Spain 2010

ONCE AGAIN RED BULL LOCKED OUT THE FRONT ROW ON THE GRID - MARK WEBBER'S BRILLIANT QUALIFYING LAP TOOK POLE AND EDGED OUT HIS TEAM-MATE, SEBASTIAN VETTEL. FERNANDO ALONSO SPLIT THE TWO MCLARENS AND, NOTABLY, MICHAEL SCHUMACHER OUT-QUALIFIED HIS TEAM-MATE NICO ROSBERG FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HIS COMEBACK.

UNFORTUNATELY, RACES AT BARCELONA TEND TO BE PROCESSIONAL - THE RACE HAS BEEN WON BY THE POLE SITTER SINCE 2001 AND BY THE OTHER FRONT-ROW POSITION IN MANY OTHER YEARS. THE REASON IS PARTLY THE NATURE OF THE TRACK AND PARTLY THE FACT THAT IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN USED FOR WINTER TESTING AND THUS THE TEAMS AND DRIVERS KNOW THE PLACE SO WELL, PROBABLY BETTER THAN THEIR HOME TRACKS.

SO THE GRID POSITION AND THEN THE START ARE VITAL. THE LAST TIME MARK WAS ON POLE HE WAS BEATEN TO THE FIRST CORNER BY SEBASTIAN FROM 2ND ON THE GRID. WERE WE ABOUT TO SEE THE SAME AGAIN? WELL, ONE FACTOR THAT WOULD HELP MARK THIS TIME WAS THAT THE MIRRORS ARE NOW INBOARD RATHER THAN OUTBOARD - LAST TIME, HE COULD NOT SEE WHERE SEBASTIAN WAS UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE.

EVEN SO, I THINK HE WAS ABSOLUTELY DETERMINED TO BE FIRST TO THE FIRST CORNER AND DID IT MAGNIFICENTLY. LEWIS HAMILTON ALMOST MANAGED TO SLOT IN BEHIND HIM BUT COULD NOT QUITE MAKE IT AND SO WE EXPECTED THAT THE 2 RED BULL CARS WOULD ROMP OFF INTO THE DISTANCE. THIS WAS BASED ON THEIR BREATHTAKING SPEED IN THE FREE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING SESSIONS WHERE THEY WERE OFTEN A SECOND PER LAP QUICKER.

BUT THAT DID NOT REALLY HAPPEN AND, INDEED, THE GENERAL FIELD SPREAD WAS LESS THAN EXPECTED, PROBABLY AGAIN REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ALL THE TEAMS HAVE OF THIS CIRCUIT. LEWIS DID EVENTUALLY MANAGE TO GET INTO 2ND POSITION AFTER HIS PIT STOP. HE EMERGED FROM THE PIT-LANE AS VETTEL APPROACHED AND THEY WERE LEVEL AS THEY STARTED TO TURN IN. THERE WAS A SLOW CAR ON THE APEX AND LEWIS HAD TO AVOID THAT WHILST STILL FENDING OFF SEBASTIAN. THEY ALL AVOIDED A COLLISION, WHICH WAS A MIRACLE IN ITSELF.

JENSON BUTTON'S PIT STOP WAS DELAYED BECAUSE OF A WHEEL NUT PROBLEM AND ALSO FROM THEN ON HE HAD NO DISPLAY ON HIS STEERING WHEEL, WHICH INHIBITED THE EXECUTION OF SET-UP CHANGES REQUESTED BY THE TEAM - HE COULD NOT SEE WHAT HE HAD CHANGED THE SETTINGS TO! MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE DELAY PUT HIM BEHIND RATHER THAN IN FRONT OF SCHUMACHER AND, WHATEVER YOU SAY ABOUT HIS ATTACKING SKILLS, HE HAS LOST NONE OF HIS DEFENSIVE SKILLS. CONSEQUENTLY, HE HELD UP JENSON AND THE REST OF THE PACK FOR THE REST OF THE RACE.

SO THE RACE WAS PROCEEDING TO ITS INEVITABLE CONCLUSION, APART FROM BRAKE PROBLEMS WITH VETTEL'S CAR. I THINK THAT ADRIAN NEWEY, THE RED BULL'S BRILLIANT DESIGNER, MUST SUBSCRIBE TO THE LATE COLIN CHAPMAN'S PHILOSOPHY AND THUS BUILD A FAST CAR AND THEN IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY LATER RATHER THAN A RELIABLE CAR FIRST AND THEN TRY TO SPEED IT UP. THE LATTER COURSE IS THE MORE DIFFICULT OF THE TWO.

ON THE PENULTIMATE LAP, LEWIS HAMILTON'S FRONT TYRE SEEMED TO EXPLODE AND HE WAS OUT OF THE RACE. LOOKING AT THE REPLAY, HOWEVER, IT SEEMED AS IF A RETAINING RING FLEW OFF FIRST, ALLOWING THE TYRE TO DEFLATE INSTANTLY, BECAUSE THE TYRE WAS STILL IN ONE PIECE. WHATEVER, IT ALLOWED FERNANDO ALONSO TO FINISH 2ND AND SEBASTIAN VETTEL 3RD.

ABOUT THE ONLY TIME WE SAW MARK WEBBER WAS AS HE CROSSED THE LINE TO SCORE A LIGHTS TO FLAG VICTORY. I EXAGGERATE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT IT IS TRUE TO SAY THAT WHENEVER THERE IS A DOMINANT VICTORY LIKE THIS THE CAMERAS TEND TO FOCUS ON OTHER EVENTS.

MONACO NEXT WEEK AND THE QUALIFYING SESSION WILL BE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THERE. I WONDER IF THE STREET CIRCUIT MIGHT FAVOUR CARS FROM ANOTHER TEAM? COULD BE.

Race Results posted by
David Little
10th May 2010

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