An eventful beginning to the Spanish Grand Prix included Sergio Perez driving his car single-handed while holding his rear-view mirror, and Giedo van der Garde narrowly avoiding a high-speed collision.
Here’s how Friday in Barcelona unfolded on Twitter.
Practice 1
Good morning from @Circuitcat_eng. Beautiful sunshine is welcoming us for #FP1 starting in 40 min #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/UDgx4K7CNC
— Sauber F1 Team (@OfficialSF1Team) May 9, 2014
Ericsson: “Steering wheel is not completely straight when I’m going on the straight line, but car feels OK.” #F1 — F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
Rear-view mirrors were the talking point early on.
Hamilton: “Pit lane is quite dusty. I don’t like these mirrors, I’d like to go back to the original mirrors, please.” #F1
— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
Perez: “Box, I lost the mirror.” Lambiase: “Copy, Checo, box and pit confirm.” #F1 pic.twitter.com/P6SpmL5oaI — F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
Love the roar of the crowd as Alonso emerges from the garage each time. These new power units mean we can actually hear them this year. #F1
— F1 Paddock Pass (@F1PaddockPass) May 9, 2014
Lots of new bits on the cars this morning, flo-vis everywhere. A 1st chance for aero guys to see effects & mechs to check operation. — Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 9, 2014
Following free practice 1 from the pit garage ! #lotusf1 #marcosorensendotcom #rememberthefun #barcelona http://t.co/cAj3AedH2l
— Marco L. Sørensen (@Marco_sorensen) May 9, 2014
Sebastian Vettel’s day ended early, reminiscent of Red Bull’s winter testing.
The marshals run to collect Vettel after his RB10 comes to a halt. #F1 pic.twitter.com/b3v0rXvMmE
— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
So, Seb reverts to the chassis he used in testing. And just as in testing, he has promptly stopped by the side of the track. — Will Buxton (@willbuxton) May 9, 2014
Electrical failure for VET. Not uncommon to have wiring rub through, or connectors disconnect after a complete chassis change.
— Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 9, 2014
Raikkonen: “I cannot hear you when you talk. You have to use more… more louder.” #F1
— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
A big scare for Van der Garde who reports his brakes didn’t work at turn one. Came close to the barrier at speed. #F1 pic.twitter.com/WgK6HpEfTg — F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
Hamilton: “Please try not to speak to me when I’m in the braking zone.” Bonnington: “Copy that Lewis, maybe there’s a delay on GPS.” #F1 — F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
Session over. Time for some careful inspection of all those new bits, driver/engineer debrief & make changes ahead of FP2.
— Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 9, 2014
Minutes after driving in #F1 practice for @WilliamsRacing, @FelipeNasr is on-track in @GP2_Official for @CarlinRacing pic.twitter.com/6YK1LDkYMf — F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) May 9, 2014
Is it too early to say “tough luck, Sebastian”? #F1
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) May 9, 2014
Little present from Woking. Delivery for @McLarenF1 ! pic.twitter.com/XB5KiZ3kVF
— Nicola Pohl (@NicolaBILD) May 9, 2014
Practice 2
Enjoying how much this year’s #F1 cars are moving around on the drivers in Spanish GP practice so far today. Earning their money! — Glenn Freeman (@glenn_autosport) May 9, 2014
(those that are actually getting paid, of course)
— Glenn Freeman (@glenn_autosport) May 9, 2014
Biggest problem for VET & crew, not only do they miss valuable track time for set up, they effectively enter FP3 with a brand new chassis. — Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 9, 2014
…if they have any other issues tomorrow morning, there’s not much time left before qually.
— Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 9, 2014
Rosberg told he should take an earlier apex at turn one to improve his line through two and three. #F1 — F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
Watched with @Susie_Wolff on track. Smoothest driver is @danielricciardo followed by @LewisHamilton . Many others looks like wrestling!
— alex wurz (@alex_wurz) May 9, 2014
A marshal nips onto the track at the entrance to turn 15 to grab the ‘monkey seat’ which fell off Chilton’s car. #F1 pic.twitter.com/7TeNaMn81F — F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
Just before the end of the afternoon session, Jean-Eric Vergne lost a wheel after exiting the pits, and Max Chilton put his car into a gravel trap.
The view from Rosberg’s car as Vergne’s right-rear tyre parts company at turn two. #F1 pic.twitter.com/XiCbv8eDRJ
— F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) May 9, 2014
Chilton: “Everything’s OK guys, just locked up into the gravel. I’ll put it into P0 and jump out.” #F1 — F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) May 9, 2014
After the running
The FIA cant control a sound system to a press conference 70 metres from the press room. FIA cost cap control ? Don’t make me laugh #f1
— Byron Young (@byronf1) May 9, 2014
Local journo just had his phone confiscated in TP presser for filming. Naughty boy, has to report to teacher afterwards to get it back.
— Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 9, 2014
Someone has upset Monty from Ferrari again. This time he's taking a pot shot at the journo's. Least he isn't complaining about the 'show'.
— F1 Paddock Pass (@F1PaddockPass) May 9, 2014
Luca di Montezemolo: “There are a lot of young people [who] write a lot of bullshits on F1 without knowing the past….” — Adam Cooper (@adamcooperF1) May 9, 2014
.@ValtteriBottas I didn’t have all the updates as Felipe was testing them for comparison, so my car will be faster tomorrow.
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) May 9, 2014
Kimi Raikkonen is feeling more comfortable in his Ferrari this weekend, while Lewis Hamilton got his quest for a fourth consecutive victory off to a very good start.
Just a brief chat with Kimi, who’s definitely happier with the car. Higher track temps helping, but he has the front end he likes. — Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 9, 2014
Even Lewis Hamilton’s installation lap this morning was aggressively faster than anyone else’s. He’s flying very high right now.
— Mark Hughes (@SportmphMark) May 9, 2014
She’s in for a busy night…. @alo_oficial Fans today in Barcelona #F1 pic.twitter.com/8sBuobphlW
— James Moy (@jamesmoy) May 9, 2014
It’s all gone quiet out here! pic.twitter.com/dINDx0jiLr — WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) May 9, 2014
But in the garage the boys are hard at work. pic.twitter.com/AykgPjniZ8
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) May 9, 2014
Drivers were really fighting the F1 cars out on track today. Long time since I’ve seen so many errors + so much wheelspin. Like dragsters.
— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) May 9, 2014
Which all means that they’ll be fearsome to guide round the streets on Monaco in two week’s time. And that’s exactly how hard it should be — Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) May 9, 2014
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2014 Spanish Grand Prix
- Vettel’s recovery run earns him Driver of the Weekend
- Spanish Grand Prix continues ratings rise since 2011
- 2014 Spanish Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- 2014 Spanish GP Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix
BJ (@beejis60)
9th May 2014, 23:26
Agreed with brundle
VMaxMuffin (@vmaxmuffin)
10th May 2014, 5:00
Me too – I love that about these new regulations! Yes I miss the sound, but heck I think it’s much better to watch (on TV at least).
Breno (@austus)
9th May 2014, 23:28
I’m somewhat surprised they follow their cars through GPS, instead of the on board cameras. I assume that would make it easier to see things… like the mirror in Perez’s hands.
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
9th May 2014, 23:55
The teams don’t have direct access to the camera feeds – it’s provided by FOM on a slight delay, so is essentially useless for accurate tracking.
VMaxMuffin (@vmaxmuffin)
10th May 2014, 4:58
Seems silly, you would think it would make sense to give each team access to all of the onboards on their two cars. Or at least the T-cams – one facing forwards, one backwards.
VMaxMuffin (@vmaxmuffin)
10th May 2014, 4:59
BTW do all of the cars carry t-cams at once? I’ve always assumed they do but maybe they don’t.
Alex W
10th May 2014, 10:02
I remember a rainy Adelaide where some drivers ( I think Prost and Mansell) told their engineers to guide them which way to go by watching the live feed of the HELICOPTER SHOT, that was back in the days of analogue broadcasts.
Sam (@)
10th May 2014, 8:02
Hamilton didn’t like these mirrors so Perez took action right away.