2007 Spanish Grand Prix

Previous race

Massa won in Bahrain with Hamilton second — Hamilton’s third consecutive podium in his first three races, a feat no rookie has achieved before.

Track changes

The Circuit de Catalunya has been modified ahead of this race. A chicane has been inserted at the final two corners to slow cars before the long main straight, with the aim of creating more overtaking opportunities into turn one. The change adds just over six seconds to the fastest lap time compared to last year. Alonso commented: “Although I have always really enjoyed the final two corners and their speed, the new chicane at the end of the track will hopefully lead to more overtaking during the race.”

Between-race developments

A four-day test session at the Circuit de Catalunya preceded the race. Rain on Tuesday led many teams to abandon their aerodynamic programmes and focus on wet-weather setups; Ferrari and Red Bull were fastest on both Tuesday and Wednesday. On the fourth day, after a dry recovery, Coulthard’s Red Bull set the fastest time by 0.2 seconds. McLaren and Honda each unveiled radical new front aerodynamic designs at the test. Honda’s “elephant ear” winglets attracted attention, though the team ended the dry-weather day half a second off the nearest car.

Practice

Hamilton leads FP1, 0.4 seconds ahead of Alonso — who is in front of his home crowd — with Räikkönen third. Alonso turns the tables in FP2, three tenths clear of the field; Renault’s Fisichella and Kovalainen surge to second and third in the closing stages, pushing both Ferraris back. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis says they have made the “best possible start to the weekend.” BMW’s Heidfeld says his eighth place “doesn’t reflect how competitive we are.”

Hamilton leads again in Saturday practice, with Alonso second. Both BMWs are ahead of both Ferraris in third through sixth.