| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 19 in the 2011 Formula One season | ||
 Circuit de Catalunya | ||
| Date | 22 May 2011 | |
| Official name | Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2011[1] | |
| Location | Circuit de Catalunya Montmeló, Spain | |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 4.655 km (2.892 mi) | |
| Distance | 66 laps, 307.104 km (190.826 mi) | |
| Weather | Mainly sunny 25°C (77°F)[2] | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver |  Mark Webber
|
Red Bull-Renault |
| Time | 1:20.981 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver |  Lewis Hamilton
|
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Time | 1:26.727 on lap 52 | |
| Podium | ||
| First |  Sebastian Vettel
|
Red Bull-Renault |
| Second | Lewis Hamilton
|
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Third | Jenson Button
|
McLaren-Mercedes |
The 2011 Spanish Grand Prix, formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2011,[1] was a Formula One motor race that was held on 22 May 2011 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain.[3] It was the fifth round of the 2011 Formula One season. The race, contested over 66 laps, was won by the championship leader, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel after starting from second on the grid. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton finished in second place, and his team-mate Jenson Button completed the podium in third position.[4]
As a consequence of the race, Vettel extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 41 points over Hamilton. Mark Webber, who started the race from pole position, finished fourth in the race but he maintained third place in the championship, 10 points behind second-place Hamilton, and six ahead of Button. In the World Constructors' Championship, Red Bull extended their championship lead to 47 points over McLaren, with Ferrari a further 63 points behind in third position, after only Fernando Alonso reached the finish for the team, in fifth position.
Report[]
Ferrari's new rear wing was banned after Friday practice.
Background[]
Heading into the race, Sebastian Vettel led the Drivers' Championship with 93 points, 35 more than Lewis Hamilton on 58 points, who had 3 more than Mark Webber on 55 points. Other championship rivals throughout the season, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were fourth and fifth on 46 and 41 respectively.
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound as the softer "option" compound. This was the same tyre selection that Bridgestone had chose to bring to the Spanish Grand Prix for the past two years.[5][6][7]
In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull Racing held an advantage of 43 points over McLaren, with 148 points to McLaren's 105. Ferrari were a further 40 points behind McLaren on 65 points, and were building a gap from Renault - on 42 points - who were now having to fend off Mercedes GP who were on 26 points.
Ferrari introduced a new rear wing for the race, which came under scrutiny from the stewards and was subsequently banned.[8]
Practice and qualifying[]
The first practice session saw upgrades by every single team,[9] and took place in sunny conditions. Mark Webber led at the end of the first practice, 1.007 seconds ahead of his teammate Sebastian Vettel, with Nico Rosberg in third place in the Mercedes.[10]
Sebastian Vettel's run of five consecutive pole positions was ended by team-mate Mark Webber
In the second practice session, Webber topped the timesheets again, this time with Lewis Hamilton coming second splitting the Red Bulls with Vettel in third.[11]
In the third practice session, Vettel topped the timesheets despite electrical problems that limited his running. Nick Heidfeld's car suffered a fire, causing extensive damage to his car that could not be fixed in time for the qualifying session.
In qualifying, Mark Webber took his first pole of the season, with his team-mate Vettel, who had been unable to use his KERS during the session, behind him in second. In third and fifth places were the McLarens of Hamilton and Button, split by the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Further down the grid Team Lotus celebrated their first ever entry to the second qualifying session on a dry track, with Heikki Kovalainen qualifying 15th, ahead of both Force Indias.[12]
Heidfeld was unable to set a qualifying time, however, he was allowed to participate in the race due to having set competitive times in practice prior to the accident. This was a similar situation to the previous race in Turkey where Kamui Kobayashi had not posted a qualifying time, but had been allowed entry due to his consistent lap times within the 107% time during practice.
Race[]
Fernando Alonso made a perfect start to the race, overtaking both Red Bulls and Hamilton into the first corner to the cheers of the Spanish fans, and leading the race until lap 18. However, Alonso faded after the first round of pitstops where Sebastian Vettel took the lead, a position which he held to the end of the race in spite of the efforts of Lewis Hamilton, who fought him all the way to the close, finishing only 0.6 seconds behind the winner, with his team-mate Button over half a minute behind in third. Button had used a three-stop strategy instead of a four-stop strategy, like most other drivers, to get ahead of Webber and Alonso. On lap 31, Liuzzi's car stopped near the Pirelli tunnel due to a gearbox failure, forcing his retirement.
Mark Webber came in fourth, after spending much of the race behind Fernando Alonso, only overtaking him on the 39th lap when the Spaniard pitted. Kovalainen crashed on lap 51, damaging the left side and wheels of his car. On Lap 57, Massa, struggling with his gearbox, beached his car in the Turns 6 and 7 chicane while running tenth, his game was over. Despite starting in the pits, behind all the other cars, Nick Heidfeld had a successful race, bringing his car home in the points with an eighth place finish. After saving a set of tyres by not setting a Q3 time, Michael Schumacher finished sixth ahead of teammate Rosberg. The race was notable for Ferrari's lack of pace on the prime tyre with Alonso slipping from first to fifth in the pit stops alone. Sergio Pérez scored his first Formula One points with ninth place, after he was disqualified from seventh place at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.
Classification[]
Qualifying[]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Mark Webber
|
Red Bull-Renault | 1:23.619 | 1:21.773 | 1:20.981 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel
|
Red Bull-Renault | 1:24.142 | 1:21.540 | 1:21.181 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | Lewis Hamilton
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:24.370 | 1:22.148 | 1:21.961 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 |  Fernando Alonso
|
Ferrari | 1:23.485 | 1:22.813 | 1:21.964 | 4 |
| 5 | 4 | Jenson Button
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:24.428 | 1:22.050 | 1:21.996 | 5 |
| 6 | 10 |  Vitaly Petrov
|
Renault | 1:23.069 | 1:22.948 | 1:22.471 | 6 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg
|
Mercedes | 1:23.507 | 1:22.569 | 1:22.599 | 7 |
| 8 | 6 |  Felipe Massa
|
Ferrari | 1:23.506 | 1:23.026 | 1:22.888 | 8 |
| 9 | 12 |  Pastor Maldonado
|
Williams-Cosworth | 1:23.406 | 1:22.854 | 1:22.952 | 9 |
| 10 | 7 | Michael Schumacher
|
Mercedes | 1:22.960 | 1:22.671 | no time 1 | 10 |
| 11 | 18 |  Sébastien Buemi
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:23.962 | 1:23.231 | 11 | |
| 12 | 17 |  Sergio Pérez
|
Sauber-Ferrari | 1:24.209 | 1:23.367 | 12 | |
| 13 | 19 | Jaime Alguersuari
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:24.049 | 1:23.694 | 13 | |
| 14 | 16 |  Kamui Kobayashi
|
Sauber-Ferrari | 1:23.656 | 1:23.702 | 14 | |
| 15 | 20 |  Heikki Kovalainen
|
Lotus-Renault | 1:25.874 | 1:25.403 | 15 | |
| 16 | 15 | Paul di Resta
|
Force India-Mercedes | 1:24.332 | 1:26.126 | 16 | |
| 17 | 14 | Adrian Sutil
|
Force India-Mercedes | 1:24.648 | 1:26.571 | 17 | |
| 18 | 21 |  Jarno Trulli
|
Lotus-Renault | 1:26.521 | 18 | ||
| 19 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Williams-Cosworth | 1:26.910 | 19 | ||
| 20 | 24 | Timo Glock
|
Virgin-Cosworth | 1:27.315 | 20 | ||
| 21 | 23 | Vitantonio Liuzzi
|
HRT-Cosworth | 1:27.809 | 21 | ||
| 22 | 22 |  Narain Karthikeyan
|
HRT-Cosworth | 1:27.908 | 22 | ||
| 23 | 25 |  Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Virgin-Cosworth | 1:28.556 | 23 | ||
| 107% time: 1:28.767 | |||||||
| 24 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld
|
Renault | no time 2 | 24 | ||
Notes:
- ^ – Michael Schumacher experienced a problem with his KERS device in the final period of qualifying that led to him aborting his single timed lap in Q3.
- ^ – Nick Heidfeld's Renault R31 caught fire in the final practice session on Saturday morning, seriously damaging the exhaust system and floor of the car. Renault mechanics were unable to get the car repaired in time for the first qualifying session, meaning Heidfeld was unable to set a lap time. As he had demonstrated competitive lap times during free practice sessions, he was permitted to start the race, which he did from the back of the grid.
Race[]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel
|
Red Bull-Renault | 66 | 1:39:03.301 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | 3 | Lewis Hamilton
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 66 | +0.630 | 3 | 18 |
| 3 | 4 | Jenson Button
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 66 | +35.697 | 5 | 15 |
| 4 | 2 | Mark Webber
|
Red Bull-Renault | 66 | +47.966 | 1 | 12 |
| 5 | 5 | Fernando Alonso
|
Ferrari | 65 | +1 Lap | 4 | 10 |
| 6 | 7 | Michael Schumacher
|
Mercedes | 65 | +1 Lap | 10 | 8 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg
|
Mercedes | 65 | +1 Lap | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld
|
Renault | 65 | +1 Lap | 24 | 4 |
| 9 | 17 | Sergio Pérez
|
Sauber-Ferrari | 65 | +1 Lap | 12 | 2 |
| 10 | 16 | Kamui Kobayashi
|
Sauber-Ferrari | 65 | +1 Lap | 14 | 1 |
| 11 | 10 | Vitaly Petrov
|
Renault | 65 | +1 Lap | 6 | |
| 12 | 15 | Paul di Resta
|
Force India-Mercedes | 65 | +1 Lap | 16 | |
| 13 | 14 | Adrian Sutil
|
Force India-Mercedes | 65 | +1 Lap | 17 | |
| 14 | 18 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 65 | +1 Lap | 11 | |
| 15 | 12 | Pastor Maldonado
|
Williams-Cosworth | 65 | +1 Lap | 9 | |
| 16 | 19 | Jaime Alguersuari
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 64 | +2 Laps | 13 | |
| 17 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Williams-Cosworth | 64 | +2 Laps | 19 | |
| 18 | 21 | Jarno Trulli
|
Lotus-Renault | 64 | +2 Laps | 18 | |
| 19 | 24 | Timo Glock
|
Virgin-Cosworth | 63 | +3 Laps | 20 | |
| 20 | 25 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Virgin-Cosworth | 62 | +4 Laps | 23 | |
| 21 | 22 | Narain Karthikeyan
|
HRT-Cosworth | 61 | +5 Laps | 22 | |
| Ret | 6 | Felipe Massa
|
Ferrari | 57 | Gearbox | 8 | |
| Ret | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen
|
Lotus-Renault | 47 | Accident | 15 | |
| Ret | 23 | Vitantonio Liuzzi
|
HRT-Cosworth | 27 | Gearbox | 21 |
Standings after the race[]
|
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2011". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/spain_853/. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "World Motor Sport Council: 03/11/2010". fia.com (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile). 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/wmsc/2010/Pages/wmsc_031110.aspx. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (22 May 2011). "Vettel holds off Hamilton to win Spanish Grand Prix". BBC Sport (BBC). Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13491409.stm. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ↑ "Pirelli announce tyre choices for remaining races". Formula1.com (Formula One Group). 7 October 2011. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/10/12604.html. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ↑ "Bridgestone announce tyre compounds for remaining races". Formula1.com (Formula One Group). 7 September 2010. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/9/11213.html. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ↑ "Bridgestone announce tyre compounds for remaining races". Formula1.com (Formula One Group). 24 August 2009. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/8/9808.html. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ↑ Noble, Jonathan (21 May 2011). "FIA bans Ferrari's new rear wing". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91568. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (20 May 2011). "Lewis Hamilton challenges Red Bull pace in Spain". BBC Sport (BBC). Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13460060.stm. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
- ↑ "Webber leads Vettel by a second in Spanish sun". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 20 May 2011. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/5/12051.html. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
- ↑ "Webber again, but Hamilton splits the Red Bulls". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 20 May 2011. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/5/12052.html. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (21 May 2011). "Webber beats team-mate Vettel to take pole in Spain". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13484617.stm. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
External links[]
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