Motorsports

Tires Cause Problems at 2013 Spanish Grand Prix

Words John Clark | May 13, 2013
Nico Rosberg salvaged a sixth-place finish after starting from pole running but again having tire wear problems
Words John Clark May 13, 2013

Sunday’s 2013 Spanish Grand Prix belonged to the Spaniards. The F1 race in Barcelona was won by Spain’s own Fernando Alonso from team Ferrari, followed closely by Kimi Räikkönen in second and Felipe Massa in third. Nico Rosberg salvaged a sixth-place finish after starting from pole running but again having tire wear problems. Lewis Hamilton forced to convert to a four-stop strategy during the race and finished outside the points in twelfth position.

Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Nico Rosberg 9 F1 W04 / 03 P6 1:27.591
Lewis Hamilton 10 F1 W04 / 04 P12 1:27.895
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 19-21°C Track: 35-39°C

Nico Rosberg

I had a very tough race this afternoon. The start was good and I managed my first stint well to keep some of the quicker cars behind me. From there, I had to drive my own race and we began to go backwards as it made no sense to destroy my tires by trying to stay ahead. We didn’t have the pace of the quickest cars today and there’s a growing gap to three teams ahead of us which we need to get on top of. We have a very quick car but we have to make it work for us in the race.

Lewis Hamilton

A difficult afternoon today and going backwards is never fun. We switched to a four-stop strategy during the race but I suffered with a lack of grip and balance throughout and we were never really able to get the tires working. I know that everyone at the team is working so hard and we need to keep positive. I’m sure we will figure the problem out and we’ve got to keep pushing together to close the gap. I will be doing my best to help and encourage the guys.

Ross Brawn

We endured a very difficult afternoon and the comparison between our competitiveness in qualifying and in the race was particularly disappointing. Nico did an excellent job managing the tires to make just three stops and his level of performance showed what our car is currently capable of on tracks like this. Lewis didn’t have a good balance at any point and that simply made a critical situation worse, which forced him to convert to a four-stop strategy midway through the race. We must find the key to why we are losing performance on Sunday afternoon and find the right solutions to improve.

Toto Wolff

Today’s race showed a similar pattern to what we have seen with our team in recent seasons: we have a quick car but it works the tires too hard. The drivers experienced the reverse situation to what happened in Bahrain: Nico drove a very controlled race and was able to make a three-stop strategy work, while Lewis was forced to stop four times because he simply didn’t have enough grip at any point through the race and the car was sliding around. It is very clear that we have not yet found the right compromise between our performance on Saturday and Sunday and that we will need a lot of hard work to get it right.