spain-gp-bridgestone-potenza-tyres-medium-compound-hirohide-hamashima-director

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) has set pole position on Bridgestone’s medium compound Potenza at the Circuit de Catalunya for the fourth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, the Gran Premio de Espana Telefonica.

On a day of exceptionally close times, Raikkonen’s pole lap of 1min 21.813secs was just under a tenth quicker than second fastest driver, Fernando Alonso (Renault). Felipe Massa (Ferrari) qualified in third, and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica set the fourth fastest time.

McLaren Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will start tomorrow’s race on the third row of the grid, with Hamilton the quicker. Mark Webber (Red Bull) will start from seventh position, with Toyota’s Jarno Trulli alongside. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Nelson Piquet (Renault) rounded off the top ten qualifiers.

In the morning practice session Heidfeld went fastest, with a time of 1min 21.269secs set on the medium compound. All through the day lap times were very close with only a second separating the top 15 cars through the day. Massa set the day’s fastest time, using the medium compound to achieve a 1min 20.584secs in Q2.

Track conditions are improved from yesterday as more rubber has been laid on the track. Both the medium and hard compound Potenza tyres have delivered very close performance here today, under glorious sunshine and blue skies.

Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development, said:

"Congratulations to Kimi Raikkonen on his first pole of the year and congratulations also to Fernando Alonso for returning to the front row in of his Spanish supporters. It was a very difficult qualifying session today for drivers with only a second separating the top 15 cars in both Q1 and Q2. The teams have clearly found the optimum setups to get the best out of both the hard and medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres we have brought, after testing here last week.

Tyre performance is returning to what we saw in the test as the track improves. Performance is so close that tomorrow will be a very interesting race. So far, there has not much difference between the two compounds, which means many strategy options for tomorrow’s race."

Stats of the Day

Total amount of laps completed by all drivers: 692 laps

Average number of laps per driver: 31 laps

Most laps by a driver: 40 – Trulli (Toyota)

Fastest lap: 1min 20.584secs – Massa (Q2)

Compounds used: Hard / Medium

Spanish Grand Prix in 2007

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won the 2007 Gran Premio de Espana Telefonica, beating McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton by 6.7 seconds. Fernando Alonso (McLaren Mercedes) took third position. Massa used a medium-medium-hard tyre strategy to win.

Temperatures Ambient Track Weather

Practice – AM 22C-25C 31C-36C Sunny

Qualifying – PM 27C-28C 40C-39C-41C Sunny

- Rachel Ingham –Andy Stobart - photos Bridgestone

ING Renault F1 Team „Zufrieden und enttäuscht zugleich" 22.06.08

22. Juni 2008 – GP Frankreich, Rennen Das ING Renault F1 Team brachte heute in Magny-Cours beide Autos in die Punkteränge. Nelson Piquet und Fernando Alonso erreichten beim Großen Preis von Frankreich die Plätze 7 und 8. Das gesamte...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 Spanish GP de-brief - Martin Whitmarsh 28.04.08

Following the Spanish Grand Prix, Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula 1, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, talks about Lewis’ third place finish and Heikki’s accident. The Spanish Grand Prix has been something of an emotional roller-coaster for Vodafone...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 - Spanish GP review 27.04.08

Barcelona, Sunday 27th April 2008 Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 03 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in third place. After 66 laps (307.104 kms), Lewis came home...

Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Race Round-Up 27.04.08

Sunday 27 April 2008 Today's Weather: Dry and sunny, air 22-24C, track 34-41C Constructors' Championship Points: 9 (5th) Drivers' Championship Points: Jarno Trulli 9 (7th) Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05) Summary: Ran as high...

AT&T Williams F1 Spanish Grand-Prix 27.04.08

SUNDAY 27 APRIL, 2008 Circuit de Catalunya, Spain66 LAPS, 307.104kms / 190.825 milesWEATHER: Hazy sunAir 22 - 240C, Track 34 - 410C POS DRIVER TEAM Time / Gap (Fastest Lap) Grid 1 K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:38:19.051(1:21.670, 1st) 1 2 F Massa...

Force India Formula One secures top ten finish in Spain 27.04.08

2008 Spanish Grand Prix Race Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02): DNF: Lap one Accident Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): 10th: 1:38:28.846 (+1 lap) The Force India Formula One Team has secured its best-ever finish in a thrilling...

Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 - Shorter and shorter 27.04.08

2008 SPANISH GRAND PRIX - SUNDAY 27/04/08 Sebastien Bourdais (STR2B-03) Retired "I would not like to say exactly what happened until I see the replay. All I know is that I checked my mirrors and Nelson did not seem to be in a position to...

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Großer Preis von Spanien - Rennen 27.04.08

Wetter: trocken, 23-24°C Luft, 37-40°C Asphalt Ein turbulenter Großer Preis von Spanien brachte dem BMW Sauber F1 Team Platz vier und fünf WM-Punkte durch Robert Kubica. Das bedeutet den zweiten WM-Platz in der Teamwertung hinter Ferrari und vor...

Points for Mark - Puncture for David 27.04.08

Car 10, MARK WEBBER, (Finish Position 5th, Start Position: 7th) "I'm very, very happy. The team worked very hard following the test to get all the parts ready in time and it paid off. We didn't have a great start to today's race, but we had good...

Heikki Kovalainen safe after high-speed accident in Spain 27.04.08

McLarens Heikki Kovalainen has been taken by medical helicopter to a Barcelona hospital for precautionary checks after crashing heavily midway through Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. According to McLaren, Kovalainen is conscious, in a stable...

Gran Premio de Espana Telefonica race results 27.04.08

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2008 1 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 66 Winner 1 10 2 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 66 +3.2 secs 3 8 3 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 66 +4.1 secs 5 6 4 4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 66 +5.6 secs 4 5 5 10...

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Spanish Qualifying review 26.04.08

Barcelona, Saturday 26th April 2008 Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 03 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will start Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona from fifth and...

AND THE BULL SAYS TODAY…: "….OOOH!...Well done Bulldais! 26.04.08

Sebastien Bourdais (STR2B-03) "Yesterday I said that if everything went our way it would be possible to get into Q2. Obviously, I was quite happy to be thirteenth in Q1 because it really wasn't the greatest lap, as I had quite a lot of traffic...

AT&T Williams F1 - Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying 26.04.08

SATURDAY 26 APRIL, 2008 CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA, SPAIN 4.655KMS / 2.892 MILESWEATHER: Clear and sunnyAIR 23 - 240C, TRACK 37 - 400C POS DRIVER TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 1 K Raikkonen Ferrari - - 1:21.8132 F Alonso Renault - - 1:21.9043 F Massa Ferrari - -...

Force India 2008 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying and Final Free Practice 26.04.08

Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02): FP3: 19th 1:22.689 (21 laps) Q1: 20th 1:23.224 (8 laps) Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): FP1: 18th 1:22.466 (22 laps) Q1: 19th 1:22.516 (11 laps) The Force India Formula One Team will start...

Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - Qualifying review 26.04.08

Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up Saturday 26 April 2008 Today's Weather: Dry and sunny, air 21-24C, track 27-39C Best 2008 grid position: 3rd, Jarno Trulli (Malaysia) Best 2008 race result: 4th, Jarno Trulli (Malaysia) Jarno Trulli...

Red Bull Racing F1 -Hungry for more 26.04.08

First weekend for the Energy Station, which is proving as popular as ever… Car 10 MARK WEBBER, Position 7th "We knew it was going to be very tight here, and that's turned out to be the case. Barcelona's a track that the team's know...

Gran Premio de Espana - Qualifying results 26.04.08

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2008 1 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:20.701 1:20.784 1:21.813 17 2 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:21.347 1:20.804 1:21.904 18 3 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:21.528 1:20.584 1:22.058 16 4 4 Robert Kubica BMW...

Gran Premio de Espana Telefonica Saturday Practice results 26.04.08

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2008 1 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.269 2 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:21.465 0.196 3 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:21.599 0.330 4 4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:21.717 0.448 5 11 Jarno...

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Friday Update 26.04.08

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) set the marker on the opening day of running for the Gran Premio de Espana Telefonica by using Bridgestone’s hard compound Potenza tyre to set the day’s fastest lap time at the 4.66 km Circuit de Catalunya for the...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Practice review 25.04.08

Barcelona, Friday 25th April 2008 Lewis Hamilton - MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen - MP4-23 03 2008 SPAIN GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen finished today's second practice session in...

BMW Sauber F1 Team lief am ersten Trainingstag zum Großen Preis von Spanien alles nach Plan. 25.04.08

Die Piloten Robert Kubica und Nick Heidfeld konnten sich auf der Rennstrecke bei Barcelona planmäßig vorbereiten. Reaktionen… Robert Kubica: "Für mich war es sehr wichtig, so viele Runden zu fahren. Beim Test konnte ich mich nicht auf den Grand...

Red Bull Racing F1 - Barcelona practice review 25.04.08

STICK WITH US Car 9 DAVID COULTHARD, 1st Practice P8, 2nd Practice P8 "We ran a normal Friday programme today. While we have a lot more experience of the track because of last week's testing here, it doesn't actually matter what you...

Hilton checks in again with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 25.04.08

The Spanish Grand Prix this weekend marks the beginning of the intensive 20 week European leg of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship, which reaches a climax in Italy on Sunday 14th September. What do the next 140 days hold for Vodafone...

Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 - Barcelona free practice review 25.04.08

2008 SPANISH GRAND PRIX - FRIDAY 25/04/08 Sebastian Vettel (STR2B-04) "Even though I know the track and the circuit, I haven't tested here since February and conditions were obviously very different today. It was quite a productive day but...

[:: previous ] [ next ::]