| Circuit | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya |
| Date | 15.05.2016 |
| Laps | 66 |
| Distance | 307,104 km / 190,866 miles |
| No | Driver | Ferrari | S/N | Team | Result |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | SF16-H | 314 |
Scuderia Ferrari | 3. |
| 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | SF16-H | 317 |
Scuderia Ferrari | 2. |
Spanish Grand Prix – Montmelò Circuit 15 May
Posted: 15.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Maurizio Arrivabene: “We must be realistic and accept the fact that, if both Mercedes had been in the race, the result would have been different. Today we had an opportunity and we failed to take advantage. Even if on track we had a fast car we had to pay a hefty price for the problems we experienced in qualifying and which, on some parts of the circuit, re-surfaced during the course of the race. Now we must address these issues and move on from there. Congratulations to Max Verstappen for his maiden Formula One win”.
Kimi Raikkonen: “I had a poor start, with massive wheel spin when I released the clutch. I managed to recover some places in the first few corners and then I caught up with Max pretty easily. The car was ok and the speed was good, but once you are following another car for many laps this doesn’t help the tires and I was missing a bit of grip and downforce. It was a struggle to follow him close, I never really had a good run on him out of the last corner because he was really fast there. It’s a bit disappointing when you get that close and you don’t win, but after a difficult weekend we have to be somehow happy for this result. As a team we keep working as hard as we can and try to get the wins, we keep fighting and when we have difficult weekends likes this one, we have to keep the fight alive and be up there to score points. Max really deserves this win, for me he’s not a surprise. He was doing a very good job already last year and today in a better car he was able to win”.
Sebastian Vettel: “Today there was a big chance to win the race, so definitely I was attacking to win, that was what I was hoping for. But that lasted up to the point where I came out after the last stop and I realized the advantage I had, with a set of tires that were a couple of laps fresher, over the guys ahead was practically not there. We struggled on the Medium tires, where Red Bull was strong, and this is the reason why Kimi and I couldn’t attack, but we were very strong on the Soft tires. We decided to split the strategies between the two cars: I went for the three stop strategy, then I tried to attack the leader and I succeeded, but in the end both Daniel and myself came out behind the two stoppers. So all in all we were lacking pace, which is something we need to understand. There is nothing wrong with our car, it’s good, it works well, and the stuff we brought here seems to work. My congratulations to Verstappen. The first win is one of the best moments you can have, it’s something really special. So ‘chapeau’, Max managed to stay ahead, even if he had a lot of pressure from Kimi”.
Spanish Grand Prix – Ferrari finishes second and third
Posted: 15.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Kimi runner-up ahead of Sebastian
15 May 2016 – Ferrari leaves Spain with a second and third place. At the end of a thrilling race, Raikkonen finished just six tenths behind the winner Max Verstappen. With Vettel right behind him, the Scuderia adds 33 points to its tally.
Spanish Grand Prix – Montmelò Circuit, 14 May
Posted: 14.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen: “It was not an easy day: we did our best, but the result is a bit disappointing. We seemed to struggle quite a lot in the last sector and I’m not surprised we were losing a lot of time there. Before qualifying we made some changes to my set-up and the car felt better, but it was not easy to get the laps that we wanted and make the handling exactly as we desired. The car felt ok yesterday, today I was quicker, but the wind has been turning around a bit, making some places quite tricky. My last run was better than so far today, but obviously it’s not where we want to be. Our rivals did a better job today, we have to keep working and improving and see what we can do tomorrow in the race.”
Sebastian Vettel: “I think every day can be tough but for sure I didn’t expect to be that far off, especially because this morning we had a good rhythm. I didn’t get hold of the car, I didn’t get the feeling that I had earlier today, and couldn’t nail the laps. I don’t think that it is a surprise, if you don’t get it together here it can be quite costly, and we know this. I think the gap to Mercedes is bigger than it has been all weekend. So clearly we didn’t get it right. As for tomorrow’s race, for sure the further up you qualify, the better: this rule applies everywhere. We will focus on the start, first lap and then there is a long race, and lot of things we can do. Usually there are several pit-stops here so we can play with the strategy and pass people that are slower than us. I think the car is quicker than P6, so I have high hopes for tomorrow.”
Spanish Grand Prix – An all-red third row at the Catalunya circuit
Posted: 14.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen fifth, Sebastian Vettel sixth in qualifying
Montmelò, 14 May – Come the end of today’s qualifying session at Spain’s Catalunya circuit, Kimi Raikkonen was fifth fastest in 1.23.113. 221 thousandths of a second behind him in sixth spot was team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Starting tomorrow’s Grand Prix from pole will be Lewis Hamilton who posted a time of 1.22.000 in the Mercedes.
Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying simulation
Posted: 14.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Seb chasing the leaders. Kimi caught in traffic
Montmelò, 14 May – The final free practice session at the Catalunya circuit is now done and dusted and next up is qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel took his Ferrari to third place in 1.23.225, right behind the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg (1.23.078) and Lewis Hamilton (1.23.204.) In the other SF16-H, Kimi Raikkonen was sixth with a 1.24.110, having been slowed by traffic in the final sector. For this final chance to check their set-up, the Ferrari men did a first run on the Medium tyres and then switched to the Softs.
Spanish Grand Prix – Montmelò Circuit, 13 May
Posted: 13.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen: “It was a normal Friday, we were focused on our program. At one point I came back into the garage to check something in the car: we wanted to be sure that everything was ok. It was only a small issue and by the end of the session we managed to do all that we wanted to. It’s hard to say now where we are compared to our rivals, it was not a bad day, but for sure we can still improve. This is a very hard circuit for the tires and there is a twisty last part, but it is the same for everybody. Compared to Russia it’s easier to make the tires work, but obviously there’s still work to be done to be 100% happy with the balance of the car. In the evening we’ll work to improve and hopefully we’ll be stronger.”
Sebastian Vettel: “Even if today was not the perfect day, it should be better tomorrow. I think this afternoon was a bit more tricky for us and not as good as it was in the morning, but we can still work on the car and improve it overnight. Usually we are quite strong in this. In the end it is only Friday, so I think we need to be careful with our judgements. I think the first impression of our pace today was good. Whether we can confirm it tomorrow depends also on what the others were doing today. I believe we can make the step and be stronger tomorrow.”
Spanish Grand Prix – Testing across the board
Posted: 13.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Very close at the top
Montmelò, 13 May – Ferraris finished second and fourth in the second free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg was fastest with a 1.23.992, with his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton third in 1.24.641. Kimi Raikkonen slotted his SF16-H in between them, posting a 1.24.176, with Sebastian Vettel right behind the top trio in 1.25.017. In conditions similar to those expected for qualifying and the first part of the race, the Ferrari men evaluated the Medium and Soft compounds over the usual long run distances. Vettel soon got up to speed on the Catalan track, on a day when, as always, wind and the track surface conditions played an important role.
Spanish Grand Prix – Tyre work
Posted: 13.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Seb and Kimi fastest in free practice on the Softs
Work has begun on gathering data for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, the first round of the World Championship this year to take place in Europe. The first free practice session ended with the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen topping the time sheet. The SF16-Hs were the only cars to run the entire session on Soft tyres, after an installation lap on the Hard compound. While also evaluating some aerodynamic modifications, Sebastian did a 1.23.951 and Kimi managed a 1.24.089 before spending the final part of the session in the garage while the rear end of the car was checked.
Spanish Grand Prix – “Making steady Progress”
Posted: 12.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Kimi says team ‘knows what it’s doing’
“We go race by race, trying to make good results, we steadily improve and make progress, and we have to perform well in every single circuit. We had good winter tests here in Barcelona, but now the conditions are different. I think our car we’ll be good, we’ll find out if it will be good enough. Our aim is to clean up things and put ourselves in a better position this weekend, we’ll see how it is going tomorrow, and then we’ll do the maximum. We keep improving the car as any other team does, you can have a bad race for many reasons and this doesn’t mean that your car is not good. Our aim is to be in front to challenge the Mercedes every weekend, we are not yet where we want to be but I don’t think we are very far. What we have achieved so far is not ideal, if you purely look at the end result, but that’s not always very truthful. For sure we can do a better job, we’ll keep pushing and try to make up the best of every race. As a team we know what we are doing and that’s the important thing. Let’s see where we end up on Sunday, obviously our aim is to try to win.”
Spanish Grand Prix – “Same pressure as any other race”
Posted: 12.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Seb says that in Spain ‘there is a chance to do well’
“We don’t feel any special pressure here in Spain. There are 21 races this year and pressure is the same wherever you go. It’s true that looking back, we could have done better if this or that hadn’t happened, but we can’t change it now. It’s also true that we’d like to be in a better position in the next couple of races, but for the meantime we have to focus on this one. On paper, it looks like it could be better for us than the previous one; but then again, we’re not racing on paper here, but on the track. I think there is a chance to have a good race, as there is a chance of making some mistakes. We came here prepared to give our best. Of course our President wants us to deliver, but we want the same and there’s no point now arguing too much on what has happened so far. As far as Kvyat is concerned, he had the guts to call me after the race in Sochi. For me the case is closed”.
Spanish Grand Prix – A “corrida” for tyres
Posted: 10.05.2016
Source: Ferrari
Vettel and Ioverno: “A look at the tyre factor in Spain”
Maranello, 10 May – The Spanish GP is the fifth round on the Formula 1 calendar and for several years it has signaled the start of the now rather short season of races held on the Old Continent. There is unanimity of opinion on the Catalan track between Sebastian Vettel and Scuderia Ferrari’s Race Team Manager Diego Ioverno. Here, on the eve of the Grand Prix, they take a look at what the weekend has in store. For Sebastian “Barcelona is a very good indication of where you are with the car. We can see a good reference where we stand, therefore it is incredibly important to get all the details right because you know that track so well. It is very important to get everything together to be able to perform high.” This circuit is particularly demanding on the tyre front. “You have a lot of corners, high-speed corners, low-speed corners, quick changes of direction, slow chicanes, a lot of traction requires from the car, from the tires. It is a big stress, therefore it is very important to look after tires.” Diego Ioverno agrees with that assessment as he looks at the topic from an organizational point of view: “The Spanish GP has been the first race in the calendar in which we can move cars and materials on wheels, rather than flying them and this obviously gives us several opportunities. First of all, we can prepare the cars in the factory and we can also use our own facilities at the circuit, such as offices on the track and the hospitality, with all the pros of having known tools and the possibility to give to our guests a better accommodation.” The circuit is particularly well known to those who work in Formula 1. “Barcelona circuit is well known by all the teams, because we run there also the preseason tests. It’s really demanding for tires, there we are going to see movement during the race because of different choices of strategies.”