Spanish Grand Prix: Upgrades set to intensify battle

Lewis Hamilton heads into Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in the lead of the overall standings, but the Briton knows that he and his Mercedes team have work to do if he is to stay there.

The 33-year-old vaulted to the top of the championship tables for the first time this season after breaking his and Mercedes’ victory duck a fortnight ago at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

But he inherited that win, having struggled for speed all race long, after a safety car snatched it away first from Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel and then a tyre failure forced teammate Valtteri Bottas out just three laps from the end.


“We’ve definitely got a lot of work still to do,” said Hamilton, who leads Vettel by four points in the standings, after the race through the streets of Baku.

“We definitely are there in the mix and we’ve not got a terrible car at all, by any means. We’ve just got to refine it a little bit and make it a little bit easier to drive.”

Mercedes, winners of three of the last four races in Barcelona, will be introducing major upgrades this weekend.

But they won’t be the only ones. Sunday’s race around the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya marks the start of the European season with the sport returning to its continental heartland after the season’s opening series of ‘flyaway’ races. Nearly every team typically takes this opportunity to introduce a major package of updates to their car.

But far from giving any one squad an edge at a track they all know from winter testing, Sunday’s race could well see an even closer battle at the front, making an already unpredictable season even harder to call.

“It will be interesting to see how much performance the teams can find with their upgrades,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. “The first four races indicate very strongly that we will see the threeway battle continue and — if anything — intensify.”

Three different drivers from three different teams have won so far this year, the first time since 2013 that there has been such a variety of winners. But, Ferrari have consistently been the benchmark with Vettel seizing pole for the last three races in succession.

The Italian glamour team will be determined to preserve this advantage, with all but three of the last 17 races in Barcelona won by the driver starting at the front.

Vettel will be especially keen to make amends with a 50th career win after the safety car and a mistake cost the German what appeared to be an almost certain victory in Baku. “We’ve been very competitive and we’ve had a chance to fight for the win during most of the races so far,” said Vettel, who lost out to Hamilton in Spain last year after a titanic duel with the Briton.

“Right now I think it is important to maximize everything in the race. I believe that small things can make the difference.”

Two drivers eager for redemption will be Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. The pair collided and took each other out in Baku. For Verstappen, in particular, Sunday’s race could be just the opportunity he needs to turn the page on a crash-marred season at a track where he took his maiden F1 win on his Red Bull debut in 2016.

“I believe our car is very fast, we still need a bit more top speed but hopefully that will come,” said the 20-year-old Dutchman. “I’m of course also looking forward to the weekend as I have good memories from my first F1 win there.”

The Spanish race will also be a home race for Renault’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso. The latter scored his last F1 victory in Spain five years ago and heads into the weekend fresh from having won on his World Endurance Championship debut for Toyota last Sunday in Spa.

But a repeat one week on seems unlikely. “Let’s see,” said the double world champion. “The most important thing is to keep scoring points on Sundays and keep helping the team to secure this fourth place in the championship.