Table of Contents

• Technical Specifications
• Free Practice 1
• Free Practice 2
• P1 & P2 Report
• Free Practice 3
• Qualifying
• Race Results

Technical Specifications

Circuit de Catalunya Specifications
Top speed:	320km/h
Average speed:	195km/h
Pit straight length:	1140m
Circuit length:	4.655km
Race length:	66 laps/308km
Number of corners:	16
Longest section at full throttle:	16s/1140m
Highest G-force:	4G
Downforce level:	Medium-high
Brake wear:	High
Full throttle:	57% of lap
Gearchanges per lap:	44
Grip level:	Medium
Gradient change:	Medium
Average ambient temperature:	25°C
Average track temperature:	30°C
Weather:	Mostly warm and sunny
Circuit type:	Permanent
Runoff areas:	Medium-large
Configuration:	Clockwise
Fuel consumption:	Medium-High
Landscape:	Industrial/suburban
Average attendance:	140,000

 

Results: Free Practice 1

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:24.430		20
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:24.808	0.378	18
3	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1:24.912	0.482	28
4	3	Jenson Button	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:24.996	0.566	24
5	19	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Renault	1:25.120	0.690	24
6	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:25.187	0.757	15
7	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:25.217	0.787	16
8	4	Lewis Hamilton	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:25.252	0.822	20
9	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	1:25.285	0.855	29
10	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1:25.339	0.909	24
11	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Ferrari	1:25.367	0.937	22
12	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:25.433	1.003	21
13	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:25.539	1.109	23
14	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:25.607	1.177	20
15	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:25.918	1.488	19
16	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	1:26.226	1.796	24
17	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	1:26.297	1.867	18
18	11	Jules Bianchi	Force India-Mercedes	1:26.630	2.200	21
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham-Renault	1:27.475	3.045	20
20	24	Timo Glock	Marussia-Cosworth	1:28.267	3.837	21
21	20	Alexander Rossi	Caterham-Renault	1:28.448	4.018	25
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia-Cosworth	1:28.633	4.203	22
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT-Cosworth	1:29.107	4.677	19
24	23	Dani Clos	HRT-Cosworth	1:31.618	7.188	19

Results: Free Practice 2

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	3	Jenson Button	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:23.399		38
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:23.563	0.164	38
3	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:23.771	0.372	41
4	4	Lewis Hamilton	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:23.909	0.510	32
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	1:23.918	0.519	32
6	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:23.964	0.565	37
7	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:24.065	0.666	34
8	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:24.080	0.681	36
9	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1:24.214	0.815	41
10	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1:24.365	0.966	22
11	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:24.418	1.019	35
12	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:24.422	1.023	32
13	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	1:24.468	1.069	40
14	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:24.600	1.201	33
15	11	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	1:24.688	1.289	30
16	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Ferrari	1:24.733	1.334	34
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	1:24.769	1.370	37
18	19	Bruno Senna	Williams-Renault	1:25.047	1.648	42
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham-Renault	1:26.296	2.897	36
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham-Renault	1:26.740	3.341	35
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia-Cosworth	1:27.314	3.915
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia-Cosworth	1:27.664	4.265
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT-Cosworth	1:28.235	4.836
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth

P1 & P2 Report

Circuit de Catalunya, Friday May 11

 

JENSON BUTTON

MP4-27A-04

P1           1m24.996s (+0.566s)           24 laps                   4^th

P2           1m23.399s                              38 laps                    1^st

“It was a positive afternoon. I did a good lap on the Option tyre, the car is running well, and our upgrades seem to be working. But there are still some improvements to be made.

“The Option seems to be a bit easier for everyone as it’s softer and therefore more receptive to generating temperature. In P2, we also started to find a way to get the Prime to work, but then, later in the session, we couldn’t quite get back to that sweet-spot.

“If we can solve these issues with the Prime and get it into its correct working range, I think we can be quite competitive this weekend.

“There are a lot of quick cars out there, but, aerodynamically, I think we’ve got a strong car. We’ve just got to make sure that we make sure that the four things touching the road are working properly for us too.”

 

LEWIS HAMILTON

MP4-27A-03

P1           1m25.252s (+0.822s)             20 laps                    8^th

P2           1m23.909s (+0.510s)             32 laps                    4^th

“The car already feels better than it did at the last race – there’s a good series of improvements within the car. My long run this afternoon was very satisfying and there are positives to take from that, but there’s still more time in the car, as Jenson showed.

“I struggled a little with set-up today. It’s a little bit inconsistent, so it’s very difficult to pinpoint exactly what’s needed to make it better. But we’ll be looking at the data to find out where the most significant issues are, and I’m confident we can make improvements overnight.

“Nevertheless, the upgrades we brought to this race seem to be working well and we’ve got good pace on the longer runs. The guys back at the factory did a fantastic job.

“It’s been a positive day and we’re in the fight.”

 

MARTIN WHITMARSH

Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“It’s pleasing to hear both drivers express their initial satisfaction with the suite of upgrades we’ve brought to the circuit this weekend. It’s now time for the engineers to sit down and look in detail at the data to determine what’s working and in what areas we can make further improvements.

“The Circuit de Catalunya is always a very stern test of machinery, so it’s gratifying to see Vodafone McLaren Mercedes assume the top spot on the timesheets at this early stage of the weekend. It was a very strong lap from Jenson.

“Looking deeper at the timesheets, it’s clear that, once again, we’re set for an extremely finely pitched and closely fought race – it’s going to be a fascinating weekend.”

Results: Free Practice 3

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:23.168		13
2	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	1:23.336	0.168	19
3	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1:23.350	0.182	19
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:23.578	0.410	16
5	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:23.742	0.574	22
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:23.807	0.639	15
7	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Ferrari	1:23.833	0.665	14
8	3	Jenson Button	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:23.909	0.741	13
9	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	1:23.936	0.768	16
10	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:24.070	0.902	24
11	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:24.179	1.011	16
12	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1:24.323	1.155	17
13	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	1:24.331	1.163	15
14	19	Bruno Senna	Williams-Renault	1:24.409	1.241	18
15	11	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	1:24.599	1.431	15
16	4	Lewis Hamilton	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:24.778	1.610	15
17	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:24.825	1.657	17
18	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham-Renault	1:25.911	2.743	20
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham-Renault	1:26.587	3.419	20
20	25	Charles Pic	Marussia-Cosworth	1:27.469	4.301	18
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia-Cosworth	1:27.689	4.521	16
22	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth	1:28.207	5.039	24
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT-Cosworth	1:28.373	5.205	13
24	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	No time		2

Results: Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:22.583	1:22.465	1:21.707	17
2	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	1:23.380	1:22.105	1:22.285	14
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:23.276	1:22.862	1:22.302	15
4	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:23.248	1:22.667	1:22.424	14
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	1:23.406	1:22.856	1:22.487	13
6	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:24.261	1:22.773	1:22.533	14
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:23.370	1:22.882	1:23.005	17
8	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:23.850	1:22.884	no time	14
9	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:23.757	1:22.904	no time	15
10	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1:23.386	1:22.897	no time	14
11	3	Jenson Button	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:23.510	1:22.944		13
12	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:23.592	1:22.977		8
13	11	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	1:23.852	1:23.125		14
14	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1:23.720	1:23.177		13
15	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Ferrari	1:24.362	1:23.265		11
16	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	1:23.906	1:23.442		11
17	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:23.886	1:23.444		12
18	19	Bruno Senna	Williams-Renault	1:24.981			8
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham-Renault	1:25.277			8
20	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham-Renault	1:25.507			8
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia-Cosworth	1:26.582			8
22	24	Timo Glock	Marussia-Cosworth	1:27.032			8
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT-Cosworth	1:27.555			6
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth	1:31.122			4

Race Report

Circuit de Catalunya, Sunday May 13

LEWIS HAMILTON

MP4-27A-03

Started:                  24^th

Finished                8^th

Fastest lap            1m28.918s (+2.668s, 18^th)

Pitstops                 Two: laps 14 (4.0s) and 35 (3.8s) [Opt-Pri-Pri]

Points                     53 (3^rd)

 “I’m proud of my performance today, and proud of the team too. They did a great job: a real improvement with the pitstops, following our difficulties in that area recently. All in all, then, I think today’s result was the best we could do.

“I was the only driver to attempt a two-stop strategy, and I’m glad I was able to made it work. People often say that I have an aggressive driving style, but my final stint on the Prime tyre was 31 laps, so I reckon I proved today that I can make tyres last.

“It was a huge challenge to come through the field from the back, but I never gave up for a single second, right up to the finish line. Before the race I said I’d race my heart out, and that’s exactly what I did. For me, that’s what racing is all about.

“Today was all about damage limitation. But, now, looking at the bigger picture, I can’t really complain because, despite the setbacks I’ve had this season, I’m still only eight points behind the leader of the drivers’ world championship.

“The team has been working extremely hard, and our car is quick. So, when things go right, I think we’ll be in a great position – and it’ll come to us before too long.

“Finally, big congratulations to Pastor [Maldonado] and everyone at Williams – it’s a fantastic result for them and this is a great day for him personally.”

 

JENSON BUTTON

MP4-27A-04

Started                    10^th

Finished                  9^th

Fastest lap             1m28.624s (+2.374s, 14^th)

Pitstops                  Three: laps 9 (4.1s), 25 (4.6s) and 38 (3.8s) [Opt-Pri-Opt-Pri]

Points                      45 (6^th)

“Congratulations to Pastor! His was a great drive and I’m sure it will instil a lot of confidence in him and the Williams team.

“The Formula 1 form-book is very mixed-up at the moment, which is unusual, but that’s the way it appears to be going this season. As for us, well, a lot of my afternoon was spent stuck in traffic, and I had a Sauber breathing down my neck for most of the race. All in all, we weren’t quite quick enough today – but that’s something I need to solve myself. I need to find a set-up that suits me better as I feel like I have pretty poor grip at the moment.

“Having said that, I’m already looking forward to Monaco and a much better weekend there. It’s a circuit I love and hopefully a place where we can achieve a good result.”

 

MARTIN WHITMARSH

Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Before I say anything else, I want to offer my very hearty congratulations to Williams, to Pastor and particularly to Sir Frank for a stunning victory here today.

“For Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, following our disappointments yesterday, today was always going to be about recovery. Even so, Jenson will be disappointed: he struggled with balance and grip all afternoon, and won’t be satisfied with the brace of world championship points that his ninth place delivered him.

“Lewis, having started in 24^th and last place following his qualifying penalty yesterday, drove an absolutely storming race to eighth place at the chequered flag, all but catching and passing Nico [Rosberg] for seventh place on the final lap. Like Jenson, he won’t be content with the four world championship points he earned this afternoon, but in truth he should be immensely proud of his performance here.

“Lewis was the only driver to make a two-stop strategy work today – and that, given that his race strategy called for him to drive exceptionally hard and extremely fast in heavy traffic all afternoon, pulling off some sensational passing manoeuvres on a circuit on which overtaking is notoriously difficult, was a truly magnificent feat.

“Make no mistake about it, the 2012 Santander Spanish Grand Prix was one of the most impressive races that Lewis has ever driven. His performance combined fabulous verve with commendable caution – and I’d go so far as to say that, rising above the frustration he inevitably felt yesterday evening, he’s inspired each and every one of us at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes with his stirring drive today.

“He’s only eight points behind the leader in the Drivers’ World Championship, and he loves the Monaco Grand Prix, the next stop on the World Championship calendar.

“Jenson, too, is a past winner at Monte-Carlo, and, like Lewis, he’ll approach the dauntingly tortuous streets of the famous Principality with the forceful precision that marks out both our drivers as the superb World Champions that they are.

“They’ll both be aiming to win, of that you may be sure.”