Day two at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw the on-track action kick off, with first and second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Fridays are typically more relaxed, with fewer media sessions. However, it was still a very busy day, and a successful one too.
It all started with a 6:30am alarm, before getting ready to head off to the track. Despite getting caught in some slow traffic, we arrived at just after 8:00am and set up for the day ahead. If you are ever in the F1 paddock, I can’t recommend enough going to Ferrari for breakfast. It is incredible. After returning to the media centre, it was time to turn our attentions to first practice.
It was a fairly uneventful session, with three test and reserve drivers – Susie Wolff, Jolyon Palmer and Raffaele Marciello – taking part. Nico Rosberg was fastest from Lewis Hamilton, but conditions were tricky and changed dramatically for the afternoon running.
FP1 also gave us our first glimpse at the new McLaren livery on track. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the extra red, but I like the darker colour scheme.
Lotus also showed off a new sponsor – the film Mad Max. Barcelona is typically the race to bring considerable upgrades, but that wasn’t the case for all of the teams on Friday.
However, first practice was still a useful one, even if it was a quiet session. After a trip to Red Bull Racing for lunch, it was back to work.
First up was a media session with Susie Wolff. She was pleased with her running and will be next in the car at the post-Austrian Grand Prix test.
I then headed over to Marciello’s press session with friends and fellow journalists Luke Smith and Phil Horton to hear what the Italian had to say about his second ever FP1 outing. He was pleased and said it was fairly easy switching from F1 to GP2, because the step isn’t very big.
Next up was second practice. Rosie Baillie and I swapped roles for FP2, so I was on Twitter commentary (which Richland F1 run for every single session, by the way) and she was on the report. It was a more lively session and it took place in sweltering conditions.
Hamilton was fastest for Mercedes, with Sebastian Vettel in second and Nico Rosberg in third – he wasn’t particularly happy with his qualifying pace. Mercedes and Ferrari look close once again, which bodes well for qualifying and Sunday’s race.
After finishing up the practice coverage, we split up the few media sessions on the schedule and driver quotes, covering a wide range of reaction. You can catch up with all the latest from the track here.
A busy day of work concluded with a trip up to Paddock Club on the top floor of the pit garage complex for a Rolex event. It is easy to see why tickets to Paddock Club cost so much, the service and food was incredible and it was great to relax and catch up with other members of the F1 media. A pretty fantastic end to the day.
Other Spanish Grand Prix blogs:
Wednesday – http://bit.ly/1EXEHVh
Thursday - http://bit.ly/1cspAIR
It all started with a 6:30am alarm, before getting ready to head off to the track. Despite getting caught in some slow traffic, we arrived at just after 8:00am and set up for the day ahead. If you are ever in the F1 paddock, I can’t recommend enough going to Ferrari for breakfast. It is incredible. After returning to the media centre, it was time to turn our attentions to first practice.
It was a fairly uneventful session, with three test and reserve drivers – Susie Wolff, Jolyon Palmer and Raffaele Marciello – taking part. Nico Rosberg was fastest from Lewis Hamilton, but conditions were tricky and changed dramatically for the afternoon running.
FP1 also gave us our first glimpse at the new McLaren livery on track. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the extra red, but I like the darker colour scheme.
Lotus also showed off a new sponsor – the film Mad Max. Barcelona is typically the race to bring considerable upgrades, but that wasn’t the case for all of the teams on Friday.
However, first practice was still a useful one, even if it was a quiet session. After a trip to Red Bull Racing for lunch, it was back to work.
First up was a media session with Susie Wolff. She was pleased with her running and will be next in the car at the post-Austrian Grand Prix test.
I then headed over to Marciello’s press session with friends and fellow journalists Luke Smith and Phil Horton to hear what the Italian had to say about his second ever FP1 outing. He was pleased and said it was fairly easy switching from F1 to GP2, because the step isn’t very big.
Next up was second practice. Rosie Baillie and I swapped roles for FP2, so I was on Twitter commentary (which Richland F1 run for every single session, by the way) and she was on the report. It was a more lively session and it took place in sweltering conditions.
Hamilton was fastest for Mercedes, with Sebastian Vettel in second and Nico Rosberg in third – he wasn’t particularly happy with his qualifying pace. Mercedes and Ferrari look close once again, which bodes well for qualifying and Sunday’s race.
After finishing up the practice coverage, we split up the few media sessions on the schedule and driver quotes, covering a wide range of reaction. You can catch up with all the latest from the track here.
A busy day of work concluded with a trip up to Paddock Club on the top floor of the pit garage complex for a Rolex event. It is easy to see why tickets to Paddock Club cost so much, the service and food was incredible and it was great to relax and catch up with other members of the F1 media. A pretty fantastic end to the day.
Other Spanish Grand Prix blogs:
Wednesday – http://bit.ly/1EXEHVh
Thursday - http://bit.ly/1cspAIR
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