Spanish GP - Spyker Ferrari - PreviewAfter a four-week hiatus, the longest break between races in several years, the Championship returns to action with the Spanish Grand Prix from 11 - 13 May. After three 'flyaway' races it's the first European race of the year, and an
event teams know well from pre-season testing programmes.
The Spyker Ferrari team now looks to carry forward its momentum from the first three races. After difficult races in Australia and Malaysia, the team achieved its first double finish of the year in Bahrain and with new developments honed in a three-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya earlier this week, there's reason to hope the upward trend will continue.
"We're getting there," commented Team Principal and Managing Director Colin Kolles, "Getting two cars to the finish in Bahrain was good, but we've got to do this at every race now. We've not as much at a disadvantage this time round in Barcelona as we've tested there before, so we should be able to close the gap to the back of the grid just that little bit more."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer - We're back in Europe after three challenging flyaway races. Will the Spanish Grand Prix be a new start for the team?
"The start of the season was difficult for us as we only had very limited pre-season testing, then we didn't do the two tests in Malaysia and Bahrain. We also introduced updates in Malaysia that were hard to do in the field, so it was always going to be tough.
Barcelona however will be a much more representative demonstration of what we can do compared to the teams in front."
Is this because you've tested a lot more at Barcelona?
"I think certainly for Barcelona the amount of testing we've done will be an advantage. We did a pre-season test there when other teams went to Bahrain, which we've now followed up with a further three-day test this week. Although the running was limited by the weather, we still got a couple of days of decent running and had more time to work with the new parts we introduced for Malaysia. Especially on the last day with Christijan we made some progress with the set-up of the car that I think that will translate into a far more competitive weekend for us."
So would you say you are on the same level with the other teams now in terms of testing?
"Obviously other teams have more mileage than us, but specifically for Barcelona, we're on a par with the others now. We're certainly not at the disadvantage we were in the last two races where the other teams had tested at the circuits and we hadn't. The drivers also know the track, Adrian has now got some more mileage under his belt - it's a definite advantage for him going to a track he knows."
The Spanish Grand Prix is the first event you'll go to with prior experience of the circuit. How does that affect your preparation and your confidence?
"So far not knowing the tracks hasn't been a problem - if you prepare well, then you will know the layout and then it's just a case of fine-tuning. But it will be good to get to a track and know its characteristics straight away. I put in a lot of kilometres at the two tests in February, so hopefully I can work on the set-ups from the first practice without having that installation period."
What are the aims for this race?
"It's got to be to have a clean first lap and get to the end of the race without any major problems. At this stage, we've just got to concentrate on getting as much experience as possible and not make any mistakes."
Source Spyker Ferrari
