#F1 @Aramco #SpanishGP 2024 Preview. #BarcelonaGP #Formula1
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2024 Spanish GP Preview – After Max Verstappen won a rain-hit Canadian GP and disaster struck Ferrari with a double retirement, round ten of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship season returns to the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Montmelo, Catalonia, Spain for the Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio De Espana 2024. This will be the 34th time that the Spanish Grand Prix will be held at the Montmelo circuit. This is the first of a triple header of race weekends with the Austrian and British Grands Prix to follow.
2024 Spanish GP Preview – A look at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a permanent racing circuit in Barcelona, Montmelo, Catalonia, Spain.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was built in 1991 and began hosting the Spanish Grand Prix that same year and has been running there ever since. This year also marks the 50th running of the Spanish Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is also used for the FIM MotoGP World Championship.
The Barcelona circuit is famed as a bellwether circuit as the cars that race well here are expected to race well in any and all conditions. The logic behind this is that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provides a well-rounded examination of every aspect of car design, requiring maximum downforce, stronger delivery of power, excellent traction and handling. The Spanish Grand Prix also traditionally is where teams bring their first major upgrades of the season and could see the potential for movement around the field.
The wind direction at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya can change at any-time during the day and can upset the balance of the car due to the major importance of aerodynamics that modern Formula One cars have. It is then a challenge to find a well-balanced setup since cars can suffer massive drag and understeer on one part of the track in the morning session but suffer oversteer at the same section in the afternoon. An allocated tyre compound can work well during testing, but not as well a few months later as changeable conditions can provide unexpected performances from some teams during the Grand Prix.
From this year’s Spanish Grand Prix, Formula 1 will use the layout used by MotoGP since 2021 removing the chicane in sector three of the lap that Formula One had used every year since it was introduced in 2007 reverting to the two double-sweeping fast right-hand corner configuration that Formula 1 last used back in 2006 campaign.
The circuit runs in a clockwise direction and is 4.657km (2.894mi) in length with 14 corners.
The race distance is 307.236km (190.907mi) with 66 laps in total.
Seven-time World Champion’s Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the most victories at the circuit with six each to their respective names.
Mercedes and Scuderia Ferrari are the most successful constructor winning the Spanish Grand Prix 12 times respectively.
Max Verstappen holds the fastest lap record set at last year’s event with a 1:16.330 in his Oracle Red Bull Racing Honda-RBPT RB19 racer.
2024 Spanish GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2021: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2020: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2019: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.
2024 Spanish GP Preview – Onboard Lap of the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya
Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya at last year’s event, set by Max Verstappen in his Oracle Red Bull Racing – RBPT-Honda RB19. The three-time world champion posted a 1:12.272. You can watch the footage right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6JyAbjdGNU
2024 Spanish GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to Barcelona, the C1 white side-walled Hard compounds, the C2 yellow-marked Medium tyres and the C3 red-branded Soft rubber. F1’s sole tyre supplier will also take along the green-branded Intermediates and the blue-branded Wet tyres in case of rain.
All drivers will have eight sets of the C3 softs, three sets of the C2 mediums and two of the C1 hards.
2024 Spanish GP Preview – DRS Zones
There will be two DRS zones at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. The first detection point is 86 metres before turn nine and with the activation point 40 metres after. The second detection point is at the safety car line with second activation zone 57 metres after turn 14.
2024 Spanish GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speeds will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: Verstappen scores 60th-career victory in rain-hit Canadian GP
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen increased his championship lead to 56 points after clinching victory in a rain-affected Canadian GP ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell who completed the top three as Ferrari suffered a double DNF.
When the 70-lap Canadian GP began, pole-sitter Russell made an easy getaway into turn one keeping Verstappen and the two McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri meanwhile behind them Hamilton made up a place into sixth place past Hamilton.
Also behind them, both Perez and Gasly made contact out of the exit of turn two.
At the end of the opening tour, Russell held a 1.501 second lead over Verstappen with Norris third, Piastri fourth, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso fifth and Hamilton completing the top six.
Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen who started on the full-wet weather tyres breezed his way past Hamilton, Alonso and Piastri to move up into fourth place making good use of the better grip.
Meanwhile the other Haas VF-24 entry of Nico Hulkenberg, also on the full wets also made his way up into eighth place making short work of RB’s Ricciardo.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was told over his radio by his race engineer that they could see “something strange” with their engine and to keep pushing.
Williams Racing’s Logan Sargeant skated off at turn six and clipped the barriers slightly and falling to the back. The American managed to find reverse gear and got going again.
On lap seven, Alonso made an error running wide at the final chicane into the run-off area allowing Hamilton to breezed ahead of the Spaniard before the Briton made a mistake into turn two allowing the Aston Martin driver to reclaim sixth place.
Fourth-placed Magnussen also was the first to stop on lap eight for a fresh set of inters and emerged in 14th behind Sainz.
On lap 10, race leader Russell’s lead was at 1.573 seconds over Verstappen with Norris third, Piastri fourth, Alonso fifth as Hamilton completed the top six.
RB’s Ricciardo was also noted by the race stewards for a false start.
On the 11th lap, McLaren told their drivers that more wet weather was coming around lap 33 as a dry racing line was starting to appear.
In the battle for the lead, Verstappen brought the gap to race leader Russell down to 0.602 on lap 15 as Norris seventh-placed Ricciardo was hit with a five-second time penalty for his false start on the grid.
The following tour saw Verstappen cut the gap further to half-a-second on the Briton as Norris posted the fastest lap.
On lap 17, second-placed Verstappen suffered a lock-up into turn one and ran over the grass into turn two, giving race leader Russell a comfortable two seconds gap as the Dutchman fell back into the clutches of McLaren’s Norris who was the quickest car on-track at the time.
DRS was enabled on lap 18 as Norris got ever closer with the adjustable rear wing device bringing him right to the rear of Verstappen’s RB20.
A tour later, Norris out of the hairpin continued to close-in on second-place Verstappen but was not close enough to pass the Dutchman.
On lap 20, Russell’s lead was down to 1.3 seconds as Norris with DRS assistance out of the hairpin, got into the slipstream and made his move around the outside to pass Verstappen into turn 14 to grab second place.
Norris was on a charged and rapidly caught up to Russell as they reached the hairpin and with DRS assistance Norris done the same move on the Mercedes and snatched the lead from his fellow British-compatriot who ran wide into the turn 14 run-off area allowing Verstappen also to take a place off the Mercedes into second place.
On lap 23, Norris’s lead over Verstappen was 4.444 seconds with Russell third, Piastri fourth as the battle for fifth place between former team-mates Alonso and Hamilton intensified whilst behind them Albon and Tsunoda made their way into the points to overtake the struggling Leclerc.
The stewards also noted Russell’s incident with Verstappen for rejoining the circuit unsafely.
Hamilton right up the back of the Aston Martin at the hairpin as the former got ever closer with DRS out of the hairpin as out of turn 14, Hamilton looked for more standing water to cool down the intermediates.
On lap 25, fourth-placed Piastri was right behind the rear of Russell as Sargeant hit the wall and the safety car was called a lap later.
Norris opted not to pit as his rivals behind them pitted for a fresh set of inters as replays showed Sargeant clipped the kerbs at turn three, which sent the Williams driver round, losing the rear of his FW46, and hit the wall with the rear wing stranding the American at turn four.
On lap 27, race leader Norris stopped for his fresh set of inters and came out in third place behind Russell.
The order on lap 28 was Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, Alonso, Tsunoda, Stroll, Ocon and Ricciardo.
Meanwhile on lap 29, Ferrari put Leclerc on a fresh set of hards taking a gamble as the SF-24 got stuck in the box.
Leclerc finally got going and emerged at the rear.
When the safety car came in and the race resumed on lap 30, Verstappen made an easy run into turn one reaching a 0.600 second lead on Russell meanwhile behind them Leclerc made an error into turn two.
After one tour Verstappen’s lead increased to 1.046 seconds over Russell with Norris holding third, Piastri fourth, Hamilton fifth as Alonso completed the top six.
The rain started falling heavier as the onboard showed Leclerc at the back struggling on the harder rubber.
Meanwhile 11th-placed Albon got into the slip-stream of Ricciardo on the back straight and squeezed his way past the Australian and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon into the final corner to move up into ninth place as Ferrari’s Leclerc pitted for inters.
A lap later, there was contact made at the hairpin as Sainz ran into the back of Bottas damaging his front wing end-plate with the Spaniard down in 13th place.
At half-race distance, race leader Verstappen’s lead over Russell was 1.2 seconds with Norris third, Piastri fourth, Hamilton fifth as Alonso completed the top six runners.
On lap 37, Leclerc was overlapped by the top five as Hamilton drew ever closer to fourth-placed Piastri.
A lap later, Perez made his way past Magnussen for 15th place as the latter’s early gamble starting on the full wets did not pay off.
Lap 40, saw Verstappen’s lead out front up to 2.679 seconds over Russell with Norris third, Piastri fourth as Hamilton rounded out the top five.
A lap later, with DRS assistance as it was enabled, Hamilton got closer into the slipstream of Piastri meanwhile 14th-placed Gasly took a gamble for a fresh set of hards.
On lap 42, Norris made an error locking his front-left into turn one and skating off into the grass at turn two allowing Piastri and Hamilton right into play for third place.
A lap later, Leclerc was told to retire the car parking it at the box as Bottas put on a fresh set of mediums emerging in 16th place behind Sauber team-mate Zhou Guanyu.
On lap 44, fifth-placed Hamilton stopped for a fresh set of the yellow side-walled mediums to come out in tenth behind Albon as Ricciardo, Sainz and Perez also bolted on a set of slicks.
Meanwhile on lap 45, Piastri pitted for his fresh set of the C4 mediums along with Alonso, Tsunoda, Stroll, Ocon, Albon and Hulkenberg as the top three stayed out.
On lap 46 race leader Verstappen and second-placed Russell pitted for their fresh sets of mediums and hards respectively as Norris remained out and set the fastest lap of the race.
Also Norris was noted by the race stewards for leaving the track and gaining an advantage as the McLaren driver held a pit-stop advantage over second-placed Verstappen.
A lap later, Norris was told by his race engineer to box as the field was mixed by a range of mediums and hards.
Norris stopped for his fresh set of mediums as he emerged just in-front of Verstappen on the wet part of the circuit, but with warmer rubber, the latter overtook the McLaren to reclaim the lead on lap 48.
Out of the hairpin both Russell and Piastri had DRS assistance on each other and were very close to Norris as they reached turn 14, but the latter managed to keep both at bay.
On lap 49, Norris made a mistake locking up and rand wide at the hairpin and with DRS assistance out of the hairpin, Russell got into the slipstream of the McLaren passing his fellow British-compatriot around the outside into the final corner to move up into second place.
On lap 51, Verstappen’s lead increased to 4.122 seconds over Russell as the latter made an error out of turn nine allowing Norris to snatch second-placed off the Mercedes.
On lap 52, Russell was told “Focus George, focus,” by Toto Wolff over the radio as Perez was trying to limp back to the pits with a very broken front wing.
Replays showed Perez lost the rear of his RB20 racer at turn six hitting the wall, meanwhile Sainz and Albon also suffered a moment at turn six.
Sainz managed to get going and returned to the pits retiring the car as the Scuderia suffered a double DNF, whilst Albon parked it at turn seven after taking a hit innocently from the Ferrari’s spin, which deployed the safety car on lap 54.
Perez was also forced retired after his incident, whilst Mercedes pitted both Russell and Hamilton under the safety car for a fresh set of mediums and hards respectively.
When the race resumed on lap 59 as the safety car came in, race leader Verstappen pulled away from the two McLaren’s and Mercedes into turn’s one and two.
With ten tours remaining, Verstappen’s lead was at 1.885 seconds over Norris, with Piastri third, Russell fourth, Hamilton fifth, Alonso sixth, Stroll seventh, Tsunoda eighth, Ocon ninth as Ricciardo completed the top ten.
With eight laps left, Ocon made his way passed Tsunoda to take eighth place from the RB driver.
At the hairpin Russell got close to Piastri at the hairpin and with DRS assistance attempted to overtake the Australian on the rundown to the final corner but the MCL38 entry kept the Silver Arrow behind.
A lap later, Russell with DRS assistance again on the back straight moved out to the outside of Piastri as both made contact into the final corner forcing the former into the run-off area as Hamilton got ahead of his Mercedes team-mate into fourth.
With five laps remaining, race leader Verstappen set the fastest lap again as the Dutchman’s lead was up to 3.237 over Norris with Piastri third, Hamilton fourth as Russell rounded out the top five.
Out of the hairpin and with DRS assistance, Hamilton in the slipstream of Piastri moved to the outside of the McLaren and got the move done into the final corner to take third place.
With four tours remaining, Russell likewise done the same move as Hamilton passing Piastri to take fourth place. Meanwhile behind them, Tsunoda suffered a spin at turn nine and dropped out of the points into 14th place.
On lap 68, with DRS assistance Russell on the back straight made a move on the inside of his team-mate Hamilton and overtook his fellow British-compatriot at the final corner to jump into the final podium place.
Meanwhile the stewards are currently investigating the incident between Piastri and Russell for causing a collision.
Verstappen crossed the line to clinch the Canadian GP victory and his third-in-a-row at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve by 3.879 seconds over Norris as Russell completed the top three.
Hamilton took fourth and the fastest lap bonus point as Piastri took fifth ahead of the Aston Martin pairing of Alonso and Stroll who were sixth and seventh respectively.
RB’s Ricciardo was eighth as Alpine duo Gasly and Ocon rounded out the final points places.
Haas F1 pairing Hulkenberg and Magnussen’s strategy did not pay off as both finished outside the top ten in 11th and 12th respectively whilst Bottas came 13th in the order for Sauber.
RB’s Tsunoda settled for 14th after his spin and ahead of Sauber’s Zhou who took 15th and finished a lap down.
2024 Spanish GP Preview – The Situation
Formula 1 returns to the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish GP as a hugely anticipated triple-header of European races begin at the famous track.
After a thrilling string of Grands Prix, which has seen four different teams fighting for victories, the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya is expected to provide a reliable picture of the pecking order as a series of the sport’s more traditional tracks arrive on the schedule.
Championship leader Max Verstappen overcame McLaren and Mercedes cars which appeared to have more pace than his Red Bull RB20 racer to win a dramatic weekend in Montreal, but perhaps the big takeaway from this was the Silver Arrows of George Russell and Sir Lewis Hamilton bring back in contention.
McLaren’s Lando Norris scored victory in Miami at the beginning of May and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc triumphed at his home Monaco Grand Prix for the first time at the end of the month, leaving a mystery of who will come out on top in the weeks ahead.
The action will be coming full throttle with the Austrian and British Grands Prix to follow on back-to-back weekends, with only a one week break before the Hungarian and Belgian Grand Prix double-header before the sport’s summer break.
Red Bull have stated that Barcelona and some of the upcoming tracks should better suit their RB20 racer than recent circuits, whilst the chasing field will hope to prove they can challenge Verstappen at any venue to come.
Also in Barcelona, F1 Academy returns with Britain’s Abbi Pulling looking to build on her Miami double which gave her a 34-point lead in the championship standings.
There’s also F2 and F3 action in Spain with F1 2025 grid hopefuls Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman in action once again.
Verstappen returns to Spain sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 194 points and a 56-point lead over Ferrari’s Leclerc who is second on 138 points whilst Norris is a further 63 points behind the Dutchman in third place on 131 points.
Oracle Red Bull Racing heads to Barcelona leading the World Constructor’s Championship with 301 points and a 49-point buffer over nearest rivals Scuderia Ferrari who are second on 252 points whilst McLaren Formula One Team is third and a further 89 points behind the Milton Keynes based-outfit on 212 points.
The Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio De Espana 2024 weekend begins Friday June 21 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday June 22 along with the 66 lap Race Sunday June 23.
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