The first round of fly away races are done and dusted. We’ve had a little break and now we get back to the European leg of the Formula 1 World Championship.
The first circuit the teams visit on the European leg of the F1 calendar is the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo. All the teams know this track extremely well. Two of the three pre-season tests were held at the circuit. The Circuit de Catalunya has held it’s spot on the F1 calendar since 1991.It is a highly technical circuit with 16 corners in total and has a good blend of fast, slow and medium speed corners which tests a Formula 1 car to its limit.
The first European race is also the first race where teams usually bring major upgrades to their cars. We can expect most of the teams to have updated body work and many new parts underneath said body work.
Lotus are feeling quite confident ahead of the weekend and they are expecting a good points finish. They are bringing some aerodynamic updates which they feel will earn them some well deserved points.
“It will be an interesting weekend as many teams will bring decent upgrades to the first European race of the season and we are working on bringing a reasonably significant package in terms of bodywork upgrades ourselves,” said Lotus Technical Director Nick Chester.
“There’s nothing to say that we shouldn’t have another strong race in Barcelona, just as we did in China and Bahrain,”
Williams who are currently in 3rd on the Constructors table are hoping to close the gap to the teams up front. “Barcelona is a good measure of everyone’s upgrade packages and shows how well teams have developed their cars,” commented Williams Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley.
Ferrari are still chasing down Mercedes who seem to be holding on to their pace advantage and also, have no doubt, been working on their car and are expected to bring some aerodynamic changes to the car.
We return to the normal viewing time for European audiences this weekend. Below are your broadcast times for the Formula 1 Grand Premio de Espana Pirelli 2015. All times are GMT+2
Free Practice 1: Friday 10:00
Free Practice 2: Friday 14:00
Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00
Qualifying: Saturday 14:00
Race: Sunday 14:00
