Feature

Chris Medland's 2016 Spanish Grand Prix preview

What time does the Spanish Grand Prix start? What channel is the Spanish Grand Prix on? The answers to all of that and more in F1i’s race preview

After the opening four flyaway races of an F1 season, it is usually an opportunity for the majority in the sport to catch their breath. While team personnel in the factories will be franticly trying to ensure the first major upgrades of the season will be ready on time, the rest look forward to shorter trips after already flying nearly twice around the world. But it looks like someone didn’t give Red Bull that memo, and the week since the Russian Grand Prix has seen Max Verstappen replace Daniil Kvyat in a move that puts all four drivers at Red Bull and Toro Rosso on their toes. It’s going to be an interesting weekend…

FORM GUIDE

Nico Rosberg stands on the verge of matching one of the more exclusive driver records in F1. Only Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher have won five races in a row from the start of a season, and Rosberg can equal that record on a track where he won from pole last year. Lewis Hamilton needs to stop Rosberg’s run, while Ferrari will be looking for a strong two-car finish after a difficult start to the year. Williams showed improved pace in Russia and could threaten Ferrari and Red Bull again this weekend, while major upgrades could mix up the close midfield battle between Toro Rosso, McLaren, Force India and Haas.

2015 RESULT

Pole position: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 1:24.681

Top three: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:28.270

SESSION TIMES (All times local)

FP1: 10:00 - 11:30

FP2: 14:00 - 15:30

FP3: 11:00 - 12:00

Qualifying: 14:00 - 15:00

Race: 1400

TYRE CHOICES

©Pirelli

WEATHER FORECAST

Not quite the warm welcome F1 sometimes gets at the start of the European season, this weekend is looking like it could be relatively cool and slightly disrupted by rain at the Circuit de Catalunya. Friday is most likely to see running affected by the weather, with showers forecast in the afternoon. Saturday is set to be the warmest day with temperatures reaching the 22C mark but the current outlook sees lower temperatures on race day, though it should stay dry.

UK TELEVISION TIMINGS (All times UK)

Sky Sports F1 - Live coverage

FP1 - 0845
FP2 - 1245
FP3 - 0945
Qualifying - 1200
Race - 1130

Channel 4 - Live coverage

FP1 - 0855
FP2 - 1255
FP3 - 0955
Qualifying - 1200
Race - 1200

PODIUM PREDICTION

1st - Lewis Hamilton

2nd - Sebastian Vettel

3rd - Kimi Raikkonen

2015 BEST SHOT

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.