the CT01. With the Leafield-based outfit still striving to catch Marussia in the Constructors’ Championship, any new upgrade packages will be warmly welcomed in the closing stages of the season, regarding they benefit the overall pace of the car.

Picture Copyright © Caterham F1 Team

HRT Looking To Further Evaluate Updates At Suzuka

HRT are confident ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix next weekend, as the Spanish outfit aim to further evaluate their updates which were introduced last time out at Singapore. Due to the fast-flowing and high-speed nature of the Suzuka circuit, Pedro de la Rosa believes the difference between the old and the new floor will become apparent.

Along with many teams up and down the grid at the Singapore Grand Prix, HRT introduced several new upgrades to their F112 car in an attempt to close in on their nearest competitors in the closing stages of the season. First impressions were that the new floor on the car worked well, however the Suzuka circuit is expected to allow the team to further evaluate the upgrades, especially the new floor.

“Suzuka is a beautiful and spectacular circuit; I would say it’s my favorite track.” Explained Pedro de la Rosa, “It’s very quick, you hardly touch the brake, and we’ll be able to make a better evaluation of the difference between the new floor and the old one. I’ve got great memories of it because my first victories in Formula 3 and Formula 3000 came there and it’s one of the tracks which has brought me most luck in my career because by winning there the doors to Formula 1 opened. I hope to also have a good performance next weekend.”

Whereas Pedro de la Rosa has finished the last seven races, Narain Karthikeyan has struggled slightly, retiring from three of the last seven races. The Indian driver crashed out of the Singapore Grand Prix last time out, however he is hopeful of redeeming himself next weekend on what he believes is a physically demanding track.

“I’m really looking forward to Japan after not being able to finish in Singapore.” Said Narain Karthikeyan, who is returning to Suzuka in an F1 car for the first time since 2005. “From a physical point of view it’s also tough as it’s very quick. I think we’ll take a step forward with the car with regards to Singapore and we’ll be able to better evaluate how the new floor works. We’ve been pretty fast in the last few races but we’ve been missing a bit of luck. But we have to continue working to maintain this positive momentum through to the end of the season.”

HRT have continued to improve throughout yet another tough season for the Spanish outfit, and have begun to reel in the likes of Marussia in recent races. With only a quarter of the Championship remaining, it seems HRT are aiming to continue improving at each of the remaining race weekends.

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Marussia Positive With New Updates For Spanish GP

Anglo-Russian team Marussia are confident that their new upgrades to the MR-01 will help them reel in their immediate competitors, after a productive three day test at Mugello. The aerodynamic update to the car will hopefully propel to the teams forwards, as other teams will undoubtedly have improved as well.

Marussia have had a relatively successful start to the 2012 season, with only one retirement in four races. This occurred when Charles Pic unfortunately retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix with engine related issues. That aside, Marussia have progressed greatly since the opening four races of the season, with the team failing to take part in any pre-season activities except a quick shakedown of the new car at Silverstone.

“I am looking forward to the Spanish Grand Prix and the start of the European season.” Explained Timo Glock, “After the tests in Mugello I think we have a good baseline for Barcelona and now we need to see what the new parts we have will bring. I hope they make a difference and we can be a bit closer to the guys in front of us. I am looking forward to the race weekend again.”

Having raced for Marussia since the teams inaugural season in 2010, Timo Glock has raced at the Circuit de Catalunya in every season since 2008 when he raced for Toyota. During this period his best finish around the track was only 10th in 2009, a season which saw him finish on the podium twice. His team-mate, French rookie Charles Pic, has also raced at the Circuit de Catalunya before however only in GP2. Pic has won on the track twice in his GP2 career, in two consecutive years.

“We have a good update and the car feels positive, so if we can make it work at Barcelona, I think we can continue to be strong at the other circuits.” Said Charles Pic, “The Circuit de Catalunya is a track I know well; I have raced here a few times now. I am feeling good about the direction we are heading in and I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

Although Marussia are confident ahead of this weekends Spanish Grand Prix, it’s a known fact that the majority of the other teams on the grid will be introducing similar upgrades. This means the battle towards the rear of the order can only get more competitive as the season wears on.

Picture Copyright © Marussia F1 Team