The European leg of the F1 World Championship was inaugurated with the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA PIRELLI 2017 opening free practice. With the multiple technical updates brought here by the different teams under the spotlight, many questions hung in the air: Would Ferrari manage to close the narrow the gap on Mercedes? After his Russian GP victory, would Bottas become more of a challenge for Hamilton? Would Red Bull climb to contention and take on Mercedes and Ferrari? Would Carlos Sainz have a good enough car to repeat last year’s feat – in 2016, he planted the Toro Rosso in sixth place, his best ever finish in Formula 1? Would McLaren Honda manage to find the way to get Alonso to the finish line once and for all?
Most of these questions remain unanswered, although two free practice sessions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today were enough to dispel some doubts. To begin with, Mercedes stays on the lead, apparently inching away from the Scuderia. Their two drivers swept through the day, with Lewis Hamilton sitting comfortably on the lead (1:20.802), and team mate Valtteri Bottas 90 hundredths of a second adrift (1:20.892). Kimi Räikkönen collected Ferrari’s fastest time, 0.310 off the pace (1:21.112), with Sebastian Vettel closing in (+0.418, on 1:21.220). Red Bull seems to have taken a leap to get closer to the two teams dominating the Championship so far. Max Verstappen (1:21.438) finished fifth fastest, 0.636 off the first Mercedes’ pace and just two tenths of a second behind Vettel, while Daniel Ricciardo clocked his fastest lap on 1:21.585.
Carlos Sainz devoted a half morning to testing Toro Rosso’s new aero package for the STR12 and finished 10th (+1.463, 1:22.265). The local driver caused a brief red flag an hour in, as his single-seater shed some debris on the track after running over the kerbs. Supported by the local fans, Sainz will have to fight hard to make it into Q3 for the second time this season.
FP2 proofed soft tyres stand out as the best choice for this Grand Prix. A number of drivers –including Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Kevin Magnussen (Hass) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)- run into the gravel for lack of grip on the medium compound in the first half of FP2. Only a few token laps were done on the hard tyre during FP1, and the hardest compound was ruled out for good.
Fernando Alonso faced yet another challenging day in his career. The double world champion’s humble goal is now to complete a full Grand Prix race for the first time this season, but he did not get much practice today at the Barcelona-Catalunya track. The rear wheels got blocked after a lubrication failure in his FP1 out-lap. While his McLaren Honda was leaving a trail of leaking oil, the Spaniard headed back to the hotel to “stay active” and play paddle tennis with his physiotherapist, he tweeted. He was luckier in FP2, and managed to test the car a bit more thoroughly -on and off, though. He was forced back to the garage after two laps, and managed five more laps later on -five seconds off Hamilton’s pace. He finally put together a decent 5+9-lap stint a bit later, but finished 20th -last on the standings on 1:24.077, and 3.275s off the lead. He is undoubtedly bracing himself for a tough FP 3, on Saturday, as he and his team undoubtedly intend to be on their marks for the qualifying.
Leclerc clinches F2 pole position
The Prema Racing Monaco driver blitzed the morning free practice and claimed pole position in the afternoon. He was the fastest man at the Catalan track today in a heart-stopping qualifying, on 1:29.285, clear of Italian Luca Guiotto (Russian Time) and France’s Nyck de Vries (Rapax). Local drivers Roberto Merhi (Campos Racing) and Sergio Canamasas (Trident) had a tricky day and will start the race from the back of the grid after finishing 15th and 19th fastest.
Once track activities were over, 400 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya officials posed for a picture with a bunch of Formula 1 drivers -including Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, among many others- to jointly celebrate FIA Volunteers Day.
Run the track
The complementary activities for the Catalan Grand Prix include a running race around the track, on Saturday at 8 pm. The 500 registered participants in the “Run the track” event will complete one lap jogging around the track, just a few hours before the Grand Prix is raced on the very same asphalt. This initiative is jointly organized by Diari Sport (a sports media outlet) in a true Formula 1 atmosphere.
Tickets available at www.circuitcat.com
Tickets for the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA PIRELLI 2017 are available on-line at www.circuitcat.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya box offices from 8 am. Doors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will open on Saturday at 8 am.
Formula 1 FP1, F2 qualifying, GP3 free practice highlights are available at the Circuit’s website
