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
Image © Daimler/Hoch Zwei
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
11th May 2014, 14:49
I see what you did there, Ferrari.
stefano bondani
11th May 2014, 14:53
I hate them so much right now, that’s very unpolite, unprofessional, terrible to watch
toiago (@toiago)
11th May 2014, 14:53
This time I believe they can’t be accused of any form of team orders. They let their drivers race, evidenced by the fact that Alonso stayed behind Raikkonen for so much time, and also by the way he got past, after a great scrap for 6th place.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
11th May 2014, 15:05
Yeah, we saw Ferrari’s intention during first pit stops – they brought Alonso to pit box a lap earlier than Raikkonen, although Raikkonen was the lead driver at the time. The plan was not successful, so they went to plan B – put Alonso on three stop strategy, which was faster (by looking not only to Alonso, but to Vettel). And then, let them race with Raikkonen having 10 laps older tyres. Applause to Ferrari.
anyone76
11th May 2014, 15:14
@osvaldas31 I was screaming just that in front of tv XD That’s incredible. I hope Ferrari’s management and the spanish driver will leave as soon as possible. Many years and 0 results. Congratulations to Mercedes and Redbull for their hard work :)
Mayank (@mjf1fan)
11th May 2014, 15:16
+1 The only disappointment I got from race was the way Ferrari favored Alonso although my predictions got messed up with the end result. It was good to see Kimi getting slightly better of Alonso but in the end Ferrari ruined it.
toiago (@toiago)
11th May 2014, 15:21
I had forgotten that pit stop detail. I guess my comment just applies to on track action then.
ecefrm
11th May 2014, 16:27
Ferrari simulations before the race were that 3-stops was 7 seconds slower than 2-stops. And the rest of the teams must have had similar simulation results, otherwise all of the teams would have planned three stoppers from the beginning. Also during the race it was no obvious to anyone that three stopping would be faster. Are you suggesting that Mercedes chose a two stop strategy for Rosberg so that he could not win over Hamilton?
Todfod (@todfod)
11th May 2014, 15:39
I agree. I don’t see how Ferrari ‘favoured’ Alonso. He was on a 3 stop, so he pitted before Kimi. Kimi came in to cover him successfully. At no point of time there was any team order given to any driver. They raced fair and square and Alonso came out on top.
People who don’t like Alonso will invent conspiracy theories to keep justify why his teammates always get crushed
anyone76
11th May 2014, 15:51
Please, don’ talk about conspiracies. We are talking about strategies. That’s it. I don’t like the spanish driver and that’s true but that’s it. By the way Trulli never got crushed. I’m sorry for you. IMHO The spanish driver doesn’t like to earn positions fairly. Raikkonen was almost able to keep his positions with about 10 laps older tyres. Even if I don’t agree with what you said I accept your point of view anyway. :) We are F1 fans. We shouldn’t fight each others.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
11th May 2014, 16:14
@todfod And Alonso fans will always deem Alonso as God.
It was obvious that three stopper was quicker than two stopper. Raikkonen was a faster driver this weekend and it was nothing really to gain, just Alonso’s pride. And even with 10 laps older tyres Raikkonen managed to defend for about 5 laps.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th May 2014, 16:22
@osvaldas31
Yes.. Hindsight is a beautiful thing isn’t it ;) . If it was so ‘obvious’ that 3 stopper was the way to go, the whole field would have been on it.
Raikkonen was the faster driver..hmm.. intersting that he didn’t pull away from Alonso like a faster driver should have.
He got beat fair and square… but some people will look for any excuse not to give him enough credit
ecefrm
11th May 2014, 16:32
If three stops was obviously faster than two stops, then why Mercedes did not put Rosberg into a three stop strategy? Or Hamilton? And what about Red Bull? Were they trying to favor Vettel over Daniel?
MattDS
11th May 2014, 21:31
@ecefrm: RBR gave Vettel the fastest strategy and Ricciardo the safest strategy. Once Ricciardo had passed Bottas, they could just react to whatever was happening behind. A 3-stopper would have introduced added risk because then he would have been dropped behind others and would have had to race for position.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
11th May 2014, 15:00
LOL
EstF1 (@estf1)
11th May 2014, 15:19
I’m so disappointed by them favoring Alonso. Just why? The drivers were equal, maybe Kimi was even a little bit faster in this race.
ecefrm
11th May 2014, 16:39
Can you explain how would you have defended from Vettel if you were in Ferrari’s shoes?
TMF (@)
11th May 2014, 16:01
I really don’t see how they favoured ALO at least it wasn’t as obvious. They split their strategy just like RBR between RIC and VET which makes perfectly sense if you think you can hold VET back and maybe mount an attack with 1 car on BOT and RIC.
RAI also raced ALO even though it would have made sense to let him past.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
11th May 2014, 16:16
There was no point to split the strategy, because there was nothing to gain for Ferrari, except to please their God driver.
ecefrm
11th May 2014, 16:35
There was a point and it was to mirror Vettel strategy to try to be in front of him with at least one car. It did not work out, but they had to try.
Breno (@austus)
11th May 2014, 16:47
So Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull all wanted to please their #1s? If you are going to hate, hate logically. In hindsight, 3 stops was faster for Alonso than 2 stops for Raikkonen.
Besides, if Raikkonen ends up #2, its his problem to deal with.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
11th May 2014, 16:53
My logic is what I saw during first pi stops.
ken francis (@)
11th May 2014, 23:21
Don’t know what your problem is…. F1 is a team sport – I doubt it was team orders, more like team strategy [Fernando was 1.5sec ahead within half a lap given the fresher rubber] – but it’s completely allowable under the rules regardless. It makes sense for Alonso to get the bigger points; kimi is out of the top three, Alonso is up there. I thought it was great to watch!! [and I’m a kimi fan].
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th May 2014, 14:53
Brilliant, brillaint drive from Vettel. That’s more like it!
Mayank (@mjf1fan)
11th May 2014, 15:19
I heard he couldn’t overtake cars @vettel1 :P. Guess this drive should silence his critics and that too doing it ona track where overtaking is bit difficult.
Guy (@)
11th May 2014, 15:29
He’s getting there. But you’re not going to erase 4 years of pole to victory in just a handful of races. Let it happen naturally. The more he does it with cars that have comparable performance, the better his case will be.
However, every time he throws a tantrum when passing gets difficult, he sets himself back again. Good job today.
Mayank (@mjf1fan)
11th May 2014, 15:41
@sudd
The thing is whenever he got the opportunity to overtake, he has done it most of the times. It’s not his fault that he was getting pole positions in last 4 years and little opportunity to overtake cars.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
11th May 2014, 20:19
Suzuka 2013 was a perfect example of crunch overtaking from vettel when he passed grosjean . But he has a steadfast teammate this year .
Mads (@mads)
11th May 2014, 16:06
@sudd
I think that sort of logic is rather funny.
Pole to flag victory = no overtaking on his part = bad overtaker?
I don’t see why.
Just because he has had no reason to overtake doesn’t mean that he can’t be good at it.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th May 2014, 15:41
Well.. he drove well.. but I think critics still have enough in their arsenal about how good he’s been this year.
Maybe beating his teammate is a start..
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th May 2014, 19:33
@mjf1fan you never silence the critics – rule one of F1 fans sites :P
His overtaking was perfect. Exactly the correct amount of aggression, never locking his tyres up too much and losing the place again as a result and a very controlled approach – not ruining his tyres by trying too hard.
Driver of the race for me without any doubt.
Mayank (@mjf1fan)
12th May 2014, 8:28
@vettel1 haha yes I forgot about that rule. :D
Yes, Vettel is also my DOTR , hands down.
@todfod
I agree RIC is doing great job in keeping ahead of vettel 4 times in 5 races, but let Vettel settle down with his car a bit more and I’m sure we could see more of a performance expected from a 4xWDC.
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
11th May 2014, 17:59
It was an impressive performance, I am a Vettel supporter and I thought that a sixth or seventh place would have been the maximum. After all, he started 15th in a track where it’s very difficult to overtake, in a car that is incredibly slow on the straights, with one stop more than some of his rivals and with basically no running on Friday.
Hopefully he can keep this up in the next few races.
sato113 (@sato113)
11th May 2014, 14:55
hamilton had to win this one. and he did!
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
11th May 2014, 14:58
If Vettel hadn’t been afflicted with all those problems in qualifying he’d probably be on the podium, but at least we know what’s he capable of from 15th… as a fan of him I hope he can now turn the tables on Ricciardo, a 4x WDC shouldn’t be losing out to his teammate.
jx (@jx)
11th May 2014, 15:47
I personally don’t think he would have beaten Ricciardo. Keep in mind that Ricciardo ran a ridiculously long 26 lap stint on the options, which was nowhere near optimal strategy, but he only needed to race Bottas so he just covered him. Vettel ended up on what seems to be the better strategy (evidence being Alonso) especially given how much it helped him overtake to be on the fresh options at the end. There was still a massive gap between them at the end as well. No doubt Vettel deserved to get up to 4th with that effort though.
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
11th May 2014, 16:34
@jx Of course, Ricciardo also had pretty good pace but Vettel should have at least been able to challenge him for 3rd… yeah all this is mere speculation so let’s leave it at that.
DaveW (@dmw)
11th May 2014, 14:58
49s to 3rd place. Good golly.
Irejag (@irejag)
11th May 2014, 15:04
for everyone complaining about how Red Bull used to “dominate”, they never dominated like Mercedes has this year. This is just ridiculous. I hope that Red Bull can close the gap in the second half of the season.
Dan
11th May 2014, 15:13
@irejag
lol we have had 2 races that are classics better than anything last year imo. At least Ros can battle.
Joaquin (@fat-tyre)
11th May 2014, 15:18
+1
Irejag (@irejag)
11th May 2014, 23:57
Can a race really be considered a “classic” when it was only exciting for 10 or 15 laps? I don’t think so. There has not been a truly classic race in F1 for years now. Maybe my standards are too high, but to me a classic race is a race where the fans at home and in the stands are on the edge of their seats for the WHOLE race, not just a few laps.
In my opinion, the drivers today are not made of the same stuff as drivers from the past. In all honesty, I think you could refer to the drivers of today as being cowards, and I don’t just mean on the track. Very rarely will you hear a driver speak out against Formula One management or say things like it is. Don’t misunderstand, compared to me and most other fans, these drivers are still brave to do what they do, but they are certainly no Ayrton Senna. To me they have lost their “hero” status and prostituted themselves out to Bernie Ecclestones bank account.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th May 2014, 15:44
@irejag
I’m guessing you’re a Red Bull fan.. ;)
I don’t like one team dominating either, but at least Mercedes let their drivers battle it out at the front and do not have a Mr.Marko who constantly talks down the driver in car #2.
I hope Red Bull close the gap as well… but I really doubt the Golden Boy will be taking the battle to the Mercs
Mads (@mads)
11th May 2014, 16:10
@todfod
While the Red Bull drivers were at times ordered not to race, I only remember two cases of them not actually doing so.
One being in 12 when Vettel was coming through the field in Brazil, and in Brazil 11 when Vettel had gearbox problems and let Webber through.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th May 2014, 16:19
Never remembered any multi 21s? Anytime Webber was asked to stop charging behind Vettel in Malaysia… Or any time where in Turkey one particular driver was asked to tone down the engine revs, while another was asked to try and overtake … Never remember wing gate?
That’s the reason why people aren’t quite as ticked off with Mercedes yet
Mads (@mads)
11th May 2014, 16:48
@todfod
The multi 21’s or multi 12’s were not obeyed, so from a racing point of view, it had absolutely no effect.
Todfod (@todfod)
12th May 2014, 6:39
@mads
The point was why people aren’t complaining as much about Mercedes dominating, to which my reply was that there is currently less politics in that team when it comes to favouring a particular driver.
Its beside the point that the RB drivers did not obey a lot of those orders
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
11th May 2014, 16:47
When Mercedes beat the whole field by 40+ seconds, it’s great teamwork.
When red Bull beat the rest of the field by less than half that margain, they are labelled as cheats
Hmmm….
Mcquiz (@mcquiz)
11th May 2014, 19:52
Hamilton fans…
Irejag (@irejag)
11th May 2014, 23:59
I agree.
matt90 (@matt90)
11th May 2014, 14:58
I said to somebody the other day that if F1 was indeed all about the car, we’d see them finishing 2-by-2 all through the field instead of what was actually happening. Hmm…
bosyber (@bosyber)
11th May 2014, 15:08
I guess, @matt90, that in Barcelona it is for a very large part about the car though, more than at some of the other tracks.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
11th May 2014, 15:30
Don’t forget Bahrain either… Mercedes battle, Force India battle, Red Bull battle, Williams line astern, Ferrari line astern, McLaren line astern to retirement… though all the inter-team battling made the race!
Sven (@crammond)
11th May 2014, 15:55
There´s much more speed-difference between different cars than between different drivers, and there´s more reliabilty-difference between different drivers than between different cars, at least if you apply the term of reliability not only to DNFs but also to unneccessary time-losses (like leaving the track, flat-spotting or overheating a tyre, minor collisions etc.).
A genious of a car-designer could win Chilton a championship, but the best car in the world could still go without a championship if Maldonado would keep on driving it into walls or other cars.
Mcquiz (@mcquiz)
11th May 2014, 19:55
Honestly if it was Chilton in the Mercedes with someone else who’s slow like Sakon Yamamoto then Chilton would be winning races and fighting for the championship. That’s how much faster the Mercedes is.
dennis (@dennis)
11th May 2014, 15:07
Like in Bahrain I can’t believe why they let Rosberg out so much longer than Lewis after he pits. Again, as close as it was in the end, the strategy ruined Rosberg’s race. If he would have pitted right after Lewis he may have had a chance to get ahead and force Lewis into another race, but again Mercedes kept them apart until the last 5 laps…
Great race from Lewis, especially with the butchered pit stops. But I still think we got robbed of a much closer fight at the end.
bosyber (@bosyber)
11th May 2014, 15:09
They wanted him to be able to fight on the option tyres, so they needed to keep his stint relatively short, wouldn’t you think @dennis?
dennis (@dennis)
11th May 2014, 15:29
If I recall correctly he lost about 2 seconds after the first row of stops. And then again more in the next one. Before the first stop he was right on Lewis’ tail.
Nico commented how he had no problem with graining on the options, which meant he should have been fine in the last stint. So having him come in 2 laps after Lewis was overkill. That alone lost him the time he had to gain in the last stint. Not to mention he got right into traffic after one of his stops…
Dan
11th May 2014, 16:06
You conveniantely forgot how muh Ham lost.
dennis (@dennis)
11th May 2014, 16:23
Which is irrelevant, unless you think Mercedes thought to give Lewis some time back, because of his slower pit stops, by making Nico run two extra laps on an old set of tyres, which is the same story that happened in Bahrain.
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
11th May 2014, 15:16
Grosjean in the points! Wonderful stuff.
Carlos Furtado das Neves
11th May 2014, 16:16
Let’s see who is the Driver of the Weekend this time…
Perhaps HAM or ROS from the “tremendous” fight they had…
VET ? No way !!! The guy only recovered from 15th to 4th in a car that should be “rebaptized” TRIPLE S (SLOWLY SNAIL on STRAIGHTS).
Best regards to everybody, and congratulations to all HAM fans for the 2014 WDC !!! ROS is to weak-minded to battle him for the title !
Breno (@austus)
11th May 2014, 16:49
Hamilton, Ricciardo or Vettel. I’m gonna take a look at Vettel’s Q times.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th May 2014, 15:53
Ricciardo was quicker in Q2, but he set his lap after Vettel, so I wouldn’t take too much from his qualifying times (as he didn’t set one in Q3 obviously) @austus.
Miko-Jarvinen (@miko-jarvinen)
11th May 2014, 16:58
“Both drivers are equal.”
Ferrari, please. You ain’t fooling anybody.
Ron (@rcorporon)
11th May 2014, 17:34
Amazing drive by Seb… thought he couldn’t pass? Thought he needed the “best car” to do well?
Nice to see Ric on the podium as well!
Ron (@rcorporon)
11th May 2014, 17:35
Too bad the leaders never battled it out… made for a bit of a boring race.
Carlos Furtado das Neves
11th May 2014, 20:20
AMAZING, I should say !
In my “sarcastic” post above I was focused on the VET hatters, and all the people who said he’s only a good driver because of the RBR dominance.
3rd place in the WDC (closing on ROS at the finish) is my prediction.