The 2006 Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix

[Ed]

This is the place to discuss everything related to the sixth round of the 2006 season taking place at the Catalaunya Circuit in Spain between the 12th and the 14th of May.

The Spanish Grand Prix Preview is available here
The main Spanish Grand Prix page is available here
(apologies for the delay )

To submit your 8 'n' Pole Picks for Spain click here, to register in the competition click here

[Ed]

The event timetable for the Spanish Grand Prix

Friday
1st Practice 11:00 local time - 09:00 GMT
2nd Practice 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT

Saturday
Practice 11:00 local time - 09:00 GMT
Qualifying 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT

Sunday
Race 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT

[Ed]

The latest weather forecast for the Spanish Grand Prix (last updated 11 May)

Friday
1st Practice - 11:00 - 17 - Few Showers
2nd Practice - 14:00 - 19 - Partly Cloudy

Saturday
Practice - 11:00 - 17 - Mostly Sunny
Qualifying - 14:00 - 20 - Mostly Cloudy

Sunday - 20 - AM Showers
Race - 14:00

[Ed]

Selected Team and Driver preview quotes (as they become available):

Renault

Fernando Alonso

Q: Will the Renault be strong at the Circuit de Catalunya?

I think we are always good there. It is an aero circuit, which is good for Renault, and the team was on the podium every time in the last three years. We saw in Germany that the car is competitive, but Ferrari were a little bit stronger. The next races in Barcelona and Monaco will be dominated by tyres I think and in the past years they were both Michelin circuits. I think there are some good opportunities coming up for us.

Q: We don't want to tempt fate, but what would a victory mean to you at your home race?

Well, last year I think it was not quite so important for me, because I was so focused on the championship and just wanted to win races, it didn't matter which ones. This season it is a bit different. Of course, I am fighting really hard for the title. But now, it is true that if I have to pick two or three races in the year I want to win, then Barcelona is definitely one of them!

Giancarlo Fisichella

Q: In just five days' time you will be in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. What are you expecting?

Barcelona is a circuit we all know very well because we do so much testing there, especially in the winter. I enjoy the circuit a lot and I know the Renault will be quick there. I am very optimistic for the race weekend, and I hope it will be a bit easier than the last one!

Q: How do you expect the Michelin tyres to perform?

Barcelona is a very tough circuit for the tyres, as we all know. The asphalt is quite abrasive and there are some high speed corners that are hard for the tyres, like the last two corners. But I know Michelin will bring good tyres for this race. They know the circuit well and they are working very hard. I am feeling very confident for Spain, we know the Michelins will be quick!

Honda

Gil de Ferran

A home from home is the perfect description of the Spanish Grand Prix. Like many other teams, we use the track extensively for testing throughout the year. The RA106 has been competitive in the various tests there since it was launched back in January, In addition, we have the latest specification engine for both drivers. All of which makes us positive going into this weekend, despite our relative lack of pace in the last race. Barcelona itself is one of the favourite venues on the F1 calendar amongst many of our team members.

Jenson Button

It was a tough weekend at the N?rburgring so I'm looking ahead and focusing on Spain now. It's a circuit where you need to be strong aerodynamically and I think our car is good in that respect. It's quite a demanding track for the drivers and the fast corners put a lot of strain on the neck. However we do get a lot of practice at Barcelona as we test there so often, so we know the track inside out. The weather is likely to be nice and hot which always suits us better and if we can resolve the engine problem from last weekend, I think we should be able to get a good result. I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Rubens Barrichello

The Spanish Grand Prix is slightly unusual because we use the circuit so often for testing, so I think we will see that reflected in the performance of all the teams. It's a track I enjoy - although I do get to see rather a lot of it! - and I think we should do well there. It was good to get some more points at the N?rburgring, although we lacked a little bit of pace. We have to work to improve on this for the weekend.

Williams

Sam Michael - Technical Director

Barcelona is a unique circuit, but it is also challenging to find a well balanced set-up there. We spend some time testing at Barcelona during the winter but the weather conditions are usually so different that the teams are still tuning the set-up during the race weekend. The reduced engine power compared to last year means that two of the four high speed (250kph+) corners are now full throttle, although they still put a large loading on the car.
We will have some mechanical items to further improve the FW28 as we go into the second race on the Cosworth engines, while we will also have two new tyres from Bridgestone that we have tested extensively at Barcelona and at Silverstone a few weeks ago. Strategy has traditionally been a two or three stopper, but the revised qualifying format may affect that, but that will become evident after the practice sessions.

Mark Webber

Barcelona is obviously a venue all the teams know exceptionally well because we have all done thousands and thousands of testing kilometres there. It has been a bit of a tricky circuit for us in recent years, but I feel we have made some progress in recent tests and I also think Bridgestone is putting some pressure on Michelin, which is good, so I hope we can take some of this progress to the Grand Prix. The atmosphere in Spain will be incredible because of Fernando, but it is good for the rest of us to compete when the event is buzzing. I?m looking forward to it.

Nico Rosberg

Even though I have raced in Barcelona only once before in GP2, I know the track very well because we have done a lot of testing there, like most of the F1 teams. Since Imola, we have improved our performance and we were quite competitive at the N?rburgring, so I believe we can collect some points at Montmel?. It?s an interesting and a quick track, and I like it. I scored some points there in GP2 and also set the fastest lap, but the best memory I have of Barcelona is my first test in an F1 car - a Williams, of course, back in 2002.

Toyota

Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis:

The right use of previous test data is always a key and critical item within Barcelona preparation. There is usually a large change of track conditions between the last test and race event, when temperatures start to heat up. We have especially learned from the past how to handle the tyre choice and take into account the expected track evolution. It leads to two tyre specifications which are more similar than on other tracks where no test data are available. Otherwise, brakes play little role in Barcelona, which is mainly about aerodynamic efficiency of the package and we will be looking to have the best package taking all elements into consideration.

Ralf Schumacher

We have been doing quite well during testing in Barcelona. We are in the upper middle field, better in the race than in qualifying - at least in my case - and so I'm quite happy about that. We showed that we could have a strong race performance at the N?rburgring, it was just unfortunate for the whole team that we had an engine failure. I am confident however that after analyzing the data we will find the right solution for the coming races. Although I have tested there many times, the Circuit de Catalunya is always a bit tricky due to the wind, which makes it hard to find the right aerodynamic set-up. Tyre choice is also another difficult matter, but I am sure we will be able to fall back on our testing data here from the last tests. Overall, we are certainly on the right track, a little patience is needed but when the time comes, we will pick up some points and defend our last year's championship position

Jarno Trulli

The Circuit de Catalunya is a track I know very well, just like most of the other drivers in the field. Because the track is quite demanding with four high-speed corners and few chances for overtaking, we will have to concentrate on having good aerodynamic performance. There is a long main straight but it is a fast corner coming onto it and it is quite difficult to stay close to the car in front. The overtaking situation is a little bit better since they have changed the layout of Turn 10. It all means that a lot of the lap is spent in corners and so the car's balance has to be absolutely right. Reliability and tyre wear are also two factors that are always important, especially because all the teams that go there know their set-ups already. I have had some good races here including the two podiums I have achieved the last two years and I am definitely looking to repeat this again this year

[Ed]

Before the Spanish Grand Prix has even started, BMW Sauber will change Jacques Villeneuve's engine.
It appears that the engine was mishandled. Mario Theissen said "It wasn't dropped but I won't say what happened as I have to blame a team member!"

Villeneuve finished 8th in Europe. Now with a 10 place penalty, his task will be much harder.

[Ed]

Engine status
1st Race (New engine)
Giancarlo Fisichella
Juan Pablo Montoya
Michael Schumacher
Felipe Massa
Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello
Mark Webber
Jacques Villeneuve (incurs 10 place grid penalty)
Ralf Schumacher
David Coulthard
Christian Klien
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Takuma Sato
Franck Montagny

2nd Race
Fernando Alonso
Kimi Raikkonen
Nico Rosberg (thanks Julian )
Nick Heidfeld
Jarno Trulli
Scott Speed
Christijan Albers
Tiago Monteiro

[Julian Mayo]

Ed, I thought MW and Nico were on 2nd races (in MW's case 1/2 a race) engines

[Ed]

You are correct. Nico will be on his second race engine. With Webber though, as he is entitled to a new engine, I suspect the team will give him a new engine.

[JayVee]

Before the Spanish Grand Prix has even started, BMW Sauber will change Jacques Villeneuve's engine.
It appears that the engine was mishandled. Mario Theissen said "It wasn't dropped but I won't say what happened as I have to blame a team member!"

Villeneuve finished 8th in Europe. Now with a 10 place penalty, his task will be much harder.

Foul play

So Heidfeld can't do much about Villeneuve on track he goes and gets his German mates to stuff up Villeneuve's engine

Hey rah, no floor wiping this time!! Hang on, maybe it was you

Better go and change my picks

[Ed]

1st practice session underway!

The session is declared wet following rain earlier. It isn't raining at the moment though.

The test drivers have gone out for their installation laps. A few regular drivers have gone out as well.

[Ed]

Wurz sets the fastest time so far with a 1:29.581
Mondini is second with a 1:31.330

Only two set times so far.

[Ed]

Neil Jani goes fastest with a 1:28.648.

Top 4: Jani, Wurz, Doornbos and Mondini

[Ed]

Wurz now fastest with a 1:20.094. The track is drying!

Davidson second with a 1:20.806

[Ed]

Kubica goes fastest with a 1:17.877

Over 30 minutes into the session and only 6 drivers have set times:
Kubica, Davidson, Wurz, Jani, Mondini and Doornbos

[Ed]

Yellow flags for Montagny who has stopped on the track.

Only Raikkonen and the 2 Ferraris have yet to complete an installation lap.