A lap of the 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

Winfield Williams-Mecachrome Goodyear
Both Williams cars finished in the points for only the second time in 1998 and went home with 5 points to add the their meagre 1998 haul. Whilst the Didcot team are definitely the best of the rest behind Ferrari and, of course, McLaren. That said, in San Marino Jacques Villeneuve would almost certainly have beaten Eddie Irvine had the team managed to complete the stops properly but as they say, that's racing! The tests at Barcelona last week suggest that the Williams drivers are going to perform poorly but it is hard to know what the aim of the tests were. The completely revised rear-end (development of the 1997 rear) will be used this weekend for the first time and both team and drivers have expressed satisfaction with the increased drivability of the FW20. Both drivers are capable of top 6 qualitying slots and top 6 finishing positions but on current form, expect Jacques Villeneuve to be the one closest to the front. A podium is an outside shot but possible.

Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari Goodyear
The lead Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher seems to be the only person able to take the fight to McLaren and without a doubt this is down to him more than his car. For all their efforts, Ferrari have not improved much over the last few years and only the presence of the former World Champion is saving their blushes at the moment. In the Barcelona tests Ferrari were generally slower than McLaren but faster than the other teams and there seems little reason to think that the race weekend will be any different. The use of the new exhausts (exiting from the top of the car rather than the diffuser) isn't going to produce any significant jump in competitveness and without the extra wings they will just be swapping one aid for another. Expect Schumacher to dominate Eddie Irvine as usual and for the Ulsterman to have his hands full with the Mechachrome powered teams.

Mild Seven Benetton-Playlife Bridgestone
Benetton arrive in Barcelona after completing successful tests last week and for sure, both the team and the drivers are looking for an upturn in fortunes. Where the other significant Bridgestone runner, McLaren, is fast in both qualifying and the race, Benetton seem to be unable to make the most of the car on Saturday and end up getting penned in behind slower drivers and the results suffer. Of the two drivers Alexander Wurz has impressed the most so far, showing his Italian team mate Giancarlo Fisichella a clean pair of heels more often than not. This is almost sure to be the case this weekend especially as Fisichella has been suffering from back injuries caused by accidents before, during and after the last Grand Prix. This could be the Enstone teams first chance for podium finishes in 1998, but they will need to get their collective acts together earlier in the weekend for this to happen.

West McLaren-Mercedes Bridgestone
In the last Grand Prix, the air of invulnerability surrounding the McLaren team was damaged when Mika Hakkinen retired suffering with gear selection problems. Aside from this, the weekend was a success with yet another pole position and yet another win to add to the growing silverware cabinet in Woking and I would be surprised if the Spanish Grand Prix was not the same. Current form and the results from previous seasons suggest that Mika Hakkinen will again be left behind by his team mate in qualifying. Likewise, unless a poor start or slow pitstop stop him, David Coulthard is the most likely to win the race but Hakkinen is sure to be close behind. 1-2 on the grid and 1-2 in the race are the only results the team will be aiming for and it will take something special (or a retirement) to rob them of this.

Benson & Hedges Jordan-Mugen Honda Goodyear
Although on paper the results from Imola were no better than Jordan have enjoyed anywhere else this year, the San Marino race marked an upturn in fortunes for Jordan. Until this time both Ralf Schumacher and Damon Hill had enjoyed a much changed car and had used the new version of the J198 to good effect. Sadly both drivers had problems in the race and were unable to capitalise on their new found form, but the tests last week show that even without the extra wings, Jordan are moving back up the timesheets. Predicting where they will end up is hard, but there is no reason why they can't start in the top 4 rows and race for top 6 finishes. The quality of the field seriously limits the finishing capabilities for a team unless they can consistently match the top 4 teams and it is this that will decide whether Jordan take their first points of 98 rather than their increased pace. Expect Hill to outquality Schumacher and then comprehensively outrace him on Sunday.

Gauloises Blondes Prost-Peugeot Bridgestone
Things are looking up for Alain Prost and his team. Olivier Panis set some good times in the recent tests and, more importantly, the gearbox problems that have plagued the team seem to be over at last. Less thrilling is the apparent loss of form of Jarno Trulli who previously seemed to be as fast (or faster) than his more experienced team mate. Reports suggest the Italian has become disheartened by the lack of form displayed by the team so far and if that is the case expect him to get up to speed again over the next couple of races. Unfortunately although good test times are possible, the weakpoint for the team is the race weekend where they tend to race much better than they qualify (like last year) and like Benetton it is this they need to address. Panis should beat Trulli in qualifying but expect both to shine in the race.

Red Bull Sauber-Petronas Goodyear
Sauber are a bit of a mystery at the moment. Race weekends show that they are capable of good performances but in testing both Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert have been less than scintiliating and the Barcelona tests of last week were no different. Despite generally languishing in the company of Minardi's and Tyrrell's for the 4-day test I honestly expect them to be back in the top 10 for the qualifying session and at least one of the drivers to finish in the top 10. Picking a winner out of the two drivers is also hard with Herbert and Alesi evenly matched most of the time until the start of the race, a time where the latter has always excelled. Nailing my colours to the mast I would expect Herbert to finish ahead on Saturday but Alesi to have the upper hand on Sunday.

Danka ArrowsBridgestone
An improved engine from the Brian Hart run TWR workshops has improved the pace of Arrows but it seems that the reliability is as bad as ever with Pedro Diniz retiring well before the end of the race in San Marino (although Mika Salo did finish albeit well behind the leaders). Whilst it appears that the new engine is capable of propelling the drivers into the top half of the grid, I can't help feeling that something will go wrong and that both drivers will qualify in the back third of the grid and retire before the finish. That Mika Salo will be ahead seems a foregone conclusion but I would expect Pedro Diniz to be close to his team mate if he is given equal equipment.

Stewart-Ford Bridgestone
Stewart are now taking big steps to try and improve what has so far been an appalling season for the newest team in F1. The team have decided to stick with Jan Magnussen for the time being (a good idea in my opinion) and alter the car before deciding their lack of performance is down to the drivers rather than the engineers. For this weekend there will be a new chassis on hand for Rubens Barrichello to try and the existing car has had the front suspension redesigned which is said to have improved the car dramatically. As seen last year, Jan Magnussen can often put in some amazing performances when his back is against the wall but I would expect Barrichello to take top honours in both qualifying and the race. As to how well they will fare, I wouldn't like to make a prediction...

Tyrrell-FordGoodyear
There isn't a great deal that I can say about Tyrrell that I haven't said in previous race previews. The chassis is good and the engine while not amazing is certainly powerful enough to not be a great handicap. On the driver side they have a potentially great driver in Tora Takagi and an apparently average one in Ricardo Rosset. The former is always the faster of the pair and can be relied upon to get his car remarkably close to the top half of the grid. His team mate however seems to have difficulty getting the car off the back row of the grid and I don't hold much hope for this race to be any different. Points are unlikely with the strength of the opposition, but expect a punchy performance from Takagi regardless.

Minardi-Ford Bridgestone
Minardi are another team I struggle to write about from race to race. Consistency rather than the occasional turn of pace seems to be the watchword at the Italian team and both drivers are doing their best to fulfill this. Shinji Nakano and Esteban Tuero seem evenly matched so I won't attempt to make a choice between them. It is the other teams slipping back rather than Minardi moving forward that will dictate their positions over the weekend but it will be fun watching their progress nevertheless.

Enjoy the race...