As the first race of the European season , the Spanish GP is always a big one . More than any other race , managing momentum is key – whether building it , arresting it , or in Honda ’ s case , reversing it entirely , it ’ s the first major chance teams get to roll out the big things their factories have been brewing .
All that , plus the natural charms of Barcelona ( food , architecture , women – seriously , even my bus driver was hot ) made it a logical choice for my return to the paddock . If Friday was any indication , there ’ s going to be a lot to digest .
First of all , Alonso . As if we could start anywhere else . His chances at a happy homecoming plummeting faster than Spain ’ s credit rating , he got a single lap out of his car before it quite literally pissed away his morning fortunes with an oil leak .
Watching him storm through the paddock was quite a sight , radiating anger with each step , so it ’ s not surprising he spent the rest of his morning playing tennis , if only to remind himself that it ’ s not always that difficult to clear the net .
Also if you want to know what the mood is at Honda , it can be summed up pretty simply by what ’ s being talked about in their motorhome – absolutely anything else .
Moving to the other end of the timesheets , the story seems to be that despite their upgrades ( assuming times in Sochi had more to do with the track than thecars ) the battle between Mercedes and Ferrari is still at status quo on pure pace .
BARCELONA REVIEW BY BEN STEVENS
Friday
As the first race of the European season , the Spanish GP is always a big one . More than any other race , managing momentum is key – whether building it , arresting it , or in Honda ’ s case , reversing it entirely , it ’ s the first major chance teams get to roll out the big things their factories have been brewing .
All that , plus the natural charms of Barcelona ( food , architecture , women – seriously , even my bus driver was hot ) made it a logical choice for my return to the paddock . If Friday was any indication , there ’ s going to be a lot to digest .
First of all , Alonso . As if we could start anywhere else . His chances at a happy homecoming plummeting faster than Spain ’ s credit rating , he got a single lap out of his car before it quite literally pissed away his morning fortunes with an oil leak .
Watching him storm through the paddock was quite a sight , radiating anger with each step , so it ’ s not surprising he spent the rest of his morning playing tennis , if only to remind himself that it ’ s not always that difficult to clear the net .
Also if you want to know what the mood is at Honda , it can be summed up pretty simply by what ’ s being talked about in their motorhome – absolutely anything else .
Moving to the other end of the timesheets , the story seems to be that despite their upgrades ( assuming times in Sochi had more to do with the track than thecars ) the battle between Mercedes and Ferrari is still at status quo on pure pace .