Montmeló (Spain) (AFP)
Unsurprisingly, Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Valtteri Bottas, dominated qualifying for the Spanish F1 Grand Prix on Saturday, but staying ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, third on the grid, will be much more complicated on Sunday.
The first five GPs of 2020 have shown it: with as many poles as there are races, the driving advantage of the Silver Arrows is unstoppable in "qualifying". The next day, however, the Dutchman is much closer.
Even before the start, which will be given at 3.10 p.m. on Sunday, the poleman therefore feels Verstappen's breath on his neck. "The scenario will be different during the race. (...) I expect a tough fight," anticipates Hamilton, who signs his fourth position ahead of six possible this season.
One thing in particular does not suit the leader of the world championship (with 30 points ahead of Verstappen and 34 over Bottas) and his Finnish teammate: the expected temperatures which are around 30 degrees in the air and 50 degrees on the track. Indeed, by this heat, their Mercedes preserve their tires much less well than the Red Bulls.
This is what allowed Verstappen to dethrone them last week at Silverstone (Great Britain), on the occasion of the GP of the 70 years of F1, to become the first driver of another team to win in 2020.
- Serene Verstappen -
The German and Austrian teams had then made different tire choices, which is not the case this weekend, and the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit is hardly conducive to overtaking, but the 22-year-old driver does not is not the type to pass up a chance.
"I'm happy with our long stints, the balance of the car and the deterioration of the tires. I think I can be close and put them under pressure," he assures us. Before adding, at the insistence of journalists: "if I have an opportunity, it will be necessary to be present and to attack."
With tires that are a bit harder and therefore more resistant than last Sunday, Hamilton and Bottas want to believe they are safe from danger. "I don't think we'll have the same concerns, but we'll have to see," said the first. "I expect fewer problems. So far we have not encountered them this weekend," adds the second.
- Operational perez -
Behind the indestructible top 3, the good points go to the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Racing Point), fourth on the grid and operational upon his return after two races of absence following positive tests for the new coronavirus, or to the French Pierre Gasly. (AlphaTauri), tenth.
Finland's Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo) is also in the top 15 (14th) for the first time this season.
His ex-Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, is still struggling: despite a change of chassis, the old one being damaged, the German is outside the top 10 for the third time this year, the second in a row. .
The two Renault cars also find themselves outside the top ten places on the grid, Australian Daniel Ricciardo 13th and French Esteban Ocon 15th. Note the performance of the mechanics of the latter, who managed to repair his car in two hours after an accident at the very end of free practice 3.
Disappointment also for the last Frenchman Romain Grosjean (Haas), yet among the top ten in free practice on Friday. The 34-year-old driver suffered an engine problem that forced his mechanics to "change a lot of things on (his) car" overnight. Result, "when I went up this morning, it was not the same", he explained to the microphone of Canal +.
© 2020 AFP