2013 Spanish Grand Prix, Thursday Snap Shot

Formula 1 returns to Europe after a busy (for the teams) and relaxing (for the drivers) bit of time away from the race weekend scene. 

(c) Sahara Force India F1 Team

Thursday at the track is always a busy time. Drivers have numerous media and sponsor commitments as well as meetings with their engineers, track walks, filming and even some time to catch up with the other drivers. There is also the usual driver press conference too.

You can check out my preview of the Spanish Grand Prix. Some of the images that you will see in this Grand Prix's Thursday Snap Shot are provided by my photography partner Octane Photographic who are at the Circuit de Catalunya covering the race.

(c) Octane Photographic

Heikki Kovalainen arrived in the paddock sporting a rather interesting T-Shirt, can you fill in the missing letters?

(c) @McLarenF1

McLaren, who are showing off their new twitter name, shared a snap of the FIA Driver Press Conference which Sergio Perez participated in.

(c) @WilliamsF1Team

Last year's race winner Pastor Maldonado joined Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle for the broadcasters track guide.

(c) Lotus F1 Team

Kimi Raikkonen joined artist M-City in the Barcelona paddock to check out some of his artwork. He also signed some of the canvases which will be displayed in the Lotus motor-home.

(c) Octane Photographic

The Octane Photographic crew captured former Sauber driver Sergio Perez chatting to the Swiss teams current rookie driver, Esteban Gutierrez, in the Barcelona paddock. 

(c) @Lotus_F1Team

The Lotus F1 Team snapper took to the track with driver Romain Grosjean for their track walk, which was interrupted by an impromptu autograph signing session...

(c) Lotus_F1Team

 ...however they did manage to get out on track. Despite testing on the track just a few months ago, it's still important to access the track, its conditions and to refresh the memory.

(c) Octane Photographic

The drivers are not the only busy team members on a race weekend Thursday, this McLaren mechanic was hard at work looking at the Pirelli tyres.

(c) @ClubForce

Adrian Sutil sat down in the Force India motor-home for a chat with some of the media, reflecting on his first four races back in the car and looking ahead to the race weekend.

(c) @OfficialSF1Team

The Sauber F1 drivers took to the track for a photo shoot, showing off the teams new merchandise range.

(c) Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel ventured around the Circuit de Catalunya with some team members.

(c) Dino Zamparelli

Moving away from Formula 1 briefly, Dino Zamparelli shared a snap of himself standing by the entrance of the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of his debut GP3 race.

(c) @MercedesAMGF1

Lewis Hamilton greeted some enthusiastic fans. Despite the large crowds for Spanish hero Fernando Alonso, there was still a big presence from the British fans.

(c) Octane Photographic

It was a sea of red for the autograph session, with Spanish fans keen to get a glimpse of their hero. 

(c) Sahara Force India F1 Team

Adrian Sutil signs autographs for the fans ahead of what is a crucial race weekend for him, to get some points on the board and catch up with his team-mate.

(c) GP3 Media

The GP3 rookies prepare for their "school" style photo to start the season.

(c) Sauber F1 Team

Gutierrez was happy to pose for a photo with a young fan.

That's all for this race weekend's Thursday Snap Shot. Be sure to check back on the blog for session reports which will be added throughout the weekend to my weekend review article.