Vital Statistics - the Spanish Grand Prix

Between them, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have led every lap in 2014, but did you know that Lotus’s Pastor Maldonado has led more laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya than both Mercedes drivers combined?

We present all the need-to-know facts, stats and trivia ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Pirelli 2014…

Circuit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Circuit length: 4.655 km

Number of corners: 16 (7 left, 9 right)

DRS zones: 2

Race laps: 66

Race distance: 307.104 km

2014 tyre compounds: Hard, Medium

Circuit lap record: 1m 21.670s - Kimi Raikkonen (2008), Ferrari

First world championship Grand Prix: 1951, Pedralbes (won by Juan Manuel Fangio, Alfa Romeo)

First world championship Grand Prix at Catalunya: 1991 (won by Nigel Mansell, Williams)

Number of races: 43 (23 - Catalunya; 9 - Jarama; 5 - Jerez, 4 - Montjuic Park; 2 - Pedralbes)

Number of races with at least one safety car appearance: Four of the last 14

Longest race at Catalunya: 1996 (1h 59m 49.307s)

Shortest race at Catalunya: 2006 (1h 26m 21.759s)

Last year’s pole position: 1m 20.718s, Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

Last year’s podium: 1 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 3 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

Most appearances (current field): 13 - Jenson Button; 12 - Fernando Alonso; 11 - Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa; 8 - Nico Rosberg; 6 - Adrian Sutil, Sebastian Vettel

Most wins (driver): 6 - Michael Schumacher; 3 - Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen; 2 - Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Ayrton Senna, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi; 1 - Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, Jenson Button, Pastor Maldonado, Mark Webber, Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Gilles Villeneuve, Patrick Depailler, James Hunt, Jochen Mass, Niki Lauda, Graham Hill, Mike Hawthorn, Juan Manuel Fangio

Most wins (manufacturer): 12 - Ferrari; 8 - McLaren; 7 - Williams; 6 - Lotus; 2 - Red Bull; 1 - Alfa Romeo, Matra, March, Tyrrell, Ligier, Benetton, Renault, Brawn

Most wins (engine manufacturer): 12 - Ferrari, 11 - Ford/Cosworth, Renault; 5 - Mercedes; 3 - Honda; 1 - Alfa Romeo

Most pole positions (driver): 7 - Michael Schumacher; 4 - Ayrton Senna; 2 - Alberto Ascari, Jacky Ickx, Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber; 1- Chris Amon, Jochen Rindt, Jack Brabham, Ronnie Peterson, James Hunt, Nelson Piquet, Gerhard Berger, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Jenson Button, Pastor Maldonado, Nico Rosberg

Most pole positions (manufacturer): 13 - Ferrari; 8 - McLaren; 6 - Williams; 5 - Lotus; 2 - Ligier, Benetton, Red Bull; 1 - Mercedes, Brawn, Renault, Brabham, Lancia

Most pole positions (engine manufacturer): 13 - Ferrari; 10 - Renault; 8 - Ford/Cosworth; 5 - Honda, Mercedes; 1 - Lancia, Matra

Number of wins from pole at Catalunya: 17 wins from 23 races (74 percent)

Lowest winning grid position at Catalunya: 5th (Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 2013)

Laps led (current field): 149 - Fernando Alonso; 134 - Kimi Raikkonen; 56 - Felipe Massa; 41 - Sebastian Vettel; 37 - Pastor Maldonado; 33 - Jenson Button; 19 - Lewis Hamilton; 10 - Nico Rosberg; 2 - Esteban Gutierrez

Most podium places (current field): 7 - Fernando Alonso; 4 - Kimi Raikkonen; 3- Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa; 2 - Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel; 1 - Pastor Maldonado 

Number of Spaniards to have started at least one Grand Prix: 11

Number of victories for Spanish drivers in the Spanish Grand Prix: Two (Fernando Alonso 2006, 2013)

Fascinating fact: The Catalunya circuit played host to the cycling time trial event during the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.

Turbo history: If a Renault-powered car wins Sunday’s race it will be the first Renault turbo victory since the 1986 Detroit Grand Prix. Similarly, if a Ferrari-powered car wins the race it’ll be the first Ferrari turbo win since the 1988 Italian Grand Prix.

Percentage of 2014 season complete: 21 percent

Maximum number of world championship points still available to a single driver: 400

Significant running sequences going into this weekend: Ferrari - 71 consecutive races in the points; Nico Rosberg - 13 consecutive races in the points; Max Chilton - 23 consecutive classified finishes; Lewis Hamilton - three consecutive wins.

(source: f1.com)

FIA press conference schedule - Spain

Amongst the drivers who will take part in the official FIA press conference in Barcelona on Thursday will be Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, whose 2013 victory in Catalunya remains his most recent Grand Prix triumph, and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, who is looking to make up ground after his worst start to a season since 2008.

On Friday meanwhile it is the turn of senior technical personnel - including Force India's deputy team principal Robert Fernley, whose team currently sit third in the constructors' championship - to answer questions from the press. The line-ups in full...

Thursday, May 8, 1500 hours local time (1400 GMT)
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Max Chilton (Marussia), Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), Kevin Magnussen (McLaren), Pastor Maldonado (Lotus), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

Friday, May 9, 1600 hours local time (1500 GMT)
Cyril Abiteboul (Caterham), John Booth (Marussia), Robert Fernley (Force India), Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber), Franz Tost (Toro Rosso)

The qualifying and post-race press conferences with the top three drivers will take place immediately after the respective sessions.

(source: f1.com)

Ferrari: Raikkonen will prove his class

Ferrari insist Kimi Raikkonen will rapidly get on top of his early 2014 struggles and reassert himself as a Formula One frontrunner.

Raikkonen has found it difficult to get comfortable with the F14 T and has been outperformed by team mate Fernando Alonso as a result - he is yet to beat the Spaniard after the first four Grands Prix of the season, and has racked up 11 points to Alonso's 41. In China, he finished more than 50 seconds adrift of his team mate.

Raikkonen also trails Alonso in qualifying, although he did have the edge in Bahrain where he lined up fifth, four spots ahead of his team mate.

Ferrari's chassis technical director James Allison believes Raikkonen will soon be back to his best however, tipping the Finn for a rapid resurgence.

"Kimi is working extremely well with this team, collaborating extremely well with his engineers, with the other car, and helping us drive this car forwards; helping to show us where it is weak and helping us to make it stronger," Allison said. 

"He has class written all over him, and we know that within a very short space of time we will also be seeing the results on the track."

Allison also paid tribute to Alonso, saying his form over the opening four races has been phenomenal.

"With Fernando we have seen an extraordinary level of performance, scavenging every possible point at every possible opportunity," he said. "We have to say thank you to him for what he has managed to do with the car so far this year.

"We are very fortunate to have two good drivers with impeccable pedigree. Until we deliver both our drivers a car they can really put to work on a track, we are just fortunate to have these guys helping us drive the programme forward."

Allison believes it is imperative for Ferrari to continue finding gains at every remaining Grand Prix, in order to continue the improvement the team enjoyed between Bahrain and China.

"The performance we saw at China - was that the real performance of the car, or was it Bahrain?," he said. "In fact it is a mistake to think in those terms, because it wasn't the same car at those tracks: between Bahrain and China we improved the car quite substantially. 

"That is the key to having a successful season: you need to keep improving at every race. If we can do that successfully, bringing a meaningful amount of performance to every race, we will keep seeing a step forward."

(source: f1.com)

2014 Spanish Grand Prix preview

Well, well, well! It's finally time for the spanish gp! Why do we have to wait this long between the chinese gp and the spanish gp? 3 weeks is too much!

If you want to read the chinese gp review as a reminder then click on this link: http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2014/04/2014-chinese-grand-prix-review.html

The spanish gp is a race where many teams bring new updates for their cars so anything can still happen.

Remember what happened in 2012? Pastor Maldonado was fighting against Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen and won the race in the end. I hope he does well this time too because if he continues as he has been doing this year it will be his last year in Formula One. Lotus may need money but they can't have a driver that has accidents all the time and doesn't drive as good as Romain Grosjean (his teammate).

Pastor Maldonado won in 2012.

Last year Alonso won, Kimi was second and Felipe Massa was third. Are these drivers going to be good this year at Catalonia? Massa is showing some new motivation at Williams, Kimi has a better car than last year (or does he?) and Alonso seems to get more speed every time he is driving in front of his biggest fans. I wish them all three well. Especially Kimi because I am very disappointed in his performance this year. I said last year that Kimi and Alonso are going to be the most exiting thing in 2014 but they haven't.

Last year's podium finishers.

Thanks to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg the season has some excitement left. I know that Mercedes is too good to beat but who knows which driver will win. Many fans believes in Hamilton but Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff have a lot of faith in Rosberg. I do too. If Nico Rosberg would have gotten the same chances as Hamilton in 2007-2008 I believe that he would have succeeded in the same way as Hamilton did.

Hamilton has said many times that they have always been equal with Nico and now he is faster than ever so he can't be too sure about the outcome of this season. Nico has been trained to be a world champion ever since he was a little boy. His father Keke won the championship in 1982 and it's just a matter of time when Nico wins the title. I really think he has it in him. It's not going to be easy though! Hamilton is very good as well.

Force India is getting better and better and McLaren is taking steps back in every race. Anyone else noticed?

Ferrari on the other hand is between the good teams and the bad teams. It's really hard to say where they stand. I know that usually Ferrari is the team everybody wants to beat but this year there is something missing. I know that Kimi has problems to set up his car but why is even Alonso having problems with that? He has been with the engineers designing the car much before Kimi rejoined the team! He has a small advantage there but he isn't performing that good either.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo is doing better than anyone would have guessed and even Sebastian Vettel has admitted that he is a very though teammate to beat. The team has said that Vettel has probably had similar issues as Kimi at Ferrari. When they find what's wrong with the car he will start acting like he has done for the last 5 years.

Then some rumors. I heard earlier last week that Heikki Kovalainen has been negotiating with Mercedes about a testdriver's seat. Both Rosberg and Hamilton know him pretty well so it should help to seal the deal if it's true.

Then it's time for my predictions.

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

Surprise: Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari - He will find some new speed finally!

Remember to post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE.

The rules:

POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes.

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side JT, AE & MW. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps.

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

AYRTON SENNA WEEK: Pre Season Interview 1994

This week has been great talking so much about Ayrton, my favorite driver in the whole world. It has also been sad that it has been 20 years. But the fact that it's 20 years after his death doesn't change a thing. It has always been sad without him!

Enjoy and interview filmed before his last season in 1994.

AYRTON SENNA WEEK: Senna-Ratzenberger memorial event

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen were amongst a host of F1 drivers past and present who attended a memorial service at Imola in Italy on Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.

In an emotional ceremony at Tamburello corner attended by thousands of fans and members of Senna's family, the Ferrari duo were joined by Marussia’s Jules Bianchi and a number of former F1 drivers in paying their respects to the two racers who lost their lives over the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix weekend.

“The only positive thing to come out of the weekend that took Ayrton and Roland Ratzenberger away from us was that, from then on, safety in Formula One improved significantly,” said Alonso. “In fact, we can say that inside our cars there is something of the legacy of Senna and Raztzenberger, because after that terrible 1994, nothing was ever the same again.”

Raikkonen echoed his team mate’s thoughts: “Senna was very important for Formula One, as a driver and a person and his death led to a rapid acceleration in the process of increasing the level of safety in our sport. 

“That has avoided other tragedies from occurring. Unfortunately however, one cannot change the past, neither for Ayrton nor for Roland Ratzenberger. The only thing we can do is remember this champion, whose exploits defined the history of Formula One for a long time.”

(source: f1.com)

AYRTON SENNA WEEK: Vital Statistics - Ayrton Senna edition

Did you know that Ayrton Senna spent 36 percent of his Formula One racing career in first place, or that he holds the record for the most wins in Monaco?

As the Formula One community marks 20 years since his untimely death this week, we uncover the key facts and figures behind the great Brazilian’s illustrious career…

Grand Prix starts: 161 (tied for 26th all-time)

Teams raced for: Four (Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, Williams)

World championships: Three (1988, 1990, 1991)

Wins: 41 (third all-time)
Win percentage: 25.46 percent
Most wins in one season: Eight (1988)
Most consecutive wins: Four (1988, 1991)

Pole positions: 65 (second all-time)
Pole position percentage: 40.37 percent
Most pole positions in one season: 13 (1988, 1989)

Podiums: 80 (fourth all-time)
Podium percentage: 49.68 percent
Most podiums in one season: 12 (1991)

Fastest laps: 19 (tied for 13th all-time)
Fastest lap percentage: 11.8 percent
Most fastest laps in one season: Three (1985, 1987, 1988, 1989)

Laps raced: 8,219 (22nd all-time)
Laps led: 2,987 (second all-time)
Laps led percentage: 36.34 percent

First podium: 1984, Monaco
Age at first podium: 24

First win: 1985, Portugal
Age at first win: 25

Last win: 1993, Australia
Age at last win: 33

Career hat-tricks (pole, fastest lap, win): Seven (tied sixth all-time)

Career grand slams (pole, fastest lap, win, led every lap): Four (tied fourth all-time)

Records:
- Most consecutive wins at same Grand Prix (five: Monaco, 1989 –1993)
- Most wins in Monaco (six: 1987, 1989-1993)
- Most consecutive pole positions (eight: 1988 Spanish Grand Prix - 1989 US Grand Prix)
- Most pole positions at one circuit (eight: Imola)

(source: f1.com)