Mercedes flying as Button plays down McLaren gains

2014 Spanish Grand Prix Friday practice analysis

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You only need to look back at the practice results from the last Spanish Grand Prix to see how dramatic the change in the competitive order has been since then.

In practice for this race 12 months ago Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari were separated by two-tenths of a second. Today the spread is over a second and a half.

Lewis Hamilton had almost a second in hand over any non-Mercedes car in second practice, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to discover Mercedes were keeping more in reserve than any of their rivals.

Nor does Nico Rosberg seem to have anything for his team mate so far. Missing part of the first practice session due to a problem with his energy recovery system won’t have helped. Meanwhile Hamilton set the fastest times in all three sectors, and said afterwards: “I’ve not had such a good Friday for a very long time.”

Jenson Button was second-quickest in the first practice session but he believes that isn’t representative of their real performance.

“In this afternoon’s warmer temperatures, it was harder for us to get the car working properly,” he said. “When you’re limited on downforce, the car seems to operate properly within a very narrow temperature range.”

“This morning, I think we looked quicker than we actually were. We’re now trying to work on the balance to improve our long-run pace a little more – and I think we can make the car a bit stronger for tomorrow.”

The tyre Pirelli have brought this weekend are highly durable – some drivers have complained they are too conservative. That being so, instead of the four pit stop strategies we saw last year, expect an upper maximum of three on Sunday.

Longest stint comparison – second practice

This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) during their longest unbroken stint:

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2014drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122
Daniel Ricciardo91.2791.63691.90292.36992.37891.97392.23592.13591.81591.82691.93991.96993.73693.348101.77391.7591.86391.84391.87991.98892.28292.143
Lewis Hamilton91.38591.74391.03891.99990.58490.63690.76191.21691.89191.04391.18791.07890.86991.33499.99991.34191.064
Nico Rosberg90.94796.62690.70492.53392.79593.91791.18191.55992.40692.30192.77991.6895.91191.43591.44491.716
Fernando Alonso92.3792.6493.06593.492.51992.45192.94992.8692.88592.89293.721
Kimi Raikkonen93.19392.31891.99292.1791.91792.38693.13192.41692.35592.69292.18492.22292.727
Romain Grosjean92.85992.76593.10992.99593.40293.10392.829100.66
Pastor Maldonado94.10893.3292.86893.74993.16792.99993.05793.73793.17692.73393.89493.34494.23194.8695.83495.81693.72594.28693.934
Jenson Button92.83593.14992.793.35198.58393.09893.11892.95993.2593.071
Kevin Magnussen92.39892.85392.94493.51394.74193.79794.30293.93294.65693.86593.69393.653
Nico Hulkenberg93.22992.79893.06593.2692.78193.22593.31992.9793.06292.787
Sergio Perez92.70192.05692.10395.67192.49792.25192.70693.19595.9393.2192.81792.99592.964
Adrian Sutil94.6793.88793.82993.85193.25993.72593.95695.29394.601
Esteban Gutierrez101.44889.105110.45889.834
Jean-Eric Vergne93.13593.3595.04993.80593.46293.67593.52193.09993.09593.46793.49193.65793.291
Daniil Kvyat92.3392.98892.99893.5593.24893.18993.22593.64394.29193.31493.20594.33993.39693.345
Felipe Massa93.17693.5492.99493.46992.8192.53492.95392.81993.37693.24593.79793.894
Valtteri Bottas93.64493.36592.88692.8193.43393.64193.45893.493.42593.43693.36693.71693.94
Jules Bianchi99.43893.87494.01593.9893.78293.77294.61194.12293.74593.922
Max Chilton94.8994.29494.48395.07494.24194.90194.55294.31594.20994.50896.24194.972
Marcus Ericsson96.03295.4195.03895.25895.35495.34995.34496.23495.77495.59896.46996.06296.94497.89397.489
Kamui Kobayashi96.3296.09596.07595.29594.99795.63196.02396.60796.50497.67597.33896.95996.66898.94696.80597.71698.60797.34998.795

Sector times and ultimate lap times – second practice

PosNo.DriverCarS1S2S3UltimateGapDeficit to best
144Lewis HamiltonMercedes23.391 (1)32.369 (1)29.764 (1)1’25.5240.000
26Nico RosbergMercedes23.537 (2)32.619 (2)29.817 (2)1’25.9730.4490.000
33Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-Renault23.823 (4)32.639 (3)30.047 (3)1’26.5090.9850.000
414Fernando AlonsoFerrari23.773 (3)32.887 (4)30.377 (5)1’27.0371.5130.084
57Kimi RaikkonenFerrari23.902 (6)32.956 (5)30.438 (6)1’27.2961.7720.000
620Kevin MagnussenMcLaren-Mercedes24.071 (9)33.157 (8)30.373 (4)1’27.6012.0770.187
722Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes24.183 (12)33.075 (6)30.509 (7)1’27.7672.2430.044
813Pastor MaldonadoLotus-Renault23.963 (7)33.105 (7)30.751 (11)1’27.8192.2950.047
919Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes24.092 (10)33.180 (9)30.552 (8)1’27.8242.3000.000
1026Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault23.847 (5)33.277 (11)30.925 (15)1’28.0492.5250.000
1127Nico HulkenbergForce India-Mercedes24.018 (8)33.306 (12)30.750 (10)1’28.0742.5500.000
1225Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Renault24.104 (11)33.411 (13)30.731 (9)1’28.2462.7220.000
1399Adrian SutilSauber-Ferrari24.192 (13)33.195 (10)30.897 (14)1’28.2842.7600.000
1477Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes24.288 (15)33.631 (15)30.755 (12)1’28.6743.1500.024
1521Esteban GutierrezSauber-Ferrari24.431 (16)33.552 (14)31.017 (16)1’29.0003.4760.105
1611Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes24.256 (14)33.633 (16)31.177 (17)1’29.0663.5420.063
178Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault24.507 (18)33.966 (17)30.888 (13)1’29.3613.8370.132
1817Jules BianchiMarussia-Ferrari24.502 (17)34.170 (18)31.319 (18)1’29.9914.4670.000
194Max ChiltonMarussia-Ferrari25.079 (21)34.295 (19)31.672 (20)1’31.0465.5220.102
2010Kamui KobayashiCaterham-Renault24.966 (20)34.716 (20)31.656 (19)1’31.3385.8140.000
219Marcus EricssonCaterham-Renault24.907 (19)34.862 (21)31.817 (21)1’31.5866.0620.000

Complete practice times

PosDriverCarFP1FP2Total laps
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’27.0231’25.52450
2Nico RosbergMercedes1’28.1681’25.97345
3Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-Renault1’27.9731’26.50959
4Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’28.1281’27.12156
5Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’28.3371’27.29652
6Kevin MagnussenMcLaren-Mercedes1’28.4231’27.78864
7Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’27.8911’27.81155
8Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’28.7911’27.82444
9Pastor MaldonadoLotus-Renault1’28.7441’27.86676
10Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’28.7921’28.04959
11Nico HulkenbergForce India-Mercedes1’28.8281’28.07448
12Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Renault1’28.8591’28.24654
13Adrian SutilSauber-Ferrari1’29.6881’28.28449
14Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes1’28.69833
15Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’28.7791’29.12952
16Esteban GutierrezSauber-Ferrari1’29.10524
17Felipe NasrWilliams-Mercedes1’29.27215
18Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault1’29.9441’29.49347
19Jules BianchiMarussia-Ferrari1’29.8201’29.99148
20Giedo van der GardeSauber-Ferrari1’30.44022
21Max ChiltonMarussia-Ferrari1’30.7481’31.14847
22Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’30.9424
23Kamui KobayashiCaterham-Renault1’30.9971’31.33860
24Marcus EricssonCaterham-Renault1’31.4211’31.58661

Speed trap – second practice

#DriverCarEngineMax speed (kph)Gap
144Lewis HamiltonMercedesMercedes335.1
226Daniil KvyatToro RossoRenault334.50.6
327Nico HulkenbergForce IndiaMercedes333.61.5
425Jean-Eric VergneToro RossoRenault332.22.9
56Nico RosbergMercedesMercedes331.53.6
611Sergio PerezForce IndiaMercedes3305.1
719Felipe MassaWilliamsMercedes329.95.2
877Valtteri BottasWilliamsMercedes329.65.5
93Daniel RicciardoRed BullRenault3296.1
1022Jenson ButtonMcLarenMercedes327.87.3
1199Adrian SutilSauberFerrari326.98.2
127Kimi RaikkonenFerrariFerrari326.98.2
1321Esteban GutierrezSauberFerrari326.78.4
1420Kevin MagnussenMcLarenMercedes325.99.2
1510Kamui KobayashiCaterhamRenault325.49.7
169Marcus EricssonCaterhamRenault324.510.6
1714Fernando AlonsoFerrariFerrari322.412.7
1817Jules BianchiMarussiaFerrari321.613.5
1913Pastor MaldonadoLotusRenault320.414.7
204Max ChiltonMarussiaFerrari318.616.5
218Romain GrosjeanLotusRenault317.717.4

2014 Spanish Grand Prix

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Image © McLaren/LAT

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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15 comments on “Mercedes flying as Button plays down McLaren gains”

  1. That was a looong run from Ricciardo. Is he going to do a one-stopper on Sunday? He actually has decent straight-line speed, too. I’ve put him third in my predictions.

    1. Yes but only until Vettel let him throw…tough luck…

    2. Nah, 22 laps will be enough for a 2-stopper. Meanwhile the 16-17 lap stints of the Mercs will do for a 3-stopper. Of course, with almost no fall off whatsoever, I guess they could just as well extend it a lot more for a 1-stopper and a 2-stopper respectively.

      Still, the Red Bull could make it with one less, which is encouraging considering their massive 1s per lap disadvantage.

      1. Even with a less stop, RBR chances are marginal…i really don’t believe, and know even in dowforce MW05 proved to be the best

  2. Interesting how Mercedes are 1-2 in every sector, so much for Red Bull having more downforce and/or better drivability than Mercedes. RBR are 3 tenths slower than Merc in both the downforce sector (S2) and the mechanical grip sector (S3).

    1. @kingshark Right on. The two must be closely matched on DF, it can’t just be the engine, else McLaren, Force India et al would be right up there as well. Mercedes have done a stellar job from the engine to aero, it really is astounding

  3. Insane speed trap figures there. I can’t wait to see how these cars fare at Monza!

    1. Yep, the speed trap figures almost match Monza’s FP2 from last year, just 5 km/h slower on average. These cars are are actually ahead of 2004 qualifying speed trap figures for most of the races so far this year.

  4. You just get the impression that we are seeing one of the greatest driver/car combinations of all time. It may not be as entertaining on Sunday, but you have to credit Mercedes and Lewis for providing us with what Nigel Mansell described as “almost perfection”.

    1. Really?, your comment may be truthfull, I just don’t think you made the same comment about Vettel last year and we have 3 or 4 years to go before LH/MB equal the SV/RBR record. A change is as good as a holiday though.

      1. Well, Ho Hum. We know know that Vettel wasn’t all that he’s cracked up to be.

  5. Looking at those speed traps, it seems that Renault have caught up substantially.

    1. Looking at RBR or Torro Rosso ?

  6. I find it extremely interesting how Torro Rosso managed to get so high up in the speed trap when no other Renault powered car even comes close, especially their big brother team. They must be running very little wing considering straight line speed has been the weakest link of the Renault PU all season long thus far. Nonetheless their p2 times don’t necessarily reflect a severe lack of downforce when compared to the teams around them so it’s even more intriguing. Torro Rosso is making strides this season, Lotus is still miles away from them in terms of race pace.

  7. Guess its time to do the “and who will be in for 3rd and behind that game again. So far it looks like another runaway victory for Hamilton. Lets hope for some upsets for him, maybe a Maldonado or even Rosberg getting on top of himself and not messing up and then really fighting for the victory (would have to be nailing pole to do it most likely)

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