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Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:19 pm
by Ed
BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RACE
SUNDAY 14 MARCH, 2010

The 2010 season opened modestly for the AT&T Williams team at the Bahrain GP, with Rubens Barrichello claiming the last point-paying position by finishing in p10. Team-mate Nico Hulkenberg sustained some early car damage which he had to carry for over 40 laps, hampering him on his debut and he ultimately finished in fourteenth spot.

Rubens Barrichello:
It’s good to have a point, but in all honesty, we thought that we would do a little better when we arrived here. So it’s really all down to us, we can see that the competition is pretty fierce and there were no retirements among the leading cars. I think we finished around about where we deserved so it will be up to us to close up the gap. (Prime/Option)

Nico Hulkenberg:
It was a tough and difficult debut for me today. Right from the start, I had to take some evasive action to avoid a crash in turn 2, which dropped me couple of places and a few laps later, I spun at turn 6. I am still not really sure how it happened, initially I thought there was something broken on the car, but it was not the case. I jumped the kerbs and maybe hurt the car a bit, as it was quite difficult to drive for the rest of what was a long and lonely afternoon for me. It’s been a tough weekend, but the practice and long run pace has been good and we need to build on that.(Option/Prime/Option)

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
It was today good to get both cars to the finish and one car in the points. Cosworth will also be happy with engine reliability after all their hard work over the winter. We went for a different strategy with Rubens on the prime tyre, but it looks like the option was quite strong. Nico had car damage after an early spin, so he spent the race learning about the tyres. We are looking forward to Melbourne and taking a step up in performance.

Points: AT&T Williams 1 (6th), Rubens Barrichello 1 (10th), Nico Hulkenberg -

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:47 am
by Ed
PREVIEW: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
When: Friday 26 to Sunday 28 March, 2010
Where: Albert Park, Melbourne
Round: 2 of 19

Sam Michael, Technical Director
Albert Park is a low grip street circuit, and you’re normally on the limit when it comes to tyre graining. As a result, careful management of car set-up throughout the weekend is a pre-requisite. We will have some improvements for the FW32 in Australia that we will roll out during Friday’s practice sessions. It's going to be a really interesting weekend in terms of seeing how the teams perform on such a different track in comparison to Sakhir. In terms of strategy, Bahrain gave a good indication as to what will be the most likely pit strategy for Melbourne.

Rubens Barrichello
Melbourne is a great place for a Grand Prix. The racing is always competitive so it’s a good track from a fan perspective; it’s also a very social city so it’s nice to hang out there. I like Albert Park a lot. It doesn’t really feel like a street circuit, it’s very challenging and has some interesting corners to negotiate. We had some minor problems in Bahrain but we have resolved them now for Australia. I’m positive we will have a stronger race this weekend.

Nico Hülkenberg
As a circuit, I don't know Albert Park at all as I haven’t raced there yet. I spent a few days in the factory last week going through practice runs on the simulator and running through data with my engineers which was really helpful but nothing beats having time on the track itself. Bahrain wasn't the best race for me, but there were some positives to be taken from it because it highlighted where we need to do some more work. I’m hoping that we will have a more successful weekend in Australia as a result of what I learnt in Bahrain, and what the team have worked on since we came home. I'm flying out to Sydney on Saturday morning for a driver day with RBS on Tuesday. I then have an appearance for Randstad on Wednesday in Melbourne before heading to the circuit.

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:22 pm
by Ed
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX PRACTICE

Objectives P1
• Validation of new aero components
• Fuel consumption checks
Objectives P2
• Set-up work
• Tyre evaluations

Sam Michael, Technical Director
“Today our programme involved working on mechanical set-up changes and testing revised aero parts for the FW32. We managed to evaluate most of the parts, but our schedule in session two was reduced by the wet weather. From the limited data we collected on the option tyre, it looks like it will be a stable tyre during the race.”

Rubens Barrichello
Runs P1: Run 1: New Prime (1 lap, install), Run 2: Used Prime (2 laps, baseline, red flag), Run 3: Used Prime (6 laps, baseline), Run 4: Used Prime (5 laps, aero set-up), Run 5: Used Prime (6 laps, mechanical set-up)
Runs P2: Run 1: New Prime (12 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 2: New Option (13 laps, tyre evaluations)

“The rain came in P2, it affected everyone. The team did a really good job sending me out at the right times when the track was dry so we collected as much information as we could considering the conditions. There is still quite a lot of work to be done in order to get us through to Q3 tomorrow.”

Nico Hulkenberg
Runs P1: Run 1: New Prime (1 lap, install), Run 2: Used Prime (4 laps, baseline, red flag), Run 3: Used Prime (7 laps, mechanical set-up, red flag), Run 4: Used Prime (13 laps, mechanical set-up)
Runs P2: Run 1: New Option (11 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 2: New Intermediate (3 laps, wet tyre test), Run 3: New Prime (11 laps, tyre evaluations)

“Albert Park is quite a cool track; I really enjoyed it out there. It’s very bumpy, but definitely good fun. Running in the second session was interrupted by the weather so we didn’t get as much time as we wanted, but I feel familiar with the track now and comfortable with the car.”

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:20 pm
by Ed
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING

Rubens Barrichello improved upon his Bahrain qualifying performance at Australia’s Albert Park street circuit today as he eased into Q3 and drove his FW32 to P8 in the top ten shoot out. Nico Hulkenberg’s efforts were somewhat thwarted by traffic during his debut qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix leaving him to line up in 15th place on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Rubens Barrichello:
Qualifying went quite well for me and I’m happy with the way things went. We went through Q1 and then I put a good lap in during Q2. I was pleased with my lap in Q3 but there was a bit more there which we missed out on due to traffic. I think we can achieve a better result tomorrow than we did in Bahrain. Eighth is a nice result, but I know everyone in the team aims a lot higher. I’m sure we will get there, but right now that is the limit of the car.

Nico Hulkenberg:
I’m disappointed with qualifying and expected more. The target was obviously to get into the top ten, but I didn’t get the lap together and this is the result. This is my first qualifying here; it’s not an easy circuit to learn and it’s very narrow and quite bumpy. It will be difficult to get into the points tomorrow from P15, but you never know what could happen if the weather turns.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
That was a good effort from Rubens today to qualify in P8, even if he lost time in traffic on his fastest lap. We only had enough tyres for one run in Q3 and decided to send Rubens out early to avoid any potential rain. Nico struggled to manage the traffic during Q2 so he wasn’t able to put in an ultimate lap. We’re looking forward to a strong race tomorrow, regardless of the weather.

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:24 pm
by Ed
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX RACE

Aided by the forecasted rain, Melbourne’s Albert Park delivered a thrilling afternoon of racing today. Starting on the fourth row of the grid, Rubens Barrichello again scored points for the team in his second race for AT&T Williams, finishing in eighth place. Nico Hulkenberg’s debut Australian Grand Prix ended before it began as he fell victim to Kobayashi’s turn six incident on the first lap. The team now pack up and travel straight to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix next Sunday.

Rubens Barrichello:
It was a good race, but we should have finished in seventh really. We took the chance to change tyres when we did and go for it. I thought everyone else would also come in, which is why I went for that route. More points for the team today is positive though. The car is good enough; we will just be picking up more points before we get podiums.

Nico Hulkenberg:
Today was obviously pretty disappointing. I was already in the corner when I was suddenly hit from behind by Kamui Kobayashi. It was quite a big impact. I’m not sure what caused it, but it’s frustrating because I was looking forward to my first race here.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
It was good to get some more points, but we need to bring more performance to the car and to the engine. Doing both is the major part of our development programme over the next few races. Rubens drove well through all the conditions he faced today. Unfortunately, Nico was knocked out of the race by another car.

Points: AT&T Williams 5 (7th), Rubens Barrichello 5 (11th), Nico Hulkenberg -

Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 5:42 am
by Ed
PREVIEW: MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX

When: Friday 2 to Sunday 4 April 2010
Where: Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur
Round: 3 of 19

Sam Michael, Technical Director
The team heads to Malaysia with the target of getting both drivers into Q3 and improving our position in the Constructors’ Championship. Sepang is quite a different circuit to the two previous tracks we’ve visited in that it has a lot of high speed changes of direction. We will have some improvements on the FW32 for this race, mostly relating to the aerodynamics and we will also have some upgrades to help gearshifting. Both drivers will be working hard on our starts over the course of the weekend to get back to our usual standard.

Rubens Barrichello
I like Malaysia very much. Physically, it’s one of the toughest races on the calendar and you have to go there expecting it to be really hot. One year I lost something like 1.3kg during the race. Because of the heat, you have to be well prepared, physically and mentally, but we all do a lot of training to make sure that we are.
I enjoy the layout of the circuit. It has a good mix of corners, high and low speed, and it flows well. It is also quite wide which will give us some overtaking opportunities around the lap. A strong set-up is crucial in order to get a good lap time around Kuala Lumpur so having a productive practice on Friday will be really important.

Nico Hülkenberg
I obviously don’t have experience of Sepang in an F1 car, but I raced there when I was competing in A1 GP so I know the circuit already which will be helpful. Melbourne was really frustrating for me so I’m happy that this is a back to back race and I can get back in the car again quickly. We’ll be pushing hard to try to get a better result.
Malaysia is not a favourite track of mine, but it’s ok. Turns five and six are really quick, about 250km/h, so that part of the circuit is my favourite. It’s going to be hot, but I spent a few weeks in Malaysia in January to do some training so I feel well prepared. I’m looking forward to getting there and to a good race

Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 5:42 am
by Ed
PREVIEW: MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX

When: Friday 2 to Sunday 4 April 2010
Where: Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur
Round: 3 of 19

Sam Michael, Technical Director
The team heads to Malaysia with the target of getting both drivers into Q3 and improving our position in the Constructors’ Championship. Sepang is quite a different circuit to the two previous tracks we’ve visited in that it has a lot of high speed changes of direction. We will have some improvements on the FW32 for this race, mostly relating to the aerodynamics and we will also have some upgrades to help gearshifting. Both drivers will be working hard on our starts over the course of the weekend to get back to our usual standard.

Rubens Barrichello
I like Malaysia very much. Physically, it’s one of the toughest races on the calendar and you have to go there expecting it to be really hot. One year I lost something like 1.3kg during the race. Because of the heat, you have to be well prepared, physically and mentally, but we all do a lot of training to make sure that we are.
I enjoy the layout of the circuit. It has a good mix of corners, high and low speed, and it flows well. It is also quite wide which will give us some overtaking opportunities around the lap. A strong set-up is crucial in order to get a good lap time around Kuala Lumpur so having a productive practice on Friday will be really important.

Nico Hülkenberg
I obviously don’t have experience of Sepang in an F1 car, but I raced there when I was competing in A1 GP so I know the circuit already which will be helpful. Melbourne was really frustrating for me so I’m happy that this is a back to back race and I can get back in the car again quickly. We’ll be pushing hard to try to get a better result.
Malaysia is not a favourite track of mine, but it’s ok. Turns five and six are really quick, about 250km/h, so that part of the circuit is my favourite. It’s going to be hot, but I spent a few weeks in Malaysia in January to do some training so I feel well prepared. I’m looking forward to getting there and to a good race

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:11 am
by Ed
MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX PRACTICE

Objectives P1
• Validation of new aero components
• Practice starts
Objectives P2
• Mechanical set-up work
• Tyre evaluations

Sam Michael, Technical Director
We spent today’s practice sessions working on starts and evaluating a revised diffuser and front brake duct. The tyres appear to be quite stable again, something we've come to expect from Bridgestone. Tonight we'll be focussing on extracting more speed out of the FW32 for qualifying. We had a mechanical problem on Nico's car in the afternoon session, but the mechanics were able to fix it quickly.

Rubens Barrichello
Runs P1: Run 1: New Prime (1 lap, install), Run 2: Used Prime (7 laps, baseline), Run 3: Used Prime (5 laps, mechanical set-up), Run 4: Used Prime (4 laps, mechanical set-up),
Runs P2: Run 1: New Option (4 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 2: Used Option (11 laps, set-up), Run 3: New Prime (5 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 4: Used Prime (6 laps, set-up)

That was a tough day for us. We carried out lots of interrogations on the car, but we feel that we aren’t as quick as we should be so we have a lot of work to do tonight to find out why that is.

Nico Hulkenberg
Runs P1: Run 1: New Prime (1 lap, install), Run 2: Used Prime (8 laps, baseline), Run 3: Used Prime 5 laps, aero set-up), Run 4: Used Prime (12-laps, mechanical set-up)
Runs P2: Run 1: New Prime (4 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 2: Used Prime (5 laps, set-up), Run 3: Used Prime (3 laps, set-up), Run 4: New Option (7 laps, tyre evaluations)

It was a pretty difficult day, certainly not ideal. We had some technical issues on my car but I’m not quite sure what they are yet. We need to get our heads together to find some time for qualifying.

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:12 am
by Ed
MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING

Rain once again played its part on the track today as this afternoon’s qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix was dominated by showers to the point where Q3 was red flagged after just three minutes. The team used the weather to its advantage, however, with the pitwall making some decisive strategy calls which ultimately converted both drivers’ strong performance in the wet into P5 for Nico Hulkenberg and P7 for Rubens Barrichello.

Nico Hulkenberg:
Finally we had a bit of a breakthrough today. It was very tight out there and my lap wasn’t perfect so I could have done a little better, but I’m happy where I am and I’m happy for the team as well. The car has proved to be good in wet conditions and I like driving in the wet, so I’m looking forward to the race. A lot will depend on what the weather will do tomorrow though.

Rubens Barrichello:
There are two ways to look at qualifying. The positive is that we are happy as a team, but I don’t think we would have achieved P5 and P7 in a dry session. In hindsight, I should have chosen intermediates for my last run, which would have given me a better lap time. I’m still pleased as we are better prepared for tomorrow.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
That was a great qualifying result for the team. Both drivers drove well in the conditions and it was encouraging to watch. Furthermore, the engineers made good calls with the windows that they chose to send the cars out in. We'll now look to converting our position to a good race result tomorrow.

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:14 am
by Ed
MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX RACE

Nico Hulkenberg today scored the first point of his Formula One career with tenth place in this afternoon’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Despite losing track position at the start and having to pit early for a new steering wheel, Nico proceeded to drive a race which culminated in P10. Rubens Barrichello finished in P12 after an issue at the start left him to fight from the back of the field.

Nico Hulkenberg:
We picked up a point today, maybe because our car was more reliable, but that’s racing. It was a tough race because we just don’t have the pace at the moment. I wish we could do better, but we have some work to do to catch up.

Rubens Barrichello:
I don’t know what happened at the start, I’ll go through that with the team. From there I went to the back of the field. We tried a different strategy to get us back up, but our car was just not competitive. We lost a nice opportunity today.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
We had a difficult race this afternoon from which we’ve come away with one point. Both drivers struggled with the start; Rubens didn’t get enough drive and Nico had excessive wheel spin. We chose to pit Rubens early and put him on the harder tyre as he was being held up in traffic. Nico also had to pit early as we had an electrical problem on his steering wheel which was preventing us from changing the engine mixture. Our focus remains on improving our pace and starts.

Points: AT&T Williams 6 (7th), Rubens Barrichello 5 (12th), Nico Hulkenberg 1 (14th)

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:32 pm
by Ed
PREVIEW: CHINESE GRAND PRIX

When: Friday 16 to Sunday 18 April, 2010
Where: Shanghai International Circuit, China

Round: 4 of 19

Sam Michael, Technical Director
After the issues we faced in Malaysia, we’re heading to China with a clear target of improving our performance. There are several key areas which we obviously need to concentrate on. Firstly, we need to ensure that both drivers make it into the top ten again in qualifying in order to give them the best possible chance of scoring some needed points in the race. We also need to work on our starts.
We have resolved the problem that Rubens had on the grid, and we will be carrying out a series of starts practices during the Friday sessions. In terms of car developments, we have been working hard on producing some aero improvements for the front and rear wings for Shanghai.

Rubens Barrichello
Shanghai is a really interesting circuit. It has a good combination of corners and that really long straight at the end of the lap which is perfect for overtaking. To hook up a quick lap, the car requires more aero strength, rather than mechanical, but an exact blend of the two which is always quite difficult to achieve. Together with the fact that the lap is also quite long with lots of different variables, setting up the car perfectly is hard work. I won the first race at Shanghai which is very special for me. I will always remember that win as it makes me think I can always do it again.

Nico Hülkenberg
Like Malaysia, I’ve previously raced in China; two seasons ago in A1 GP. It’s good to go to a Grand Prix with experience of the track. You can do as much training in the simulator as you want, but it doesn’t beat real, on track experience. The circuit isn’t one of my favourites, it’s very impersonal, but it does have a very long back straight which will be a good place for overtaking. Keep an eye out for that during the race as there should be some good action round that part of the lap. I am flying out to China on Monday, there’s no need to go out to this race early to acclimatise, but I do want to check out some of the sights as the city is quite cool. I’ll definitely be taking a trip to the Bund and the Oriental Pearl tower in nearby Pudong Park.

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:35 pm
by Ed
CHINESE GRAND PRIX PRACTICE
FRIDAY 16 APRIL, 2010

Objectives P1
• Validation of a new front wing
• Starts practice

Objectives P2
• Set-up work
• Tyre evaluations

Adam Parr, Chairman
We had a very full programme today, working through the normal set-up routine and testing some development parts. We’ve made good progress.

Rubens Barrichello
Runs P1: Run 1: New Prime (1 lap, install), Run 2: Used Prime (6 laps, baseline), Run 3: Used Prime (6 laps, aero test), Run 4: Used Prime (4 laps, mechanical set-up)
Runs P2: Run 1: New Prime (6 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 2: Used Prime (12 laps, race set-up), Run 3: Used Prime (5 laps, set-ups), Run 4: New Option (4 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 5: Used Option (3 laps, set-up)

Today went as planned working through set-ups and some aero modifications. We run the engine quite safe on Fridays so our times are expected. Our target tomorrow is to get into qualifying three.

Nico Hulkenberg
Runs P1: Run 1: New Prime (1 lap, install), Run 2: Used Prime (5 laps, baseline), Run 3: Used Prime (5 laps, aero test), Run 4: Used Prime (5 laps, aero test), Run 5: Used Prime (4 laps, mechanical set-up)
Runs P2: Run 1: New Option (5 laps, tyre evaluations), Run 2: Used Option (13 laps, set-ups), Run 3: New Prime (4 laps, tyre evaluations, Run 4: Used Prime (7 laps, set-ups)

It was pretty hard work today. We have a few problems to solve before qualifying tomorrow, but I am confident we will get there. We were running a new front wing on the car which gave us some positive results.

SESSION 1 SESSION 2
AIR & TRACK TEMP 13 - 150C / 21 - 290C 16 - 170C / 24 - 290C
WEATHER Cold but sunny Mild
R BARRICHELLO 1:38.678 (16th) 17 LAPS 1:37.657 (15th) 30 LAPS Chassis FW32-01 Engine CA122
N HULKENBERG 1:38.569 (14th) 20 LAPS 1:37.867 (17th) 29 LAPS Chassis FW32-03 Engine CA124

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:38 pm
by Ed
CHINESE GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
SATURDAY 17 APRIL, 2010

Both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg were unable to achieve the necessary pace in this afternoon’s qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix to progress any further than Q2. Rubens only just missed out on a place in the top ten and will start tomorrow’s race in 11th, while Nico will line up on the eighth row of the grid in P16.

Rubens Barrichello:
Qualifying went ok for us; it was just a shame that we were pipped in the last minute of Q2. Everything is so close at the moment though and, if you think about it, that was our best qualifying for getting closer to the top. It was a great lap and I’m happy with what I did out there this afternoon.

Nico Hulkenberg:
We had a hard time in the practice sessions and P16 is obviously not what I was hoping for. My last lap wasn’t perfect because I made a mistake in the last corner which cost me time. I think it will probably be wet for the race tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
Rubens did well in qualifying and unfortunately just missed out on a slot in the top ten. We had to fit a new engine on his car after this morning’s practice so it was a good effort by the mechanics to get him out in time for qualifying. Nico’s qualifying wasn’t as good as he would have hoped for and he’ll be analysing that tonight with his engineers. We tested a stalling rear wing on Rubens’ car during the morning practice session, from which we collected some useful data, but it's early R&D at this stage so we have taken the decision not to race it this weekend.

Shanghai International Circuit, China
5.451kms / 3.387 miles
Weather: Warm and clear
Air: 20 - 20°C Track: 24 - 31°C
POS DRIVER TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3
11 R Barrichello FW32 01 - CA125 AT&T Williams 1:36.664 (11th) 1:35.748 -
16 N Hulkenberg FW32 03 - CA124 AT&T Williams 1:37.049 (16th) 1:36.647 -

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:41 pm
by Ed
CHINESE GRAND PRIX RACE
SUNDAY 18 APRIL, 2010

A rain-affected Chinese Grand Prix delivered an unsatisfactory result for the AT&T Williams team at the Shanghai International Circuit this afternoon. Light drizzle at the start of the race quickly turned into continuous rain, which ultimately compromised the team’s strategy and led to a series of pitstops for both drivers to counter the conditions. At the conclusion of the 56 lap race, neither driver had made it into the points, with Rubens Barrichello finishing in 12th and Nico Hulkenberg in P15.

Rubens Barrichello:
The race didn’t go as planned. I was called into the pits for the intermediate tyres early on, it was a hard call and the race developed from there. I think we made good calls after that but by that time it was too late to recover.

Nico Hulkenberg:
It was a tough race and obviously not very satisfying for the team. Looking at the positives, it was good experience for me to complete the full race distance and experience all of the different conditions that we faced today. In particular, it was helpful to see how the car and tyres handled and we now have some good data for any races which might be similar in the future. Results-wise, though, this is nowhere near close enough to where we want to be.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
It was disappointing not to score points today with either car. Some of the calls on our pitstops were wrong, some were right, but overall we weren't fast enough and didn't make the right decisions. Rubens made a good start so we have improved in that area since Malaysia. We’re now looking ahead to Barcelona to take a step forward with our performance.

Points: AT&T Williams 6 (7th), Rubens Barrichello 5 (13th), Nico Hulkenberg 1 (15th)

Shanghai International Circuit, China
56 laps, 305.256kms / 189.672 miles
Weather: Rain
Air 18 - 21°C Track 16 - 22°C
POS DRIVER TEAM Time / Gap (Fastest Lap) Grid
12 R Barrichello FW32-01 / CA125 AT&T Williams +63.665 (1:45.559, 14th) 11
15 N Hulkenberg FW32-03 / CA124 AT&T Williams +1 lap (1:44.549, 12th) 16

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:43 pm
by Ed
SPANISH GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

When: Friday 7 to Sunday 9 May, 2010
Where: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

Round: 5 of 19

Sam Michael, Technical Director
We spend a lot of time testing in Barcelona so we know the track well. That brings obvious advantages for the drivers, but it also enables us to spend more time working on different programmes during the practice sessions. We will have some aero updates for the car in Barcelona, including a new front wing, sidepod and revised wing mirrors. We will also be running additional test parts in order to further develop the blown rear wing that we had limited time with in Shanghai.

Rubens Barrichello
Most of the drivers know Barcelona inside out. It’s a great track, particularly for qualifying and that can really be the determining factor of the weekend. The circuit has a combination of high and low speed sectors but the priority is to achieve good speed going into the corners, rather than focusing on the long straight, so you have to have a strong aerodynamic set-up. Turn three is challenging and you are looking to go flat out there for qualifying. The four-through-seven corner sequence is where you can make up the most time on the lap so getting that hooked up is important too.
Overtaking is kind of limited because everyone has so much experience of the track. The biggest variable is normally the weather. I’ve raced at Catalunya plenty of times; it’s a circuit I like a lot and I think someone with experience will do better there.

Nico Hülkenberg
I’ve enjoyed the first few races so I’m looking forward to Spain and working together with the team again. I’ve covered a lot of kilometres testing in Barcelona over the past couple of years, and I’ve raced there in GP2, so I’m confident I know the track well enough to hit the ground running. It’s a good circuit to drive and gives everyone a clear indication of how strong your aerodynamics are. The track flows nicely and has some testing corners. The first sector is especially quick. Turn three is a fast right hander, turn nine too, and both are a lot of fun to drive. Like everyone else, we will have new parts for Barcelona so there’s some expectation to do better there than in China. I’ve been to the track so many times but I’ve never really seen the city itself. Now that I’m actually racing in F1, I doubt that’s going to change!