Top teams target turnaround
Eurosport - Fri, 08 May 10:25:00 2009
Formula One's top teams have targeted Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix as a turning point in their season after being eclipsed by newcomers Brawn GP in the first four races.
Leading drivers doubted there would be any quick fix, however.
"I think not much, unfortunately," Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso said at the Circuit de Catalunya when asked what he was expecting.
"We will improve the car from the last race but it is difficult to simulate what the advantage will be. It can be one tenth (of a second), it can be two, maybe four but who knows.
"I think in this particular race everyone will introduce new parts in the car...we all will move more or less these two or three tenths forward and the positions will remain more or less the same," he added.
McLaren's reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has just nine points to his credit, agreed.
"There is still a long, long way for us to go and we are coming from a long way behind," he said.
"So like Fernando said, I think everyone this weekend will have made a step forward and so probably the positions will be pretty much the same as before."
The Circuit de Catalunya, hosting the first race of the European season, has long been seen as a true benchmark for performance with all the teams testing there regularly pre-season.
Brawn, who have won three of the first four races with Britain's Jenson Button, were very quick there in testing last in March.
Red Bull, winners in China, and Toyota are also seen as likely pacesetters after having turned Formula One upside down since Hamilton won the title in November.
Champions Ferrari, with three points after their worst start to a season, hope to get back in the reckoning with a revamped aerodynamic package incorporating a similar 'double-deck' rear diffuser to the one used to such telling effect by Brawn.
They also have a new, lighter chassis for 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
Former champions Renault, BMW-Sauber and McLaren have improvements of varying degrees.
BMW-Sauber team boss Mario Theissen, whose team had targeted the title this year after celebrating their first race win in 2008, said everyone would be watching Friday practice and Saturday's qualifying with particular interest.
"The first European race always marks the point where the real performance can be judged," he explained.
"This track is sort of representative for the season. if you are strong in Barcelona, you can be strong everywhere."
While Theissen said BMW-Sauber had a significant upgrade, his Polish driver Robert Kubica - still to score a point - feared it would not be sufficient.
"The first information from the simulation data is giving a big number, about half a second (a lap) but we have to see other teams because we are quite far away from the top," he said. "We have to make at least double steps to the others."
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Comment 3 - 22 of 22
FERRARI WILL NOW WIN THIS YEAR BUT HU HAS THE MOST TITLES?
FERRARI 31
MCLAREN 20
WILLIAMS 16
BRAWN 0
SO HOW MANY YEARS AT BEST WILL IT TAKE 4 BRAWN TO BEET THEM?
FERRARI 16
MCLAREN 11
WILLIAMS 9
r u all brawn fans? we still like ferrari. but not like u. u now like brawn they r at the top of the feild. but it is 1 of ferraris worst ever starts, but we still like them
HOW MANY OF U BRAWN FANS SUPPORTED HONDA B4 BRAWN?
U R ALL GLORY HUNTERS, DU U SUPPORT MAN U AS WELL???
touronroute, cool, make mine a cold one!
touronroute,
You keep bangin on about Ferrari's new bio engine, yet there you are ripping up our country side to maximise your profits, how green is that. Pillock!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the evidence of the first practice only BMW have achieved any progress.
.Nothing can stop ferrari!
Schumacher was good but in the past!
Everything they did, to stop him being fast!
He was allways smiling, allways winning!
Everything they tried to stop him grinning!
The ferrari was going faster and faster!
He was the best.he was the rainmaster!
Ferrari was allmost complete!
When along came MCLAREN, cheat cheat cheat!
Ferrari Ferrari who the world does adore!
Because it was so fast, they had to remove their sprung floor!
Now from Ferrari along came Brawn!
The tail between his legs were torn!
Not a man,a giant .but a loser!
Because he pinched ferraris diffuser!
Wow we see ferrari are back, never fear!
Complete with new components,front and rear!
Two thousand and ten and then eleven!
Running on bio diesel is heaven!
This new ferrari we can all adore!
Whats this, their engine is part of the floor.
Cashel you can have as many pitches as you like, we have just taken out a hedge so have one massive field, should hold roughly 1000 tents and caravans, £45 for three days , must be the cheapest prices in the u k,and the White Horse has got all the special beers in.
Nothing can stop ferrari, 3 points is all they got
But they have a chance at victory
Cos Thatti would like a new yacht
Morning all, news just appeared on German TV. Toyota have just posted a 3.3 Billion loss. Looks like Toyota might just be the next team to leave F1.
I'd love to see some sort of reward for teams that cap their budget to give them the opportunity to use technology denied to the richer teams. Although I'm not conconvinced KERS is great I think it would be fantastic to have soome sort of boost system like KERS that either gives you a certain number of seconds per lap or for maybe 10 mins over the total race distance to give more flexibility.
quentinalora is it this morning Nick Re, why dont you login as Salsa anymore? All of these silly names which to any right minded person (ie not you) sound like girls names.
What as Max M ever done to you? Its a bit of an obsession with you isnt it, was your dad a failed nazi as well? Or is it something more basic, perhaps we may explore that later?
Mr Route, arn't you meant to be getting the camp site ready? I would like a double pitch close to the toilets and can your recommend a good team to support..........whats this........Mclaren you say............Afraid you have turned gay by supporting whiney whoose boys Ferrari...........sick of all the in house back stabing and sniping now Brawn and Co have left...........Left with just a bunck of Italians and no German driver that rhymes with shoesnacker. There there its all right my fine little pikey!
Nothing can stop ferrari!
Schumacher was good but in the past!
Everything they did, to stop him being fast!
He was allways smiling, allways winning!
Everything they tried to stop him grinning!
The ferrari was going faster and faster!
He was the best.he was the rainmaster!
Ferrari was allmost complete!
When along came MCLAREN, cheat cheat cheat!
Ferrari Ferrari who the world does adore!
Because it was so fast, they had to remove their sprung floor!
Now from Ferrari along came Brawn!
The tail between his legs were torn!
Not a man,a giant .but a loser!
Because he pinched ferraris diffuser!
Wow we see ferrari are back, never fear!
Complete with new components,front and rear!
Two thousand and ten and then eleven!
Running on bio diesel is heaven!
This new ferrari we can all adore!
Whats this, their engine is part of the floor.
WE LIKE TO SEE THOSE PRETTY RED FIAT CARS LEADING THE WAY
GIVE THEM FRONT ROW SPACE ON THE STARTING GRID
grow up red car fans you are getting rather boring much like ferrari. you will be red faced fans when the championship is finalised with embarrassment!!!!!!
Next season Lewis Has new team MCLIARS
Nothing can stop ferrari!
Schumacher was good but in the past!
Everything they did, to stop him being fast!
He was allways smiling, allways winning!
Everything they tried to stop him grinning!
The ferrari was going faster and faster!
He was the best.he was the rainmaster!
Ferrari was allmost complete!
When along came MCLAREN, cheat cheat cheat!
Ferrari Ferrari who the world does adore!
Because it was so fast, they had to remove their sprung floor!
Now from Ferrari along came Brawn!
The tail between his legs were torn!
Not a man,a giant .but a loser!
Because he pinched ferraris diffuser!
Wow we see ferrari are back, never fear!
Complete with new components,front and rear!
Two thousand and ten and then eleven!
Running on bio diesel is heaven!
This new ferrari we can all adore!
Whats this, their engine is part of the floor.
Stop FERRARI at all costs
Schumacher was good but in the past!
Everything they did, to stop him being fast!
He was allways smiling, allways winning!
Everything they tried, to stop him grinning!
The ferrari was going faster and faster!
He was the best.he was the rainmaster!
Ferrari was allmost complete!
When along came MCLAREN, cheat cheat cheat!
Ferrari Ferrari who the world does adore!
Because it was so fast, they had to remove their sprung floor!
Now from Ferrari along came Brawn!
The tail between his legs were torn!
Not a man,a giant .but a loser!
Because he pinched ferraris diffuser!
By silverstone its going to be game over Brawn to win both championships this year by a mile
I think Barcelona will be turning point for most team i.e Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and BMW Sauber. Meanwhile for others they will have edge on lap times and better aerodynamic forces as their car are developed in a way that would drag and speed on track.
Red Bull is not strong contender this season. I expect better teams to go on winning before being catch up by others. As Brawn GP is leader in championship but still more races to go and we can see that their car is illegal although legal by FIA.
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