After the glamour and history of Monaco, this weekend the F1 teams arrive in Barcelona for the Spanish GP with Ferrari riding high after their well deserved win at Monaco. Whilst only a fool would count Williams out, could this be the start of the "Prancing Horse Revival"?

A lap of Circuit de Catalunya

The Circuit de Catalunya is a tight, technical circuit, but has some fast corners that really sort out the men from the boys. The circuit is bumpier than most and this can really be felt in the tight confines of an F1 car. After travelling down the mile long straight, the drivers slam on the brakes, change down to third, and enter the tight, uphill Elf chicane at around 100mph. The next corner, Curvone Renault, is a nearly flat uphill right hander that allows the quicker drivers to gain precious time over their rivals. After a couple of slow hairpins, Repsol and Seat, the drivers pass through a left handed kink before changing down to third again for the tight left hander Wurth. Uphill again, and a slight dab on the brakes to prepare the car for the refined Campsa corner. The next stretch used to contain a fast chicane but, in light of the Imola tragedies, this was replaced with a revised straight for 1995. The fact that the straight is longer means that there is now a superb opportunity for outbraking into La Caixa, a tight hairpin normally taken in second. After another tough hairpin, where the balance of the car must be just right if the drivers are not to lose time, the cars enter the final two right handers. These corners are taken with only the slightest lift of the throttle, and have the highest measured lateral forces of the year, almost 3.5g. Cars use a lot of kerb on the final corner, and many top drivers have almost come to grief on the dust before accelerating across the start finish line to begin another fast lap.

Circuit length: 2.936 miles / 4.725 km Race length: 65 laps (190.838 miles / 307.125 km)

What happened last year?

The Field

Arrows-Yamaha
TWR have decided, it is said, that the new specification Yamaha engine is no significant improvement over the last and as such will stay with the "old" engine for the remainder of 1997. This appears to spell the end of their bid for any success in 1997 as all the other teams are moving forward in this area. Damon too, could be preparing to drop a bombshell as the rumourmongers suggest he has already signed a 1998 race deal. Regardless, nobody can expect much of the Arrows this weekend. Hill will outpace his teammate, Pedro Diniz, by a large margin, but can't harbour much hope for a good position at the end of the race or in qualifying.

Rothmans Williams-Renault
Williams-Renault are now in the unenviable position of being expected to win every race, yet having a strong opponent capable of snatching victory away from them. Both Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen will be fired up after their dismal performances in Monaco, and few would bet against a Williams front row in Spain. The question is, will they carry their advantage into the race, where they have been lacking so far?

Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari are on top of the world at the moment. A win and a brace of podium finishes have them in an unfamiliar position at the top of both championship tables. Michael Schumacher is doing great things with the F310b that was so maligned at the start of the season and is now a realistic challenger for the top honours. Eddie Irvine is hitting top form after a rough 1996 season and looks better with every race. Whilst he shouldn't trouble the Ferrari team leader, he can realistically expect to get onto the podium.

Mild Seven Benetton-Renault
Encouraging sounds are coming from Enstone about the Spanish GP, with Jean Alesi nudging out the Williams pair in pre-race testing last week. Alesi has apparently been falling out of favour with the team due to his outbursts when things are not going as well as he likes. This leaves Gerhard Berger as the centre of attention for the team and based on recent evidence he is certainly the most balanced of the pair. If things go well they will be near the front, if not they will be fighting the midfield again.

West McLaren-Mercedes
McLaren were another team in the wars in Monaco and were unlucky to have both cars eliminated on the first lap. Whilst the new Mercedes engine will not be fully tested in time for the upcoming race, the team are confident that they are moving in the right direction. Regardless of the comments that Ron Dennis, the team boss, has been making to say that he has no interest in Damon Hill in 1998, both drivers will want to perform to guarantee a seat next year. Both drivers are well matched in qualifying, but Mika Hakkinen seems to just have the edge on David Coulthard in races.

Benson and Hedges Total Jordan-Peugeot
Jordan-Peugeot are again arriving at a circuit with a genuine chance of podium spots or victory. Both Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher are very fast and whilst the former seems to have the measure of the younger Schumacher brother in qualifying, Ralf seems to be the one with the pace in the races (if not the discipline to stay on the track).

Gauloises Blondes Prost-Mugen Honda
A crunch race for Prost for several reasons. If Alain Prost is to attract a top flight driver and sponsors he need to get the team back on track as they lost their way in Monaco, where the Bridgestone tyres were probably not as good as they have been. Shinji Nakano is also looking for a good weekend as there is every possibility that he will be out of a drive if he doesn't improve. Either Emmanuel Collard or Jean-Christophe "Jules" Boullion are tipped for the second seat and whichever is chosen will certainly do a better job than the Japanese driver. The other driver, Olivier Panis, is still riding on the crest of a wave (although some have doubts that his performance could be due to the tyres) but will be looking to move forward and get some more points.

Red Bull Sauber-Petronas
The Petronas badged Ferrari engine has transformed the Swiss team and moved them amongst the "Big 4" teams in qualifying and race performances. Sadly, the pace setting driver, Johnny Herbert, is suffering from bad luck and isn't converting his good qualifying form into points. Nicola Larini is having a hard time, and the pressure is on as the rumours start to circulate about him being replaced by another Ferrari tester, Gianni Morbidelli.

Tyrrell-Ford
Tyrell arrive at Barcelona buoyed by their success at Monaco and the increased drivability of the Ford ED5 engine that they will run for the first time this weekend. Both Mika Salo and Jos Verstappen seem evenly matched on pace, but Mika is slightly smoother, meaning that he is less likely to break the car at any point. This, combined with more team experience, should mean that he comes out on top.

Minardi-Hart
Ukyo Katayama is having a torrid time at Minardi, with the last two races being ruined in qualifying by engine problems. This has left young teammate, Jarno Trulli, looking very good indeed. Whilst Jarno is certainly extremely impressive, the differentials do not do Katayama justice and if he has a decent run in qualifying we should see a different story.

Stewart-Ford
Stewart are another team that will be riding high following Monaco, but must be careful to ensure that they concentrate on reliability as Monaco was only provided the 2nd and 3rd finish in 10 starts. The Ford engine is getting better and the team is adding new tweaks to their chassis all the time. Rubens Barrichello is still top dog at the team, but GP novice Jan Magnussen is getting better all the time. If the race is wet, the team could pull another shock result out of the bag.

Enjoy the race...