The first European weekend of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship kicked off at the Circuit de Catalunya today with the usual speculation - following three hours of practice - of whether Ferrari was any closer to consistently challenging Mercedes for the F1 crown. However, something else also got people looking ahead to what could lie in F1's future; the possible entry of either Volkswagen, Audi or Porsche into the most high-profile form of motorsport. The removal of Ferdinand Piech - the chairman of the VW Group - following an extremely bitter round of internal politics at the German auto major has fanned the flames of rumours of one of the VW Group's brands entering F1.
It has been believed that Audi has evaluated a plan to enter F1 in order to compete for bragging rights against German rival Mercedes and that only extreme feelings of dislike towards F1's promoter Bernie Ecclestone has prevented the entry of the VW Group.
The 1.6-litre, twin turbo V-6 engine formula has already succeeded in attracting Honda back to F1 but the extremely high costs of competing in F1 (made worse by inadequate revenue sharing among participants), coupled by a lack of technical freedom in many key areas has so far left Audi content to compete against Porsche, Toyota and soon Nissan in the increasingly popular FIA World Endurance Championship.
Audi purchasing Scuderia Toro Rosso from the parent company Red Bull has been the most persistent rumour regarding the VW Group's supposed entry to F1, for the moment.
MEANWHILE, OUT ON TRACK
Unlike the rumours surrounding the potential addition to the F1 grid, what was certain at the 4.655 km Circuit de Catalunya was that the 'silver arrows' of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be hard to get the better of for rivals like Ferrari and Williams-Mercedes.
A time of 1:26.828 for Rosberg in the first free practice session and a 1:26.852 for Hamilton in the second session kept the works Mercedes squad on top with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel posting the third and second fastest time, respectively, in the two sessions.
A significant advantage over a single lap as well as rapid times over the course of a race simulation indicated that Mercedes would be well placed to record a victory despite the very high track temperatures that reportedly reached 47 degrees centigrade.
Kimi Raikkonen was outpaced by his Ferrari teammate Vettel in both sessions but the difference between the two was very insignificant and the Finn's strong run to the finish at Bahrain would have confirmed his confidence in race conditions along with his ability to be as fast as - if not faster than - any driver on the grid while being relatively less harsh to his car.
RICCIARDO SHACKLED
The man who is now in charge of leading Red Bull-Renault charge to the F1 championship following Vettel's departure did not have a lot to cheer about as technical problems limited Daniel Ricciardo to just 13 laps over the three hours of practice over the course of Friday's two sessions.
Red Bull-Renault were expected to make a significant improvement at the Spanish GP, but if there really is progress for the former world champions, it seems likely to be apparent only in qualifying. Provided, of course, that Ricciardo manages to complete both the the third free practice session and qualifying in their entirety.
SEAT TIME
Unlike Ricciardo, the drivers who managed to take over from teams' regular starters to get some time behind the wheel of an F1 car in the first session did manage to drive all through the session without a hitch.
Susie Wolff, Jolyon Palmer and Ferrari supported Rafaelle Marciello subbed for Valtteri Bottas, Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson at Williams, Lotus-Mercedes and Sauber Ferrari today with only Palmer going faster than the more established driver in the other car. Although it is worth noting that Lotus F1's Pastor Maldonado was restricted to just seven laps while Palmer managed 21.
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