2017 Race 5: Spain, 14 May. Comments thread

Ah, after the dull spectacle that was Sochi, we move to the first race of the European season and a track that will offer exciting racing, wheel to wheel overtaking on every corner and a close finish across the top 6 or 7 cars.

Oh.... hang on.

The hope is that with two teams running their engines there is more data to be gleaned for Honda to improve upon. I mean, they can't be hopeless forever. I'm sure eventually they will come good.

Three corners in the morning session.

That's how far Alonso got before engine failure.

That's me just making it under the railway bridge on my commute.

For some reason I am unable to participate, I cannot post in the predictions thread, I have been a bit too busy to mention this before, plus having a lot on at the moment. A glitch in the system possibly.

What a surprisingly strange weekend, has the Circuit de Catalunya ever produced so much excitement on four wheels?

One is used to seeing exciting GP3 and F2 races regardless of the circuit. Then comes the F1 and you fear a staid afternoon, especially at this circuit. Thanks to tyre compounds that allowed different strategies to be adopted, this wasn’t the case. The fans of high downforce will say today was proof that F1 can excite with extra downforce. But undeniably the significant difference between both tyre compounds and an extended DRS zone helped today’s race.

I thought that Hamilton and Vettel drove superbly well, and both would have been deserving winners. It was so refreshing to see a Grand Prix not solely decided by the start and the run to turn one. The difference between the Soft and Medium compounds allowed the pursuer to try something different, even if other events ultimately decided the pass for the win. Perhaps it should be a note to Pirelli, don’t bring the Ultra Soft and the Super Soft, for example – tyres so similar in behaviour and degradation. In the future, perhaps some would be tempted to try a one-stop on a harder compound, and that’s all what is needed to create intrigue and for races not be so black and white.

Mercedes played a blinder with Hamilton and the Virtual Safety Car situation. They pitted Hamilton just before the VSC ended, and once they saw that Vettel wasn't going to pit, it allowed Hamilton to pit whilst the field was at reduced speed - and it meant that Ferrari couldn't counter-react and also take advantage of the field being neutralised. That is why they were side-by-side into turn one, Hamilton had made up about 7 seconds by taking advantage of the VSC. The Medium compound was never really an advantageous tyre at any point, even its wear-life wasn't particularly special, so it was unfortunate that Ferrari chose to spend so long on the compound at the end.     

DRS will inevitably come under fire because it assisted a number of overtaking manoeuvres, aided by the main DRS zone actually being extended. I understand the concerns it is fake. I would counter this by arguing that in the context of modern aerodynamics and significant turbulence, DRS merely facilitates overtaking that would ordinarily happen if it wasn’t so difficult to follow another car. As an example, Hamilton had to make sure he got off the chicane and the final turn perfectly, and it was only then that DRS allowed him to close-in before turn one. Perhaps it was his only shot, but he made the most of that opportunity – and quite frankly motor racing has always been that way.

In an ideal world DRS shouldn’t be needed at all. LMP1 cars can follow far more effectively because they don’t have sensitive front wings. This is the kind of solution that F1 needs to work towards – it would be safer, cheaper and more entertaining. However, nobody is talking about banning front wings, or at least drastically simplifying them. So in the meantime, DRS either helps to facilitate the overtaking that should be happening, or gives the pursuing car a shot in the braking zone. Take Vettel on Bottas into turn one. Yes, Vettel got very close because he had DRS, but Bottas weaved inconsistently before the braking zone, and it was still Vettel’s skill and judgment that allowed him to sell Bottas a dummy on the inside.

Vandoorne and especially Stroll are proving that the transition to F1 isn’t quite as easy as some claim. Stroll tried the Verstappen route to F1, from F3 into premier motorsport. However, it is evident that only someone of Verstappen’s calibre can make a decent transition from something so comparatively basic. Perhaps drivers are being rushed into F1 too quickly, because most drivers graduated to cars with greater power and downforce before going to F1, as opposed to going from F3 straight into F1. You’ve got a million set-up combinations with an F1 car, so much more power and downforce, tyre management, energy harvesting, complex start procedures – none of which you get in F3.

It was interesting to see that the drivers could follow each other slightly easier compared to years past. I credit Pirelli for this, the tyres had enough degradation to produce interesting racing, but the tyres didn't go-off so easily after following in turbulent air. The scraps between STR, Haas and McLaren were more akin to some youngsters in Formula 2. Pirelli deserve a lot of credit for producing what the sport wants, instead of producing a product that best advertises their brand.

The Porsche Supercup looks a bit slow and tardy after you’ve watched F1 qualifying and Formula 2. Of course it is anything but. I thought reigning British Carrera Cup champion Dan Cammish did really well. The Supercup has produced some of the finest drivers today, including Tandy, Westbrook, Bamber, Bergmeister and more. Cammish undoubtedly struggled in his first weekend. However, podium finish at a circuit he’s never seen before in such a competitive field was impressive.
 

WTF is going on with Hamiltons barnet?

It was longish; long for him, and curly.

According to the BBC race report Alonso did the 4th fastest race lap on Sunday.
Really?