You have won three consecutive races – but Ferrari were very fast in San Marino. How do you analyse the situation?
We were certainly slower than Ferrari in Imola, even if we don't know for definite the reasons why, and the whole team has been working very hard to push even more for Barcelona. But I think that Ferrari found very special conditions in San Marino that worked perfectly for them: it is not normal for one car to be so fast compared to every other car in the field, not just ours. Certainly, we are not now fighting the same Ferrari team we saw at the first three races, but I don't think we will be facing the same strength as in Imola either. Hopefully things will be tougher for them this weekend.

So, are you optimistic for your chances at your home race?
If you look at the results, a Renault has won the first four races of the season, so everything is still there to fight for. Historically, Barcelona has been a much better circuit for the team than Imola, so we have to be confident for this race. But the other teams are very quick, and we all test there so everybody knows the circuit. I think the competition will be very close, even more than we saw in Bahrain or Imola.

Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo, in four races, you have had one win and three retirements: how do you react to that?
I have been in Formula 1 a long time, and I know that the only way you can react is to be positive. For sure, it has been frustrating but from my point of view, I know that the failures I have suffered have actually helped the team: in Malaysia, the front wing failed but the team corrected the problem, and we have had no difficulties since; the lessons from the engine problem in Bahrain meant that Fernando was able to complete his race in Imola, and maintain the team's lead in the championship. All our rivals are pushing very hard as well, and the top teams have not had perfect reliability – but these things happen in Formula 1, and we have worked to solve the problems. The team has reacted very positively and we now have a faster, more reliable car. I am determined to respond in the same way, and want to start scoring points again as soon as possible.

Starting at Barcelona?
I hope so! It is a circuit we know really well because we do thousands of kilometres there during the winter in testing, and we pretty much know what set-up we need even before we arrive. It is important to have a very stable balance, because you need to be aggressive with the car and if you don't have that confidence, you really lose a lot of time on the lap. The tyres are worked hard too, and although we will probably start the race with an under-steering car, it will be important to be gentle on the rear tyres because I think by the end of the race, people will be struggling with braking and traction.

How do you expect the car to perform there?
I think the R25 will be quick in Barcelona, really quick. In the last seasons, Renault have always been fast there and already this year in testing, we have been fast on the timed lap and then very consistent on the long runs. Of course, Fernando will have huge support there and that will bring him a boost but I have already seen from testing that while they are supporting him, they also give me a very warm welcome – they want to see me do well too. Things will be quite difficult because I am running early in first qualifying again, but as long as the lap is trouble-free, then I can get into a good grid position for a strong result. It will be important for me to start scoring points again.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering

Pat, the team won the last race in Imola, yet the R25 was not the fastest car in the field. What are your expectations for Barcelona?
I expect us to be fighting for the win. There is no doubt that Ferrari were the class of the field in Imola but paradoxically, the size of their performance advantage was too great to be purely down to an improvement from the car. I think they had a combination of car and tyres that was better suited to that track, in those conditions, on that day. But that only means their package was better at that circuit; it does not automatically follow they will have the same advantage in Spain. Our car has been extremely competitive at each test in Barcelona, and we have to go to the race confident of fighting for victory.

Looking at Schumacher's pace, some might say the team got a ‘lucky' win – how do you answer that?
We certainly got a slice of luck because had Michael's race effectively started earlier than it did, which was when he finally got clear of traffic around lap 20, then we would have seen a different result. But that set of circumstances is no different to those faced by Fernando in Australia, when he also came through the field. So yes, there was some luck involved, but that should not obscure the fact that we had a car that was competitive enough to lead the race, and a driver skilful enough to hold Michael off at the end.

On the downside, Giancarlo's car failed to finish once again in Imola – that must be a worry for the team?
In 2005, we have had eight starts and recorded three retirements, all of them down to reliability issues, whether directly or indirectly. That is hurting us in the championship, and we are under no illusions that we have to get both cars finishing the races as soon as possible. As for Giancarlo, the situation has undoubtedly been frustrating for him, but he is doing a great job for the team. He won his first race in Australia and although he has been hampered by reliability problems since then, we have seen both his pure pace and his combative racing instincts on the occasions that the car has allowed him to show them. We know he can bounce back strongly in the coming races.

Barcelona is renowned as a very difficult circuit for tyres, but the track was resurfaced over the winter. What has changed?
First and foremost, it still remains a very hard circuit for the tyres, although it is perhaps less aggressive than it used to be. At the start of the winter, we saw much lower tyre wear than previously, but in recent months it appears that the circuit has been getting more of its old characteristics back, and it could continue to do so as the race weekend progresses. Michelin worked extremely effectively over the winter to respond to the challenge of the new rules, and the victories in the first four races speak for themselves. There is no doubt that we are now in the midst of a very tough battle, but it is a challenge we relish.

Finally, how do you see the competition shaping up in Spain?
Ferrari will be a big threat, of course, although we need to wait and see how much of their Imola performance translates to the conditions in Barcelona; McLaren will be very competitive, Toyota should be fast there and maybe even Williams too. The track's demands for good aerodynamic efficiency certainly suits our car, but I think that overall, the fight at the front is much more open than we have seen in recent years.

Rod Nelson, Chassis Race Engineer, Car 5

Barcelona's many high speed corners make it one of the most sensitive circuits to aerodynamic performance of the year – indeed, with the aerodynamics making up such a large part of vehicle performance in modern F1, this explains why the circuit is considered a good measure of how quick a car is ‘straight out of the box' when it first runs.

The circuit is a mixture of all types of corners, and includes two long straights. In terms of downforce, we run high levels at this circuit as both long straights are preceded by high speed corners. This means that the key to good straight-line speed is not lowering drag by taking wing off; instead, you need reasonably high levels of downforce in order to get through these corners quickly, as they condition your speed down the straights that follow. It almost goes without saying that, with high speed corners leading onto fast straights, overtaking is extremely difficult.

Mechanically, the car demands a number of compromises in terms of how we adjust the springing and ride heights. The car's basic ride around the circuit has been much improved by the resurfacing of the circuit over the winter, and the re-profiling of turn 10 early last year; the first change has eliminated a large bump on the start-finish straight that used to prevent us from running lower ride heights, while the new profile of turn 10 has removed the unsettling ‘washboard' effect in the track surface that used to disturb the cars. However, in terms of the suspension, we must stiffen the front end in order to achieve a quick change of direction through turns 1-2 and 7-8, while the rear of the car is sprung slightly softer in order to help traction out of the slower corners.

The final key parameter in vehicle performance over the race weekend is tyre management. The long corners mean tyre energies – essentially, the work the tyre is doing – are very high, which increases tyre wear, a critical factor under the 2005 regulations. The high speed corners particularly cause high front tyre wear, and the fact that they are all right-handers means that the left front is the most heavily loaded tyre. Our main set-up tool for controlling wear rates is the level of camber we run, and this will be something we study closely during practice in order to find the correct compromise between performance and durability.

Rémi Taffin, Engine Race Engineer, Car 5

Although Barcelona is a circuit that all the teams know well from testing, and with whose problems we are familiar, the higher temperatures and change in grip levels relative to testing mean that we must always re-calibrate our control systems for the GP weekend. Furthermore, as we will be running the new B spec RS25 for the first time with both cars, we will also have to conduct validations on the engine mapping.

Overall, though, Barcelona is not an engine track – it is a place where aerodynamic performance rules, and the engine is not repeatedly called upon to accelerate at full throttle from low revs. Indeed, the drivers spend just 58% of the lap at full throttle, some 4% less than at Imola. However, the engine does need to be flexible because the quick corners mean the engine is often accelerating from the middle of the rev range – and we need power delivery to be as progressive as possible, both to maintain the car's stability through the corners and because a less brutal application of power and torque will help conserve the tyres. Of course, the traction control system also plays a fundamental role in this domain.

Selection of gear ratios is also a delicate business at Barcelona, particularly in the choice of top gear. With such a long main straight, the engine is at maximum revs for a long time, and we therefore need to leave a margin in order to aid reliability, and also to avoid over-revving in the event that a tailwind is blowing down the straight; of course, these extra revs are also needed for overtaking purposes, although the configuration of the circuit makes these rare.

Finally, the 2005 engine regulations may play a significant part in how the weekend unfolds. Fernando will begin the weekend with a new engine, and as Barcelona is the first half of a pair with Monaco, the least demanding circuit for the engine, we will be able to exploit a significant part of the performance potential over the weekend in Spain – both in terms of mileage and performance.

2005 Spanish Grand Prix - Main Page
2005 Spanish Grand Prix - Team and Driver Preview Page

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