F1: Analysis - Massa The Danger Man

Formula 1

F1: Analysis - Massa The Danger Man

Adam Cooper writes that Ferrari's Felipe Massa's use of KERS and choice of fuel load make him the man to watch in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted May 09, 2009 Barcelona (ESP)

Massa could be about to put Ferrari back at the sharp end (Getty)

Spanish Grand Prix Photo Gallery HERE

The Spanish GP has something of a reputation for being dull, and the fact that the last eight races have all be won from pole says enough. But I’ve got a feeling that this year it will be different, and another fascinating contest could be in store.

That’s not to say that Jenson Button won’t continue that run of pole-to-flag victories, because the Brawn driver is looking pretty strong. But things are so tight behind him that it’s impossible to predict how things might turn out.

After starting only fourth at the last two races Button got back on pole with a brilliant lap that he somehow managed to squeeze in right at the end of the session. The team was a little late getting him out, and as he went round his out lap the clock was ticking down and there was a serious chance that he might not make it to the start/finish line before the chequered flag.

The team monitored his sector times and kept him informed, and in the end he made it with just 1.6s to go! With a completely empty track ahead of took full advantage of that stroke of good fortune to nip ahead of Sebastian Vettel, albeit by the slender margin of 0.133s.

These days we get the car weights of course, so a few hours after qualifying it’s possible to put things into perspective. And they show that, fuel corrected, Vettel and Red Bull had the quickest package today. The German is carrying 5.5kgs more than Button, and at the established fuel effect figure here of 0.31s/10kgs, that equates to a penalty of 0.175s. In other words his lap was around 0.042s better than Button’s. And that’s pretty close...

Third placed Rubens Barrichello is 3.5kgs heavier than his team mate, and that accounts for some, but definitely not quite all, of the time difference between them. But the big story concerns Felipe Massa.

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Adam Cooper

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