Alpine 'EXPECT' to beat Mercedes and race Ferrari at Spanish Grand Prix.
Alpine's Sporting director Alan Permane says the French team "expects" to be ahead of eight-time constructors champions Mercedes and race Ferrari at the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix.
Wednesday 31 May 2023 13:57
Jay Winter
GPFans

Although Monaco can be known to produce one-off winners due to its unique nature, Permane is adamant that their car isn't only competitive in Monte Carlo. "I don't think this is a Monaco special car," he said. "It is just the upgrades we put on for Imola and also for here... the car is working well. I fully expect to be in front of Mercedes and with Ferrari at the next race."

While the British engineer seems to have high hopes for his team, Permane also shut down the idea they could challenge Aston Martin or Red Bull. "Max is too far away, and when Checo is on his game, he will be as well," he explained.

"Fernando is going to be very difficult but I don't see why we can't race with Ferrari and Mercedes, which we have done [in Monaco] and as we did do in Miami as well. They were quicker than us ultimately, but we were in a race with them. That is where we are aiming for."

‘French team "expects"!’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...-2023-preview/


‘Define the path’ – What’s at stake for Mercedes in Barcelona
Jun 1 2023
By Edd Straw
The Race

The performance and behaviour of the upgraded Mercedes Formula 1 car at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix will “define the path ahead for us”, according to trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

The underfloor, front suspension and new sidepods were the key elements of the upgrade, which team principal Toto Wolff characterised as “a fundamental shift in the design direction”. This is the first step in this concept, on which Mercedes will continue to build not just this year but with next year’s car.

The current Mercedes W14 is a compromised version of this new direction thanks to being constrained by aspects of the car architecture that cannot be changed this year either It’s already an improvement, but it’s necessary to accumulate real-world data to correlate with the design and development work being done at the team’s Brackley base. This will feed into not just the development plan for the rest of the year, but also the 2024 car project.

‘Car architecture: Define the path’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/defin...-in-barcelona/


F1 - 2023 Spanish GP SCHEDULE OF PRESS CONFERENCES
17:08 Wed, 31 May 2023.
FIA (Press Release)

THURSDAY, 01 JUNE
Press Conference:
1430hrs
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
1505hrs
Nyck De Vries (AlphaTauri)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Logan Sargeant (Williams)

TV Pen:
1430hrs
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
1505hrs
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Alex Albon (Williams)

‘FIA (Press Release)’;

https://www.fia.com/news/f1-2023-spa...ss-conferences


What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix?
31 May 2023
Formula One - Official Site

“Traditionally, Barcelona has been one of the most popular venues for testing: both for cars and tyres,” said Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola. “It’s a complete track, featuring several different types of speeds and corners, and it also has a very long straight. As a result, aerodynamic efficiency is key to being competitive.

“The final sector has been modified for this year, reverting to the original layout without a final chicane. This makes it a much more flowing track now and also adds to the entry speed onto the main straight. There are two corners, Turn 3 and Turn 9, which are particularly demanding in terms of lateral forces exerted on the tyres.”

“We’ve chosen the same three types of tyre as the season-opener in Bahrain, but it’s important to remember, when comparing to last year, that this year’s C1 is an entirely new compound, specifically designed to bridge the gap between the hardest tyre in the range (now called the C0) and the C2.”

‘What tyres’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...RI0Kk4MBr.html


Spanish GP: F1 2023's true pecking order to be revealed at Circuit de Catalunya this weekend?
Last Updated: 01/06/23 6:21am
By Jonathan Green
SKY

Red Bull remain team to beat in Barcelona after 100 per cent start to year, but order behind intriguing as Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Alpine run upgrades on representative circuit

The Circuit de Catalunya is arguably the most familiar to the drivers and teams, having regularly played host to testing sessions over the years. Several teams will be running upgrades on their cars this weekend, either for the first time or certainly running them for the first time in representative conditions.

"Barcelona is the best judge of a chassis - it's all about chassis and aero there," Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle said. So as the development war steps up, could we see F1 2023's true pecking order begin to emerge?

‘F1 2023's true pecking order to be revealed’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...a-this-weekend


Verstappen to confirm F1 fears?: What to expect at the Spanish GP
31 May 5:15PM
Author Ewan Gale
RacingNews365

Formula 1 returns to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix with a revision to the track layout. The old double right-hander to finish the lap has returned, signalling an end to the slower chicane that had replaced the corner in 2007.

Max Verstappen took the upper hand over Sergio Perez in the F1 title battle after contrasting fortunes at the Monaco Grand Prix, whilst Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon secured podiums behind the Dutchman. So what should you expect from the Spanish GP weekend?

‘Alonso to spark Spanish fiesta, Mercedes' first real look at upgrade package, Alpine recover from Rossi polemics, Chicance removal to aid overtaking?’;

https://racingnews365.com/verstappen...the-spanish-gp