[E90SLAM]

Three weeks is a friggin long wait.
And finally we're done with the opening fly-away races.

Most likely we will continue to see Mercedes being dominant. But who will coming up as the second best team?

Race Date: 11 May 2014
Circuit Name: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
First Grand Prix: 1991
Number of Laps: 66
Circuit Length: 4.655 km
Race Distance: 307.104 km
Lap Record: 1:21.670 - K Raikkonen (2008)

Tire Compounds Provided:
Prime: Hard (Orange)
Option: Medium (White)
Rain: Cinturato Intermediate (Green) / Cinturato Wet (Blue)

F1 TIMETABLE (Barcelona Local Time)
Fri 09 May 2014
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Sat 10 May 2014
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00
Sun 11 May 2014
Race 14:00

F1 TIMETABLE (Pacific Time)
Fri 09 May 2014
Practice 1 01:00 - 02:30
Practice 2 05:00 - 06:30
Sat 10 May 2014
Practice 3 02:00 - 03:00
Qualifying 05:00
Sun 11 May 2014
Race 05:00

F1 TIMETABLE (Eastern Time)
Fri 09 May 2014
Practice 1 04:00 - 06:30
Practice 2 08:00 - 09:30
Sat 10 May 2014
Practice 3 05:00 - 06:00
Qualifying 08:00
Sun 11 May 2014
Race 08:00

NOTE: On Sunday, May 11, 2014, will be the last game for the Barclay's Premier League, which all channels under NBC-Universal will be showing all 10 matches live. I'm not sure if it will affect the live broadcasting of the Formula 1 Spanish GP. But do check your local listing.

[Chihuahua]

I would really like to see the Hulk get a podium. I don't expect anyone to touch MB this race weekend.

Supposedly the Sauber chassis went on a big diet over the break. As much as I like Kimi, I hope both Ferraris score a DNF. I still friggin' can't stand Luca.

[solstice]

My guess is that Alonso will be on the podium. Ferrari is usually strong here and Alonso will try harder than anywhere else which is a lot

[E90SLAM]

It is possible for Alonso get a podium. This is not a power dominant circuit, and we should see RBR and Ferrari be more competitive. Although tire degradation could be a problem to other teams, Mercedes seems to solved the issue (e.g. Chinese GP).

I'd also like to see the Hulk get the podium. He's a decent driver who's overdue to get a podium spot.

[URBAN LEGEND]

Here we go. The real beginning of the 14 season.

[Zoli007]

Curious to see all the major upgrade packages everyone will have. Supposedly Ferrari will have a Mercedes like nose.

[jonasaurus]

Originally Posted by Zoli007

Curious to see all the major upgrade packages everyone will have. Supposedly Ferrari will have a Mercedes like nose.

+1

Teams will be bringing in some enhancements, great to see the other teams given Mercedes a challenge. Hoping for a RIC podium!

[954Stealth]

I'm predicting another Mercedes 1-2

[yllwwgn]

Originally Posted by 954Stealth

I'm predicting another Mercedes 1-2

Agreed. Sure the other teams have had 3 weeks to play catch-up, but it's highly doubtfull that Mercedes has just sat around twiddling their thumbs. if ANYTHING, I will laugh if they qualify a full second faster than any of the other teams.

Guess Red Bull might as well start working on their cars for 2015 already. I think 2014 will be played out to minimize "damage control" for them and Ferrari.

[Woots]

Originally Posted by yllwwgn

Agreed. Sure the other teams have had 3 weeks to play catch-up, but it's highly doubtfull that Mercedes has just sat around twiddling their thumbs. if ANYTHING, I will laugh if they qualify a full second faster than any of the other teams.

Guess Red Bull might as well start working on their cars for 2015 already. I think 2014 will be played out to minimize "damage control" for them and Ferrari.

Absolutely not....were still pushing to bridge the gap to Mercedes...the seasons just began
Three weeks is a lot of time to change things...

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Zoli007

Curious to see all the major upgrade packages everyone will have. Supposedly Ferrari will have a Mercedes like nose.

This seems odd to me because the Ferrari already has an extremely similar nose to the Mercedes. Of all of the elements that Ferrari needed to change, I don't think the nose is very high on the list.

[E90SLAM]

They are afraid of choking. So they must be thinking of dominating the rest of the season.

Mercedes has drafted in the help of the sports psychologist credited with helping New Zealand end its Rugby World Cup jynx in a bid to continue its own dominant start to the season.

Dr Ceri Evans, who worked with the All Blacks to overcome their reputation for choking on the big stage by winning the World Cup on home soil in 2011, has been brought in by Toto Wolff, according to a report in the Telegraph. Evans was reportedly on hand in China to watch mechanics during qualifying and the race to observe how Mercedes is dealing with the pressure of being so far in front.

It means we may well start to hear terms such as "Red Head" and "Blue Head" in the paddock this season, phrases coined by Evans to describe the different ways athletes deal with pressure situations. He also devised a system of "triggers" to help the All Blacks switch between defensive and attacking mentalities quickly. With Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg likely to be battling between themselves for victory again in Spain, Evans may well start earning his money sooner rather than later this season.


Read more at http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/s...92Q4mMYOKVc.99

[954Stealth]

This is a cool video from Ferrari:

http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/measure-man

[E9TOU]

Will this race be a true precursor to the rest of the season?! Still rooting for Mercedes but I hope other teams up their ante. I have a feeling RB is a sleeping beast.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by E9TOU

Will this race be a true precursor to the rest of the season?! Still rooting for Mercedes but I hope other teams up their ante. I have a feeling RB is a sleeping beast.

They do have a good chassis as we saw them doing decently well in rain, and some sectors that are less power dominant.

[Woots]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

They do have a good chassis as we saw them doing decently well in rain, and some sectors that are less power dominant.

Sleeping beast....
Well for the past week we've done 15 hour shifts to get everything prepped so I'll def be sleeping this weekend

But this weekend will be interesting.....not sure how much of a change the work will make but engine wise we had more to gain then Mercedes as their design is pretty flawless...but hopefully a 3rd and 5th finish is what I'm hoping is achievable....

Lewis to win maybe?

[Mtxzptlk]

Williams need to pull themselves together and capitalize on having a Merc engine.

Their results are subpar given their potential.

[solstice]

Originally Posted by Mtxzptlk

Williams need to pull themselves together and capitalize on having a Merc engine.

Their results are subpar given their potential.

I agree, I expected them to be this years Lotus with Bottas breaking through as the new superstar of F1 but so far it hasn't materialized and for every race the deep pocket teams will make it harder for them.

I'm also routing for Hulk and I expect to see him and Bottas on the podium many times in the future.

[954Stealth]

Originally Posted by Mtxzptlk

Williams need to pull themselves together and capitalize on having a Merc engine.

Their results are subpar given their potential.

Seriously. Their results have been disappointing to say the least.

The real surprise this year, in my opinion is Force India. They're 18 points ahead of Williams, a couple points ahead of Ferrari and right behind RBR, 3rd overall. They're already about to surpass their points total for 2013.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by 954Stealth

The real surprise this year, in my opinion is Force India. They're 18 points ahead of Williams, a couple points ahead of Ferrari and right behind RBR, 3rd overall. They're already about to surpass their points total for 2013.

Force India has been the most promising of the third-tier teams for a few years now. I'm happy to see them doing well.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Force India has been the most promising of the third-tier teams for a few years now. I'm happy to see them doing well.

Agree. Although we see McLaren and Ferrari falter occasionally. We've also seen FI making steady progress every race, every season.

Hope they continue making "net gain" on performance and for once, on the top of podium.

[E90SLAM]

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