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Wednesday May 4th 2016 Mercedes raises its voice. The team publishes a harsh statement on its website where they categorically deny the hypothesis of a possible preferential treatment of Nico Rosberg, winner of the first four Grand Prix of the season, to the detriment of Lewis Hamilton.
"We have the best boys and girls in the world, who are doing a great job every week. And they do it for the team, not for one driver or the other, but for both. There is no team A or team B here. Every single member of our troop has earned the right to be part of the elite of their field and has sacrificed a lot to make it. A Grand Prix weekend starts on Thursday morning and ends on Sunday night, a bad result can hurt for a few hours, then life goes on and these are the lives of a thousand of people in Brackley and Brixworth. They sweat, strain, laugh, cry, celebrate and they commiserate together, they win and lose together. To haters, the naysayers and the conspirators, if we can convince even half of you of what we really stand for, then we can consider the battle won".
Lewis Hamilton had engine problems over the weekend in Russia. Therefore it comes a clarification on reliability:
"We were surprised and discouraged to see the same problem again on Lewis' MGU-H. But we kept calm and made a monumental effort to get to Russia (also thanks to the help of Ecclestone, ed.) the components that allowed us to keep the tenth position, avoiding breaking the parc fermè regime. During the race, shortly after the pit stop, we received alarm signals from the MGU-K of Rosberg. We spent several laps reassuring him of the advantage, trying to keep him calm before receiving the Fia's okay to inform Nico of the settings to keep the problem under control. And when he scored the fastest lap, on the penultimate pass, we were still in safe mode. A demonstration of the pace our car had this weekend".
On one hand, the Mercedes team is clear about what has happened so far, but in Red Bull Racing Daniil Kvyat paid for the double rear-end collision at the expense of Sebastian Vettel in Sochi, with the loss of his seat. He will be relegated from Red Bull Racing to Scuderia Toro Rosso. In his place will be Max Verstappen from Scuderia Toro Rosso. The decision was made after the results of the Russian Grand Prix by Helmut Marko, advisor of the Red Bull empire in F1. From the very first minutes after the Grand Prix in Sochi, Marko had described it as shameful that a professional driver had hit a colleague twice. Red Bull Racing's principal team, Christian Horner, said:
"Max has proven to be an exceptional young talent. His performance in Toro Rosso has been impressive so far and we are delighted to give him the opportunity to drive for Red Bull".
Despite the emerging dominance of Mercedes in the first four Grand Prix, Ferrari does not stop believing in it.
"Driver's title? We want everything we can take. I think we deserve it. Not because we're smarter, it's just a reflection on the work we did in 2015".
Sergio Marchionne has no doubts about the competitiveness of the new Maranello single-seater:
"As far as Ferrari is concerned, the most important thing is to keep working. So far, we have proven that we can win in at least three of the four races. Unfortunately, due to our mistakes, coincidences or other things, we didn't succeed. But we're at the fourth Grand Prix, 17 to go. It's still open. Sochi circuit was the hardest for us. We needed a really high-powered engine. If we had come out ahead of the Mercedes, they would have had a hard time overtaking us, especially if Vettel was in the lead".
Marchionne also comments on Red Bull Racing's decision to promote baby phenomenon Max Verstappen to replace Russian Daniil Kvyat, who paid for Sebastian Vettel's double rear-end collision at the last Russian Grand Prix:
"I don't want to judge the moves of one of our competitors. It was an unfortunate accident. I think Kvyat apologized to Seb. For me the matter is closed, if it will have consequences in terms of regulations it will be decided by the FIA".
Jenson Button, former World Champion and McLaren-Honda driver, also commented on Red Bull Racing’s decision to relegate Kvyat to the Toro Rosso satellite team:
"A bad race and Kvyat is out of the picture, what do they say about the podium in the previous race?"
Meanwhile Sebastian Vettel prepares for the Spanish Grand Prix, scheduled for Sunday May 15th, 2016:
"In Barcelona you usually decide what the level of the car is. We are well on schedule and knowing this circuit it will be essential to acquire all the data correctly. To get a good performance you have to put all the elements together".
This is a particularly demanding track from the point of view of tyres:
"There are many corners, high and low speeds, fast changes of direction, slow variations, and it takes a lot of traction from the car and the tyres. It's a challenging race and tyre management is crucial".
Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen take the stage, obscuring the stars of Mercedes and Ferrari. After Red Bull Racing’s decision to relegate the Russian driver to Scuderia Toro Rosso, on the eve of the Spanish Grand Prix, all eyes are on him and on the young Dutchman who will complete the opposite route. On Thursday 12th May 2016 the two drivers presented themselves at the press conference sitting next to each other, with diametrically opposed moods.
"It was a pretty surprising decision for me, a shock. I will try to respond to this situation on the track. Seventeen races remain and I return to Toro Rosso, a team I like very much, where I received a warm welcome. For my part, I will continue to push to the limit. Demoted is a bit of a heavy word. I don't think this situation is an obstacle to my career. If we look at what happened three weeks ago I was on the podium, then this decision was made and I can only accept it and do my best in the team where I am now. You have to ask why to the one who has decided, on my side I do not see any reason".
Kvyat then reveals how he received the news of his return to Scuderia Toro Rosso:
"I was watching the TV series Game of Thrones and I got a call from Helmut Marko, the call lasted 20 minutes. I have asked for and received explanations, which for now I prefer not to reveal. Then I went back to bed to finish the episode I was watching".
Did you expect it? They cut you off, blocked your career, how are you gonna look at them?
"Cut off? I'm still here. I have another opportunity. I just have to take it. We wait and see the end of the World Championship, there are seventeen more Grand Prix, right?"
Max Verstappen is very confident, however, showing all his satisfaction being promoted to the main team after four races:
"I am very pleased with the opportunity I have been given. I'll be able to fight for the podium, which has always been my goal. Am I taking any chances with this switch to Red Bull? I think the biggest risk was getting into Formula 1 very young and I passed it without problems. Now I just have to adjust to the new car. It won't be easy, the team will help me".
The Dutchman prefers not to go into the merits of the decision that led the Anglo-Austrian team to promote him instead of Daniil Kvyat:
"I don't have to say who deserved it or not, I'm just happy for the chance I've been given. Ricciardo? He is very good, very fast on the track and I will try to learn a lot from him".
In Montmelò the duel between Mercedes and Ferrari is renewed, with the Maranello team looking for a rematch. Ferrari is optimistic, as President Sergio Marchionne has reiterated several times, and Lewis Hamilton confirms the good feelings of the top management of the Maranello team:
"I think Ferrari is constantly improving and bringing new upgrades as it will happen here in Barcelona. They are getting very close to us and they will continue to work, they want to win and they are very hungry. Therefore, we must have the strength to develop in a similar way if not at the same level as Ferrari, while maintaining concentration. The situation is what it is, I just have to work and do what I can with what I have available. The mountain to climb is very high, but I like challenges. I believe 100% in my team and these guys, I just hope to have better luck and avoid problems".
On Friday May 13th 2016, during the first practice session Sebastian Vettel set the best time, ahead of his team-mate, Kimi Räikkönen, by 0.138 seconds. The Finnish driver was forced to stop testing early due to a problem with the rear axle, while Sebastian Vettel was unable to do a practice start at the end of the session because the traffic lights were already red. Following are two Mercedes drivers, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, and then the two Red Bull drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. The Ferrari drivers are on Soft tyres, while the Anglo-German team is with Medium tyres. Esteban Ocon made only six laps, but failed to set a valid time. Nico Rosberg is at the top of the times list in the second free session. The German is the only driver to fall below the 1'24"0. The Mercedes driver is ahead of Kimi Räikkönen by 0.254 seconds, and the other Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton, by 0.719 seconds. The Finn remains stuck in the pits for a long time due to a power problem and fails to perform the race simulation planned for that session. What, on the other hand, his team-mate, Sebastian Vettel manages to do, only fourth in the best times standing, who seems to be competitive on the race pace. The session was interrupted due to a puncture in a tyre fitted to Jolyon Palmer's Renault, to allow the marshals to clean the track. Friday mornings are always Ferrari, with a last second poisonous tail. Vettel and Raikkonen lead the group, after the first set of free practices, but back to the pits the German stopped on track and did not move anymore. Everyone was worrying, before Vettel - on radio - says that he has committed a regulatory violation and has therefore decided to stop, not to making the situation worse. Crossing a red line should cost him a fine, nothing more. Surely the Ferrari engineers breathe a sigh of relief because it is not the car that is in trouble. Actually it seems that the car has problems, which is why at some point Kimi Raikkonen stopped being on the track. But nothing else has been leaked.
The others? Following of course, Rosberg and Hamilton. In Spain perfect weather, no problems registered, no hitch for any driver. It should be noted that after the fastest quartet there are the two Red Bulls, with Ricciardo and Verstappen, the driver who in this Barcelona Grand Prix is in the center of attention, almost more than the stars, after Red Bull's move that promoted and moved him from Scuderia Toro Rosso at the expenses of the Russian Daniil Kvyat, who had to accept this but of course is still in shock. About twenty laps in for the two Ferrari drivers, and for the German the time set is 1'23"951, while the Finn stopped the clock at 1’24”089. During the afternoon Nico Rosberg decided to re-establish the order, setting a time of 1'23"922. The closest pursuer is Kimi Raikkonen, whose morning troubles were nonsense, fortunately. Third time for Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, then Sebastian Vettel, over a second behind. A worrying data for the latter if not for the time set in the morning - a little higher than that of Nico Rosberg, and therefore making him absolutely competitive. It's obvious, in Ferrari they thought and worked on something different, possibly the reliability, seeing and considering that there was no problem with speed. The feeling is that Ferrari is a little closer to Mercedes, the extent will be seen with qualifying, then the Grand Prix - in front of the expected 90,000 spectators - will tell the truth. Ferrari hopes to find inspiration from such optimism, and it needs it. At the fifth Grand Prix Sergio Marchionne’s impatience is running out, and so is that of the team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, who objectively can’t withstand the impact of the president’s media statements:
"He talks too much…".
The tension is there, in the Maranello team, so much to have triggered the hunt for the spy who spread the rumors of the return of Aldo Costa as team principal, replacing Maurizio Arrivabene. A hunt with a lot of traps, that is, fake news, artificially put around just to get him out. For Maurizio Arrivabene there are many matches: he must also face the political challenge with the other teams. On Friday, the FIA will formalise the agreement on engine rules for the period 2017-2020, a deal described as weak by Red Bull Racing’s team principal, Christian Horner, which has created doubts even among smaller teams, first and foremost Force India. Hence, a compromise demanded by the FIA to prevent even worse scenarios. Beyond the agreements, the real novelty for the purists of the old F1 is there, and it concerns the sound. In fact, they are working on a sound generator to increase the noise of the engine. It'll be an artificial sound, but at least it'll take back to the old days. Those old days that Maurizio Arrivabene yearn for, and who was reminded how this Grand Prix corresponds with the anniversary of Michael Schumacher’s first Ferrari victory:
"And I was there... we toasted with wine, even me and I do not drink wine. He is always in our hearts".
Diving into memories helps to a certain extent, though. The present is looming over:
"You said we’re two seconds faster than last year? Can you say that again? I like to hear that... but unfortunately Mercedes has also improved and they are the strongest team in the last ten years".
And here is the heart of the strategy of the group led by Maurizio Arrivabene:
"To beat them you have to take risks and you need to work, hard, very hard. With the conviction that sooner or later we will catch them".
A message, not so much coded, for Sergio Marchionne, to tell him not to create further pressure, as there is already enough on the track.
The track on Saturday will highlight the real competitiveness of the cars, but the times of the first day of practice have certainly not changed the values, with Nico Rosberg leading as usual but Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen closer than in the Russian Grand Prix. And the words of the German, not satisfied with the afternoon session, suggest positive feelings. As long as you don't take too much risk. On Saturday 14th May 2016, during the third and last practice session Nico Rosberg again scored the best time. The German is ahead of Lewis Hamilton again, 0.126 seconds behind. Sebastian Vettel set the third fastest time, with a delay of just 0.147 seconds. In the last quarter of an hour of the session Nico Rosberg was called back to the pits for a probable problem with the thruster, then solved by replacing a sensor. A few hours later, during the first part of qualifying, the Mercedes immediately set times unattainable for the other drivers. Nico Rosberg is the fastest, ahead of Lewis Hamilton by 0.2 seconds. Max Verstappen, third, is 0.5 seconds behind. In the last minutes the battle for the next stage begins: Felipe Massa transits under the checkered flag before his last attempt and is eliminated, unable to improve his performance in the last seconds like Nico Hülkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Jenson Button, who also pushes Jolyon Palmer out of Q2. In addition to the Brazilian and Renault driver, Sauber drivers, Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson, and the Manor drivers, Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto, were eliminated. In Q2 the Mercedes immediately hit the track to avoid the traffic of the last minutes, and not suffer from the increase of temperatures which have a negative effect on the time. At this stage Lewis Hamilton outperforms Nico Rosberg. Immediately behind there is a challenge between the Ferrari drivers and those of Red Bull Racing, split by a few tenths of a second. In the last attempt, Nico Hülkenberg took tenth place from Jenson Button, before being overtaken by teammate Sergio Pérez: besides the British and German, neither did the Haas of Esteban Gutierrez and Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat make it to the final stage. In the final stage Lewis Hamilton compromised his first attempt with a wheel lock, so much so that Nico Rosberg improved his time by almost a second, as did Max Verstappen, who temporarily placed second on the time standings. With the exception of the two Ferrari drivers, all the other competitors decided to concentrate and make a single attempt. Daniel Ricciardo scored a better time than Lewis Hamilton, who, however, responded with a time of 1'22"000, which earned him the third pole position of the season. Nico Rosberg is second, while the second and third row are monopolized, respectively, by Red Bull Racing drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, and Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. Valtteri Bottas is seventh, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr.. Then Sergio Perez on the Force India and Fernando Alonso closes the Top Ten on the grid for the first time in Q3 since he left Ferrari. Everything suggested that Nico Rosberg would take pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix, but Lewis Hamilton, always behind his team-mate, put together the perfect lap in his second attempt in Q3, leaving behind the leader of the drivers' standings.
"I'm very happy I got the lap right. Nico for the whole weekend went very strong, but I managed to recover step by step and catch up with him. For this I thank the guys at the factory who worked hard to recover and the car was great today, even if yesterday it was a bit difficult. Today I started well in the free practice and it ended better in qualifying".
From Lewis Hamilton's dazzling smile, we pass to Nico Rosberg's somewhat disappointed and crooked expression.
"It’s a bit disappointing to finish second, but Lewis was faster than me today. But fortunately the race is tomorrow and the start and the race from a strategic point of view will not be easy".
A big smile also for Daniel Ricciardo who is back in the second row with the third time, putting behind him also the talented new team-mate Max Verstappen who, however, is fourth, ahead of the two Ferraris.
"I am very happy to be here for the press conference and I will try to be there tomorrow. I'm happy to be in front of Ferrari, Max too, we both made it and it's great. I managed to take something off lap after lap and I knew I had only one shot and I had to put all the details together and until then I couldn't. But what matters is Q3 and I'm glad I did it".
Sebastian Vettel is disappointed.
"At the moment it's hard to explain, we had feelings in the morning and we couldn't carry them in the afternoon. Barcelona has complicated conditions and we were caught by surprise, we didn't have any rhythm, the laps were nervous and the time didn't come. Mercedes and Red Bull did what was expected, we were too weak. For tomorrow it won't help that we start like this but we are faster than sixth and I hope to prove it on the track".
Kimi Raikkonen is the best of the Ferrari drivers in qualifying, but the fifth time ahead of his team-mate certainly does not leave him satisfied, given that in addition to the Mercedes in the front row, there is the pair of drivers from Red Bull Racing in the second row.
"It's not always easy to find the right combination of weather, track and car. We're not in the position we want, but we've worked hard in the last sector. Now we have to focus on tomorrow's race, trying to get even better but it won't be easy. I changed a few things and I thought the car was doing better, but I repeat here it's hard to get the right lap".
At the first European F1 test, the Maranello team makes a huge mistake and life gets complicated in the race that President Marchionne considers as the last chance, after four races without much satisfaction. Ferrari will start in third row today, behind the two Mercedes and the two Red Bull Racing. Bad thing, hard to digest. Worse to explain. So much that there is no real motivation, or at least that it cannot be explained publicly. The wind, and the temperature getting hotter rapidly, are the same climatic factors for everyone, unless the other teams have engineers who are also magicians and meteorologists. Ten degrees more on the asphalt ruined the day. Kimi Raikkonen, who preceded Vettel, adapted better to the problem. But the real feeling is that Ferrari was genuinely stunned: Friday, and Saturday morning, they didn't let any of this show. The truth is that, in the attempt to take risks in order to catch the Mercedes - as Maurizio Arrivabene would say - the correct, already thin and precarious set-up of the single-seaters has been compromised. Kimi Raikkonen explained:
"We had big issues in the last sector".
All that remains is the race, to remedy the mistake made on Saturday, otherwise who knows what will be the reaction of Sergio Marchionne who is given on arrival in Barcelona. Here, even the conditionality that is used reveals what are the relations at Maranello, with a team under pressure and incredulous of what happened on the track. A team that whispers to have come to Catalonia convinced to take pole position, only to wake up and find themselves with fifth and sixth time.
"The race... we will focus on the start and the first lap and then it will be a long race, we can do a lot. We usually make a lot of stops here and we can use the strategy to pass the slower cars. I think our car is worth more than a sixth place, so I have high hopes".
Beyond the institutional and optimistic finale of Sebastian Vettel, his words reveal what will be Ferrari’s objective. The one smiling is Lewis Hamilton, who came out into the open and placed himself on the starting grid ahead of the current World Championship leader, Nico Rosberg.
"I am very, very happy. Thanks to the team".
And the smile does not disappear even when he is reminded that this year, however, he is not very fast at the start:
"Well, I didn’t do yoga, meditation or any other kind of preparation. Let’s hope it works for me anyway".
But, regardless of the outcome of the Grand Prix, qualifying caught all the attention of the public:
"In England they wrote that I will take a sabbatical in 2017? In my opinion, the author of the article had smoked. And it had to be good stuff too…".
On Sunday 15th May 2016, at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton was overtaken by Nico Rosberg, while Max Verstappen passed behind Sebastian Vettel. Shortly after, however, the German was passed by both the Dutchman and Carlos Sainz Jr.. At the Repsol corner, Lewis Hamilton tries to overtake Nico Rosberg, who closes the trajectory to the Briton. The car leaves the track and, now out of control, hits the rear of Rosberg's car: both end up in the escape route and retire. This breaks a streak of ten consecutive wins for Mercedes. The race director sent the Safety car out to the track, with the leaderboard led by the two Red Bull Racing drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, followed by Carlos Sainz Jr. and the two Ferraris. After three laps with the safety car on the track, the race resumed regularly: Sainz resisted Vettel's assault for several laps, but had to give up his position on lap 8. Two more laps and the Spaniard is also passed by another Ferrari driver, Kimi Räikkönen. During lap 12, Daniel Ricciardo stopped at the pits, leaving Max Verstappen in first place. The Dutchman thus becomes the youngest in the history of the World Championship, to have led a race. During lap 13 both Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen made pit stops, while Sebastian Vettel waited until lap 16 before changing tyres. The ranking remains unchanged: after the two pairs of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari drivers, Valtteri Bottas is placed, passing Carlos Sainz Jr. at the pit stop. The Spaniard is sixth, ahead of Sergio Pèrez and two McLaren drivers, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. At this stage, the two Ferraris approach the duo in the lead, but Sebastian Vettel does not find the opportunity to pass Max Verstappen. During lap 29, Nico Hülkenberg retires, with the engine on fire, but manages to park the car in a wide escape route, without forcing the race management to send the Safety car back onto the track. Meanwhile Daniel Ricciardo made the second pit stop and mounted the Soft tires.
During lap 30, Sebastian Vettel also used the same strategy. Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen stopped between lap 35 and lap 36, opting for Hard tyres. During lap 38, Sebastian Vettel made the third stop and switched to the use of Hard tyres. The German returns to the track in fourth place. Daniel Ricciardo made his last stop on lap 44, coming down to fourth position. Max Verstappen returned to the lead, followed closely by Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn tries to pass the Red Bull Racing driver, just as Daniel Ricciardo tries to steal third place from Sebastian Vettel. The Australian attacked the German at the first corner several times, but without finding the necessary space. Red Bull Racing's left rear tyre gave way and Daniel Ricciardo was forced to stop again on the last lap, without costing him fourth place. Max Verstappen wins for the first time in F1 at his first race with Red Bull Racing; the Dutchman is the first driver from the Netherlands to succeed in this category and, at 18 years, 7 months and 15 days, is both the youngest winner and the youngest ever to climb the podium in the history of the World Championship, breaking the record set by Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen is also the tenth different driver to win the Spanish Grand Prix in the last ten editions, and the first to win a race with #33. This is also the first victory for a single-seater powered by TAG Heuer, although this is, in fact, a Renault engine renamed with the Swiss company's name, while Red Bull returns to success for the first time since the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix. Daniil Kvyat sets the fast lap, the first for him and Scuderia Toro Rosso. The last Russian to do so was Vitaly Petrov at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat are also the first two drivers to score points with two different teams in the same season, since Sebastian Vettel in 2007. Max Verstappen superstar: at 18, and at his debut with Red Bull, he goes to win the Spanish GP.
Of course, the two Mercedes self-eliminated on the first lap, but the kid drove like crazy, making no mistakes and keeping Kimi Raikkonen at bay for an endless series of laps, who really did everything to make him miss and pass him. But nothing, Verstappen did not let himself be intimidated and went on to win the Spanish Grand Prix, ahead of the two Ferraris. Vettel finished third, but probably only because in the last laps Ricciardo - who was about to attack him - had a puncture. The clamor refers to the fact that Verstappen and Raikkonen had older tires than their pursuers (strategy issues) and so it was normal to expect the opposite. Which means that the first two went into crisis. Hence, after 42 races, it's a kid who brings Red Bull Racing back to the top of the world. A fate for the Anglo-Austrian team because a few years ago it was another kid - Sebastian Vettel - who made them enter into the legend (but Sebastian was 21 when he won his first race). Max Verstappen, just promoted to replace Daniil Kvyat, relegated to Scuderia Toro Rosso, is today the youngest driver to ever win Formula 1. And the record is hard to beat now: it would take a minor at this point.
"I feel amazing and I still can't believe all this happened. It was a great race and I want to say thank you to the team who provided me with a fantastic car. Winning immediately is a fantastic emotion".
What can you expect from a three-year-old boy whose mother tells him to speed up, instead of warning him not to cause any trouble, when he sees him in the garden fiddling with the quad? Well, that makes history, first becoming the youngest F1 driver, and most importantly, the youngest Grand Prix winner of all time. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Max Verstappen, 18 years and 228 days, already described by some as the driver of the century. Exaggeration? Maybe so. But maybe not. The Spanish Grand Prix witnessed a (further) sign of fate, with little Max in the right place at the right time. To say: had Daniil Kvyat not bumped into Sebastian Vettel in Sochi, Helmut Marko would never have decided to swap the two: Kvyat to Scuderia Toro Rosso, Verstappen to Red Bull Racing. And what happens at the debut? Isn't that meant to be? And clues, in the past, we can find as many as we want: Max is the son of Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen, Rally driver and the only woman to win the Margutti trophy. He is the only subject that put together for a while Jos and Sophie, before they decided to divide their paths (with also a complaint for violent conduct). The little one grew up in Belgium, in Maaseik, not far from the border with Holland. The latter is the country he chose as his nationality as soon as he reached the age of majority.
"From four to sixteen years old Dad took care of me".
What about the first four years? Asks Sebastian Vettel.
"I was growing up…".
What about your mom?
"Oh, yes. She did a great job, she gave birth to me".
Here, the small act perhaps reveals more details than the protagonist of this sport’s fairytale wants to tell. Max Verstappen wants to amaze with his driving, and perhaps he is not yet ready to reveal his private personality to the world. The motorsport one is before everyone's eyes: in the last ten laps of the Grand Prix it has not shown a weakness.
"I saw my name, the laps missing: I told myself I couldn’t make mistakes. It was exciting".
Emotions that, however, do not transpire from his body language. He kept two World Champions behind him, despite the onset of cramps. A phenomenon, this Max, who drove karts when Sebastian Vettel won his first Grand Prix in 2008, and was six when Kimi Raikkonen showed up in the Circus.
"I’m sorry, I was little, I don’t remember…".
Sebastian Vettel jokes again:
"Oh, my God, we took him from kindergarten…".
But it’s a white lie, because the Dutch record holder, the one who had to receive a special license to do the tests in October 2014, loves to go on Youtube to review the videos of the past.
"It’s a useful thing".
And he's such a mature boy that he can say:
"You learn more with adults, in the real world, than sitting at a school desk".
Yet this champion of precociousness began late, only ten years ago. But they were enough for him to forge ahead. Fate had foreseen the crossing of Mr. Helmut Marko at a Formula 3 race and the related stroke of lightning. Marko immediately put him in the Red Bull Racing program, of which he is the manager, Verstappen did the rest.
"Today I don’t answer the conjectures, today is a happy day".
Reiterating to anyone who wants to remind him of past allegations of having connections. But who, now, can afford to attack Helmut Marko and Christian Horner? Their gamble has resoundingly paid off, they can feel like in heaven. Like this guy, who will celebrate with Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, his 23-year-old girlfriend: Swedish Audi Sport TT Cup driver. Sounds like Mom and Dad's story. The Dutch Red Bull Racing driver also expresses a special thought for his father, Jos Verstappen.
"I started driving as a child and my father helped me a lot. I'm sure he'll be proud of my victory".
Daniel Ricciardo congratulates the young team-mate on the victory in Spain:
"Max was good, did what he had to do, drove the way he had to. I think Raikkonen was close but he managed to keep him behind, today there will be conflicting emotions within the team".
But back to the Mercedes disaster: what everyone expected in the end happened. The two drivers excluded themselves from the race, depriving the team of something like over 40 points and a safe double. It is no longer a question of finding a culprit, as it is trying to manage two drivers who by now seem unmanageable.
And to think Mercedes just renewed both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton's contracts, which means only one thing. In other words, we are just at the beginning of an incredible rivalry: after the events in Spain, the relations in the Anglo-German team have deteriorated. Of course, there is little change in the standings because Nico Rosberg remains the leader with 100 points, but Kimi Raikkonen climbs to second place with 61 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton (57), Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo (48). I mean, Ferrari thanks you.
"It was a stupid mistake".
Niki Lauda does not rely on words to analyze the incredible accident between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who in one stroke took out both Mercedes from the Spanish Grand Prix.
"If I have to find a culprit I say Lewis, because he was the one who attacked. Drivers are paid to win races, there is not too much pressure on them. But driving like that is stupid".
The non-executive president of Mercedes is very angry, the clash in turn 3 of the Montmelò circuit can weigh heavily on the season, despite the excellent start of the two drivers.
"It’s not acceptable for two Mercedes to go out like this. What am I going to tell the two drivers? I don’t know yet, but we’ll talk later".
So far, Nico Rosberg was dominating the World Championship with four wins in as many races, while Lewis Hamilton, with three podiums and a seventh place, was in second place.
"It's not 100% fault of one or the other and it's not even a 50 and 50, maybe one has a little more responsibility than the other but it's hard to analyze".
Toto Wolff, team principal of Mercedes, believes both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were to blame for the accident in the opening stages of the Spanish Grand Prix, which knocked out both cars of the Anglo-German team.
"Risk of penalty? It happens if a driver is 100% responsible, but that's not the case. We heard their opinion, we told them it's clear to us, we'll see later".
Lauda, however, pointed the finger at Hamilton.
"His is a driver's point of view, he has the driver's instinct, for him it's white or black. It's a tough situation for us, we've lost 43 points, a potential first and second place and someone else is going to take these points and that's what hurts me. Pressure? It's always there but it's positive".
It's the Grand Prix of Silence, after the storm. It's the day when everyone at Ferrari understands that it's time to step back. The first to do this is Sergio Marchionne, who came to Spain specifically to see the state of the art.
"It is not bad to have two drivers on the podium, it is important. Having said that, it is equally important how we got there. I understand very well that we also had bad luck in the past, I'm sorry it happened to Mercedes today, it's part of sport, so life goes on. The important thing is that we have to improve the car a lot, because now we have two tough races, Monte-Carlo and then Canada and all the improvements we have to make to the car, we have to do them quickly, the guys have to improve the car again, we're not at the point yet, that's all".
Can Ferrari still fight for the World Championship?
"Yes, of course, today helped a lot. How it helped Mercedes in the past, from the first race in Australia, then, all the problems we had in the races afterwards. On one hand it was not necessary, on the other I’m glad it happened. I'm sorry about the Mercedes, but it gave us a huge breathing space to move on".
No triumphal tone. The president of Ferrari understood that pressing the media accelerator again would only create unnecessary tensions: he therefore simply expressed the stress in the internal briefing. The principal team, Maurizio Arrivabene, echoed him in analyzing the race:
"Let’s be realistic: with the two Mercedes racing, the result would have been different. We were given an opportunity which we missed, even though we were faster. We paid dearly for the problems in qualifying, problems which in some sections of the track also emerged during the race".
Here it is, the finger in the wound: qualifications.
"If we hadn’t made mistakes, we would have had a different life in this Grand Prix. That's what we need to think about, to look forward from that very point. The team analyzed and understood the mistake, which should not happen again, even in the view of Monte Carlo where pole position is crucial".
And he ends by saying:
"The double podium was supposed to be a different one, the real one, but we saw that there were the same weaknesses we noticed yesterday in the slow corners. Even though we were faster, we couldn't get through. That said, we go ahead, the championship is long and we can focus not so much on the podiums but on the mistakes to correct".
Sebastian Vettel can't be too happy about his third place finish in Spain, but the way things turned out over the weekend has to be satisfied in the end.
"We wanted to be closer, to be ahead, we tried but the strategy didn't work very well. There was a great commitment, a great performance by the team, after a not positive day yesterday we were able to recover and react but compliments go to Max, it is his triumph, his day".
Kimi Raikkonen must surrender to 18-year-old Max Verstappen. Nothing to do for the Finn from Ferrari who couldn't overtake Red Bull Racing.
"I'm happy for Max and disappointed for myself. The races are like this, we did our best after yesterday's bad day. I was getting close but not close enough in the last corners, losing aerodynamic load. After yesterday we would have been happy for second and third place but the disappointment is great. We still scored good points".
The Grand Prix, however, improved the drivers' and manufacturers' standings: Kimi Raikkonen is second, Sebastian Vettel caught up with Daniel Ricciardo. The status doesn't change the balance of Ferrari, at least it's not the day for an answer to that.
"At Mercedes you say they will have problems managing the drivers? I don't know. It doesn't change anything. We continue with this modus operandi".
The Mercedes, yes. Thirty seconds was enough to wipe out all the work of 1,300 people, to whom Lewis Hamilton apologizes. His confrontation with Rosberg is the strongest image of this 2016 World Championship.
"There was a space, I did what any F1 driver would do".
The truth is that Nico Rosberg had a wrong setting that slowed him down, and so Lewis Hamilton has further swallowed himself up in the attempt, with the plateau incident that made this World Championship more democratic. The FIA did not sanction either, judging the whole thing as a racing incident. The real trial took place inside the Mercedes box, with judges Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda. The latter in particular ruled against Lewis Hamilton, strongly condemning his maneuver and then revealing an apology which Lewis Hamilton did not confirm. More diplomatic was Toto Wolff in giving the blame contest also to avoid reprimands FIA. Of course, Niki Lauda’s gaffe, who exposed himself a little too hastily, is the last proof Lewis Hamilton needed to understand that someone on the team has a certain desire to hear the celebration in German rather than English. The temperature is set to rise. It is an F1 Grand Prix that will be discussed, the one in Barcelona. That will be remembered. Finally, I might add. A race that turned on fans, and the subsequent sports bar with comments of all kinds. The triggering cause is, once again, the human factor: the accident of two team-mates, of the first two drivers of the standings, opened the scenarios to unexpected horizons on the eve. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg kicking out was a boon to the show, helping to increase curiosity about who would win between Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. And who won? The boy, aka Max Verstappen. Yes, that's him. The one that Helmut Marko and Christian Horner wanted to move from Scuderia Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing, in place of the still unbelievable Daniil Kvyat. Did Ferrari miss an opportunity? That's exactly the way it is. But he did it on Saturday, when the engineering trust did not have the right setup for qualifying and the Maranello team found themselves behind the Mercedes and the Red Bulls. Not only that: the best driver was Kimi Raikkonen and, it should be added, once again this season. This is how the Finn responds to the gossip and gossip that makes him think he might be fired. Instead, after five Grand Prix, he found himself in second place, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. F1 therefore leaves Spain with a thousand ideas, which will accompany it until the Monaco Grand Prix. Anybody? Why not? Is Max Verstappen the new rising star? Is Sebastian Vettel in an identity crisis? Is Ferrari itself having to reconsider? But, above all, the last and most important: how will Mercedes manage the ever-increasing rivalry between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton? As you can see, one could move from dictatorship to anarchy. And, it has to be said, in F1 it really needed a little interest.