F1 2020 Spain preview, another Mercedes parade?
The patchwork 2020 F1 season has been eventful to say the very least – After a bold strategic decision to start on the hard tire, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his and the teams first win of the season from the clutches of the Silver Arrows at last weekend’s 70th anniversary British Grand Prix. The back to back race weekend at Silverstone brought a spotlight directly onto the Pirelli tire compounds, of which left drivers struggling for reliability and adding an element of unknown which has been fleeting due to the strides Pirelli have taken towards minimising tire wear for as many one stop races as possible. Our second triple header comes to a close with the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Despite the track carrying a reputation for lacking quality racing, an opportunity in the form of track and air temperature can present itself to provide the strategic mystery that the hot weather has provided the sport . Catalunya’s variety of slow, medium and fast corners make it an ideal track for winter testing, allowing teams to test their cars thoroughly, but this also provides the situation of the circuit being well scouted by all constructors, which brings to question the amount of data a team should withhold for a race weekend; a line of questioning which sees the fans answer be less practice, which will be demonstrated at Imola this season.
This leaves us to wonder whether this instalment of the Spanish Grand Prix will be a rerun of previous years. Will the Mercedes W11 be the dominant force it has already showcased itself to be only 5 weeks and 6 races into the season. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have hammered in a relentless gap that leaves them far ahead of the rest of the pack, with innovations such as DAS and a consistent level of quality that keeps the main Red Bull and Ferrari drivers scrapping to be the best of the rest. To bet against Mercedes would be a bold, if not erratic move, and without any form of external conditions affecting the Mercs, a Win for red bull is very unlikely. Prediction for the Race: Mercedes 1-2 with Max Verstappen taking the third step on the podium followed by an inform Charles Leclerc and Norris taking the fifth spot.
As for the rest of the field, Sergio Perez is back in the pink overalls after being side-lined for the previous two Grand Prix’s after testing positive for COVID-19. He ushers Nico Hulkenberg out of his seat, who had an impressive return to the sport after qualifying up in 3rd for the second leg at silverstone – with his attempts at a podium hampered by a non-start for the first race, and poor tyre wear and strategy on Racing Points behalf leaving him a strong p7 at the sequel. McLaren have proven themselves to be a competitive force with Lando Norris currently running fifth in the driver championship after strong performances at Spielberg putting him toe to toe with close friends Alexander Albon and Charles Leclerc, the latter of whom has seemingly take the Scuderia by the scruff of the neck to drag strong points finishes out of a lacking car, of which the Spanish Gp presents an opportunity for Sebastian Vettel to end the woes of his maiden season for Ferrari – the 4 time Champion evidently out of place in the car and within the team, as Binotto’s team struggle to mesh with the regulations brought down on them in 2019. Below the top three, the battle in the drivers championship is truly on, with strong performances from Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, and signs of encouragement from Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly indicating that despite the patchy start to the year, the race instincts have done anything but wear off.
Scoreboard Blog 