2015 Track Preview; Spanish Grand Prix, Catalunya

With Formula One returning to Barcelona for the start of the European leg of the 2015 season, Pirelli have chosen the hard P Zero Orange tyres and the medium P Zero White tyres for the Spanish Grand Prix; where the GP2 and GP3 Series will also compete on Pirelli tyres.

The start of the European season traditionally means that many teams bring important upgrades and it will be very interesting to see how the Pirelli tyres react to these changes while also wondering how the teams will also perform after the first four fly-away races of the season.

Spain is obviously one of the more familiar venues that the sport goes to, so there will be been plenty of data gathered during testing that the teams and the drivers can use. Pirelli have stated tot the media that they have seemed to notice that this year Barcelona will once again be a front-limited circuit, from a tyre perspective.

Last year, Pirelli stated that an increase in traction and torque from the cars meant that for the first time the race became a rear-limited event, with the useful life of the rear tyres dictating the pit stop strategy. But they expect it to be different this season.

With the weather expected to be much warmer this season, controlling wear and degradation is the biggest challenge, as Barcelona is a circuit that takes a lot out of the tyres due to long high-speed corners and several fast changes of direction. In particular, the left side of the car gets the biggest workout (the lateral forces acting on both left tyres are the second-highest of the entire season) with the front-left tyre being the most stressed.

The cars run high downforce in Barcelona in order to stay planted to the track during the fast corners and this force pushing down onto the car increases the load going through the tyres. As a result of all these factors, tread temperatures can peak at nearly 130 degrees centigrade.

Pirelli will also be bringing tyres for the GP2 and GP3 series to Spain; as well as tyres for the two-day test that follows the grand prix on Tuesday and Wednesday. This means that nearly 4000 tyres will be brought to Barcelona, carried by a fleet of 14 trucks (including the trucks that make up Pirelli's hospitality unit).

An interesting fact for you all; eight out of the last 10 races have been won from pole position in Spain (and only one from outside the first row of the grid). This underlines the difference that strategy could make on a circuit that the teams all know very well, where racing is always close.

Here are the facts and figures heading into the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend-

Facts and Figures

•Catalunya has hosted the Grand Prix in Spain since 1913, when it raced with touring cars rules. But came back into Formula One in 1991.
•Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver to win the Grand Prix with six wins.
•Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso are the most successful drivers currently to win the Grand Prix with two wins each
•Ferrari are the most successful constructor to win the Grand Prix with twelve wins

•Race distance: 307.1km (190.82 miles)
•Number of turns:16
•Top speed: 310kph
•Lap record: Kimi Raikkonen- McLaren (2008)- 1.21.670

Past Five winners At the Spanish Grand Prix

•2010-Mark Webber
•2011-Sebastian Vettel
•2012-Pastor Maldonado
•2013- Fernando Alonso
•2014- Lewis Hamilton

My five things to look out for this weekend

1.Raffaele Marciello running in FP1- With Marciello running once again in FP1 on Friday and also after the post-Grand Prix test; all eyes will be upon the young Italian and how he performs this weekend with Sauber, alongside running in the GP2 series.
Marciello certainly has impressed many since his FP1 debut in Malaysia; can he do the same this weekend?

2.Upgrades from teams such as McLaren and Lotus- With Barcelona being the start of the European leg to the season, we will see teams such as Lotus and McLaren bringing the first amount of significant upgrades to their cars. With both teams making small improvements in the first four races of the season; will their improvements build upon this?

3.Performance of the tyres- As I have mentioned before, the tyres will play a crucial role this weekend; especially if the weather is warm. The teams and the drivers will have to ensure that they manage the performance of the tyres throughout the course of the weekend in order to be competitive. But who will be able to look after their tyres the best?

4.Weather- The weather looks set to be warm this weekend in Barcelona. If that is the case, we should see a good race throughout the field with drivers battling each other and also managing their tyres too.

5.Performance of the Mercedes drivers- With Mercedes having dominated in Australia, having a “damage limitation” weekend in Malaysia and winning in China and Bahrain; Mercedes are clearly still the favourites to retain both of their championships this season and winning at Barcelona this weekend. But the real question is; will Ferrari be able to pose a challenge over the course of the weekend once again and be able to take the lead with Vettel of the Drivers Championship from Hamilton?

Sky Sports F1 are showing uninterrupted coverage of every Practice session, Qualifying and race for the Grand Prix (and every race of the season) and the BBC also are showing coverage, details for both are below:-

•*Sky Sports F1*:- Friday (Practice 1 and 2) 845am and 12.45pm, [Replays throughout Friday], Saturday (Practice 3 and Qualifying) 9.45am and 12.00pm, [Replays throughout Saturday], Sunday (Race) 11.30am

•*BBC*- Saturday (Qualifying highlights) 5.10pm, Sunday (Race highlights) 5.05pm

Sarah Jones

Thanks to www.grahamandleigh.co.uk for another great laser cut circuit