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On Sunday, June 23, 2024, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, the Spanish Grand Prix, the tenth race of the Formula 1 World Championship, will take place. For this Grand Prix, Pirelli, the sole tire supplier, offers teams the choice between C1, C2, and C3 compound tires, the hardest compounds in the range provided by the Italian company, based on the technical characteristics of the circuit. Meanwhile, the FIA confirms the two Drag Reduction System zones that have been in use since the 2013 edition of the race, when the global governing body of motorsport decided to increase the number of DRS zones on the Circuit de Catalunya to two, after having only one from 2011, the season when the device was introduced in the category, until 2012, in order to facilitate overtaking. Drivers can activate the DRS on the main straight of the pit lane, with the detection point for the gap between drivers located at the first Safety Car line, and between Turn 9 and Turn 10, the new additional stretch introduced later, with the detection point set before Turn 9. The FIA also establishes that any driver who crosses the white line on the left side at Turn 1 and Turn 2 with all four wheels may rejoin the track at Turn 3 if the car passes to the left of the two bollards at the entrance to the latter. In recent weeks, the Red Bull Racing team has noted that the front wings of Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes are excessively flexible. The argument expressed by the team principal of the Anglo-Austrian team, Christian Horner, is that:
"The FIA is going blind".
He says his team is ready to adapt to replicate the behavior of the competitors' wings, an area in which Red Bull Racing has always been a benchmark. In Montreal, during the Canadian Grand Prix, members of the FIA visited the garages of Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes to check the solidity of various components of the front wings. The deformation and flexibility of the front aerodynamic appendages not only allow for less aerodynamic resistance but also influence the airflow under the car to achieve slight understeer in fast corners. On this matter, Red Bull Racing's external consultant, Helmut Marko, emphasizes:
"Mercedes has a new front wing, and in the TV images from the Canadian GP, it was seen that they were significantly bent. However, in technical checks, the wings proved to have the necessary resistance. This does not surprise me. I don't know how often we had to check our wings. There is a well-defined procedure with weights under which a wing should not bend. It is quite common to push everything to the limit so that the wing fits the technical checks. In the race, then, the wing lowers, providing better aerodynamics. In Montreal, everything went well, both for us and for the competitors. There will be a new technical check in Barcelona, in Austria, and so on. Is it fair to say that Red Bull wants to clip Mercedes' wings? It's a funny play on words, it has a satirical edge, but only the FIA can do that".
Speaking, instead, of the difficulties faced by the Anglo-Austrian team in recent races, the Austrian manager highlights that:
"After the difficulties in Monaco, we reacted by coming to Canada with a softer base setup. But it was not enough. Since the Racing Bulls' car proved very strong in this aspect in Montreal, we are looking more closely at where Red Bull Racing might have made a mistake. I believe we are on the right track to make progress soon regarding the front suspension. It won't be easy to win because our car and our simulator have some weaknesses, and we are working hard to correct them. We won't win all the races, but it's good for us that the others can't be consistent".
Marko specifically talks about the weaknesses of the simulator:
"It doesn't correctly simulate the curbs. We're talking about a technically advanced structure, but it hasn't been set up correctly or doesn't interpret the data correctly. The next three races will tell us how valuable the various cars will be. Last year, Mercedes was strong in Barcelona and then no longer".
Lastly, there is a remark about the possible transfer of Max Verstappen to Mercedes, perhaps due to the renewed competitiveness of the Anglo-German cars in Canada:
"I just read that they confirmed Antonelli. But we are focused on winning the world championship, and we have seen that if you are not fully focused, you quickly become unable to win".
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO, adds:
"We know what our car's stiffness issues are when it comes to climbing the curbs, and winning in Canada after what happened in Monaco is a good sign. We have won two out of three races when we were in trouble, and I hope we can maintain this level to confirm ourselves in the upcoming races as well. The competition has grown significantly; we must not be deceived by the fact that we have won six out of nine races. To stay at the top, we need to offer the best version of ourselves".
Speaking of Red Bull Racing's rivals, who are slowly getting closer to the top, attention turns to Mercedes, where Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff preaches calm and waits to see what will happen in Barcelona:
"We have continued to make incremental gains across the past few races. It was encouraging therefore to take another positive step forward in Canada. To see that translate into our strongest team result of the season so far is a reward for everyone's hard work. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a unique track, however. It has a narrow range of corner speeds and, with a newly re-laid surface, was something of an outlier compared to more traditional venues. We know our competitors will perform more strongly at upcoming races so we will need to continue to work hard to consistently get ourselves in the fight for podiums, and eventually race wins. Barcelona will provide a good test of our progress. It has a mix of fast, medium, and low speed corners, a long straight and plenty of elevation change. Tracks that contain this wide speed range have been a weakness of ours so far this year. This weekend will therefore provide another opportunity to evaluate our progress through our recent updates, and we hope to build on the positive momentum from Montreal".
Mercedes' Technical Director, James Allison, is much less cautious. The English engineer is convinced he has reached a technical turning point and that his cars will soon be able to fight for victory:
"I believe the aspect that has plagued us since the beginning of the year has been that the car could do well in a slow corner or in a fast corner, but not both at the same time. In the last two or three races, we have modified the car to have a reasonable balance between high and low speeds: this means that the driver can trust the front and rear axles in both fast and slow corners. Balance is important for the driver, it's just a matter of understanding how to make the car go correctly at high and low speeds and tackle the corners properly. We have struggled all year with the springs, the bars, and all the mechanical accessories of the car, but we have tried to address the aerodynamic characteristics of the car. Was this an Eureka moment for us? Those moments come when you joyfully understand something that no one has ever understood before. This is more of a moment like: Oh God, how could we have been so stupid? When you see the path to follow and realize you should have seen it earlier. I think in this 2024 we can make the car competitive and not fear any track. I believe the characteristics of Montreal may lead our fans to think we are already at that point. Although I am quite sure we will do well in the next races, I would be surprised if we were on pole position at the next one. But I am absolutely certain that in the near future we can be as fast as anyone else".
The environment in Mercedes, however, is far from serene. In fact, on Monday, June 10, 2024, a day after the Canadian Grand Prix, in which Hamilton finished fourth, a place behind Russell - to all the sport's high-rollers and journalists who were copied into the leak of Red Bull boss Christian Horner's exchanges with a female employee in March, an anonymous email sent to the Formula One community claims Lewis Hamilton is being sabotaged at Mercedes. Hamilton claimed on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, that he was unaware of the letter but so seriously have Mercedes taken the matter that they investigated the IP address from which the email was sent - though they were not able to track down its source. The fact that the recipients are the same seems to indicate that the sender is connected to Formula One circles, though those email addresses can be accessed elsewhere. In a twist, Jonathan McEvoy - possibly along with others - receives a separate WhatsApp message directly to his phone expressing similar sentiments to those contained in the email. It, too, is anonymous, and the sender does not respond when the journalist replies asking for more information. However, a source close to the scene tells the journalist on condition of anonymity that he believes the email's contents are broadly accurate - and that there is a feeling (emphatically denied by the team) that Hamilton is being held back. He is being outqualified by Russell 8-1 this season, and trails the younger Briton by 14 points. The email said:
"Some of us in the team are unhappy about the systematic sabotaging of Lewis, his car, his tyre strategy, his race strategy and his mental health. Lewis is excluded and some underhanded (sic) things are going on that people need to be aware of. Ask the questions and the truth will out. It is all in the data and is recorded. With the exception of Bono (Peter Bonnington, Hamilton's race engineer) and those of us who love Lewis, others are on a dangerous course that could ultimately be life threatening to Lewis, other drivers, even the public. A cold tyre strategy is a death warrant".
Hamilton, speaking ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in a notably tetchy press conference with Russell, said:
"They know we have been a strong team and worked hard together. It is easy to get emotional. I only commented on the last race about my performance. We need support, not negativity. Of course, things can always be done better within the team and that comes through conversations and communication. That is something we are consistently working on. We all want to finish on a high and I feel we owe that to our long-term relationship".
Russell said:
"I don't look on Instagram or Twitter. You see funny things on social media and it keeps you up to date but on the flip side, everybody, and not just me, in the limelight receives negativity. It is not something I have seen, I have heard about it, and it is never nice to hear it, but that is the world we live in and unfortunately any person in the public eye is facing it".
The Mercedes team insist the correspondence was not penned by an employee - as the writer implies - but by a Hamilton fan who believes their man is losing out to George Russell because boss Toto Wolff feels slighted by the seven-time World Champion's decision to join Ferrari next season. Speaking of McLaren Racing, Lando Norris is aware that the British team arrives in Barcelona with favorable predictions. At the very least, the British driver can aim for a podium finish, should the car not be sufficiently competitive to attempt to win the Grand Prix:
"It's great to be back in Europe after a successful Canadian GP for us. We were close to another win, but I'm happy to get another podium and important points for the team. It's a great place to be in, fighting for wins, and it makes me really excited for the rest of the season".
So he adds:
"We know we've got a little bit of work to do to ensure we're winning more regularly, but we're moving in the right direction. Last week I was back at the MTC to see the team and prepare for Barcelona. I always enjoy going to Spain, there's always a great atmosphere from the fans and it's an amazing city. The track has its challenges with a real mix of slow and high-speed corners, but I think we're in a good position to maximize our performance and get the most out of the car. We've got our eyes on the prize, let's go".
Oscar Piastri, engaged in his learning journey, is also looking forward to tackling a circuit like Barcelona, which has unique characteristics:
"Canada was another strong weekend for the team and I was pleased to continue a productive run of results from Imola and Monaco. It's a nice feeling to be consistently fighting at the front and being in the mix for the big prizes. I've had some decent performances in Barcelona in the junior categories and the car feels in a good place thanks to all the hard work put in by the whole team. I'm looking forward to touching down in Spain".
Andrea Stella, McLaren Racing Team Principal, concludes by saying:
"We now head to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. It's the start of a busy European season with a triple header. It's a lot of work for the drivers and the entire team to keep up the momentum for three races in a row, but we are energized by our recent performance and results. While we're confident that the MCL38 can perform on merit at different types of tracks, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will still offer a unique challenge. More teams are bringing upgrades, so it's important for us to keep our focus and make every weekend count".
However, Max Verstappen, who ran a comparative simulator test at Imola with the RB18 on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, who will be using his new orange helmet on this occasion, is in a splendid period of form and arrives at Montmeló as the absolute favorite:
"We are back to the European races for a while now and I have been with the team at the factory this week preparing for the Spanish Grand Prix, being the first race of a busy triple header. Barcelona will be the first race where I will be debuting my new orange helmet. As a tribute to my fans and all of their support, they are actually featured on the helmet and I think the final design looks really cool and detailed. I have great memories from the circuit, especially winning my first Formula One race there. It has a good mix of high and low-speed corners and we have historically driven well there so hopefully we can maximize the performance of the car this weekend. We are aiming to keep the momentum going from Canada, so we are looking forward to racing this weekend and hopefully have some good weather".
The Spanish Grand Prix, however, represents an opportunity for Sergio Perez to redeem himself from recent disappointments:
"Coming into Spain I know I need a successful weekend, after a disaster in Canada. Sometimes you are forced to reset a little and we have done that since the last race. I have been in Milton Keynes working with the team to try and identify where and what we can do better to ensure I am getting the most out of this car. I am confident in the car and the performance we can execute from it, but I need to show that on track better in Barcelona. I always enjoy the Spanish GP, it feels a lot like home and everyone makes me feel so welcome. It’s a circuit I know very well and the RB20 should be quick around this type of track, so it’s down to us to get things right and bring home the result we know we are capable of".
The Mexican driver admits that having to finalize the details of the agreement with Red Bull Racing has distracted him recently. Now, however, Checo will have to fully commit to climbing back up the rankings, having dropped to fifth place in the Drivers' Championship:
"Like in any negotiation, there is always a process to follow and it’s not always pleasant to do it between races while pushing to the limit. Being able to put this distraction behind us for the team and for myself is nice, so we can focus on pure performance. I believe this is the best thing for our team".
Charles Leclerc seems to be eager to redeem himself after his expectations for the final race result in Canada were deadened by the events that caused his retirement:
"Even putting aside the race result, our performance as a whole in Montreal was not at the level we want, but I think we have what it takes to get back to where we were in the first part of the season. In the factory everyone is doing an incredible job and we have managed to bring forward some updates that were due to be introduced later in the season. This is a good track to test them and if they give us a little something, it could be a benefit, given how close it all is between the top teams. Performance depends on many factors. We must get off to a good start from the beginning of free practice on Friday, find the best set-up and work on the details. In fact, as we have always said, making the most of the package we have can be as valuable as an aero update. It’s up to us to get the most out of the SF-24".
Carlos Sainz Jr. goes into a football prediction instead, as the European Football Championship is being held in parallel, and the match between Italy and Spain is scheduled:
"This weekend I’m racing in front of my fans who even have their own grandstand. I can feel their support and I hope to be able to have a great race for them on a track where I’ve always done well. We have a clear idea of what we need to do to avoid a repeat of that poor showing and we are confident we can be back fighting at the front again. To succeed we will have to maximise the potential of the SF-24 right from the first practice session and get every little detail right, which is what makes the difference these days in Formula 1. As a Spanish driver in an Italian team, tonight’s going to be fun watching the game with the rest of the team, as we have a team dinner. Of course, I’ll be cheering on my country and I’m confident that, unfortunately for the majority of my colleagues, my team will win and I’ll even make a prediction. It will be 2-1 with a late goal".
The Spaniard driver adds that he will soon decide which team to race with in the 2025 season to avoid distractions that could hinder his progress in the current World Championship:
"I have several options, and I will decide very soon because I want to get it off my mind and focus on the rest of the championship with Ferrari. This year I have the car to win races and get on the podium, so I want to concentrate on the present, then there will be time to think about 2025. Williams? As I said, I have several options; I'm practically on the list of every team that still has a free seat for next year. I could sign tomorrow, but I won't because I want to take my time. And Williams could be an option for me".
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari HP, concludes by also discussing the recent victory of the Maranello team at Le Mans for the second consecutive year:
"The Spanish Grand Prix should see us return to being competitive, with the same level of performance we have demonstrated throughout the season prior to the Canadian Grand Prix. In fact, we come to Barcelona buoyed by the fantastic performance from our Ferrari Hypercar colleagues who have just won the Le Mans 24 Hours for the second year running. We learned some valuable lessons from the Montreal weekend and feel we have now moved on from there. We have to work calmly and continue to focus on ourselves. The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit has always been regarded as a great test of a car’s all-round ability and we expect to be back on our usual form here. However, all season long we have seen qualifying and the race fought out to the nearest hundredth of a second, so it will be vital for us to ensure we do everything correctly, down to the smallest detail. That will involve being on top of our game, because only by executing every session perfectly can we get the results we know we are capable of. This is Carlos’ home race and I’m sure all that extra support from the fans will be an added boost for him. It’s going to be an interesting weekend and we are counting on scoring plenty of points".
The 2023 season was exceptional for Fernando Alonso: in his first year with Aston Martin, the Spanish driver secured eight podiums. However, the British car no longer guarantees the same performance, but Fernando remains undeterred and, on the eve of the Spanish Grand Prix, explains to his fans:
"We've understood many things about the car that we need to put into practice. In F1, there are no overnight solutions. It can take three weeks to design a part, produce it, test it, and introduce it in the race. As a driver or a fan, it's hard to understand because you want things for tomorrow. The exceptional thing was the eight podiums last year. Eight podiums while finishing fifth in the Constructors' Championship. That's not normal. This year, we'll see how many drivers can achieve eight podiums with the second, third, or fourth-best car. It's not easy to get eight podiums, even less so with the fifth car in the championship. But we will try. I don't know if it will be eight, but the championship is long".
Meanwhile, prying eyes have noticed Adrian Newey's presence at Silverstone, making a private visit to the Aston Martin factory. It appears that Lawrence Stroll's pressure is becoming increasingly insistent, with rumors of a meeting between the parties and a very enticing offer made by the Canadian magnate. Team employees have also reportedly been asked to maintain the utmost secrecy about what is happening, but some information is leaking out. However, it appears that Adrian Newey has asked Aston Martin for a salary of $31.7 million, a sum that would have scared off Lawrence Stroll, however, although about half of what the British engineer had projected in early approaches in recent months. Meanwhile, the British team neither confirms nor denies the rumors but releases a statement:
"The Aston Martin Aramco F1 team is a very attractive project thanks to Lawrence Stroll's vision, with a new state-of-the-art technology campus and exciting partnerships with Aramco and Honda. Many high-profile individuals in all areas have been linked to our project, but we have nothing to announce".
Recently, there has been discussion about the new technical regulations set to be introduced in 2026. In particular, there is debate over the validity of these rules and the significant limitations that have been imposed on designers for years. Regarding the sporting regulations, there is also difficulty in understanding the rules, even for those within the Circus. On this topic, Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Liberty Media, admits:
"The rules are generally too complicated. Even from a sporting point of view. No one understands the penalty system. Simplifying the rules is a task that the F1 Commission has set for itself and wants to develop proposals for. If the regulations are complicated for the teams, imagine for the spectators. In my role, I have to look at F1 through the eyes of a fan, empathize with the customer. If you focus too much on the details, you lose sight of the big picture, which I also learned from my previous role as team principal".
The on-track spectacle also suffers. As has already happened, for example, during the Monaco Grand Prix:
"Take Monte Carlo, for example. We know what to expect. The track is what it is, our cars are what they are, and it's almost impossible to overtake. But when there are pit stops during the race, there is also action. This year, with the red flag on the first lap, everyone had already made their pit stops. Something like this must not happen again. We need to better anticipate scenarios like this and use the rules to avoid them. In the past, the regulations consisted of a thin stack of sheets, now they are thick tomes".
This highlights the necessity for a regulatory overhaul to simplify both technical and sporting rules, making them more comprehensible and ensuring the excitement and unpredictability that fans love about F1 are maintained. On Friday, June 21, 2024, just before the start of the first free practice session, BWT Alpine F1 Team can confirm that Flavio Briatore has been appointed by Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo as his Executive Advisor for the Formula One Division. Briatore will predominantly focus on top level areas of the team including: scouting top talents and providing insights on the driver market, challenging the existing project by assessing the current structure and advising on some strategic matters within the sport. On Friday, June 21, 2024, during the first free practice session, Lando Norris set the best performance, lapping in 1’14”228. The British driver was 0.4 seconds faster than the best time in the equivalent session of the previous year, despite the very high asphalt temperature. Lando Norris was just a few thousandths of a second ahead of Max Verstappen. Carlos Sainz Jr., driving a Ferrari equipped with technical upgrades, ranked third. Charles Leclerc, who did not have the updates available to his car, finished his practice mid-table. However, the Monegasque driver’s fastest attempt was hindered by red flags, which were displayed to suspend the session to clean the track of debris left by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.
The top nine drivers were within less than a second. At the end of the first free practice session on Friday, Lance Stroll was summoned by the stewards for failing to participate in fan engagement activities. As a result, Aston Martin received a reprimand. Ferrari's reserve driver Oliver Bearman takes part in Friday's first free practice session with Haas in place of Nico Hülkenberg, wearing the number 50. During the second free practice session, Lewis Hamilton set the best time, lapping in 1’13”264. Behind him, separated by only a few thousandths of a second, were Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris, who were already competitive during the first practice session held in the morning. Charles Leclerc seemed to be struggling, to the point where the Monegasque driver was forced to halt his race simulation to request several changes to the car’s setup. In the long run, the best cars appeared to be the McLarens, although Oscar Piastri did not seem particularly competitive on a single lap. The Red Bull Racing drivers finished the practice with the fifth and thirteenth best times, indicating the usual setup difficulties. Even in the afternoon, the situation was very balanced, with sixteen drivers within one second. Lewis Hamilton ends the day by setting the fastest time in the second session. The British driver momentarily returns to a smile, but warns:
"FP1 wasn't the best session for us but we still learned quite a lot. FP2 was a lot better though and the car was feeling great. The track was very hot, so it was tough on the tyres, especially on the long run. Overall, though, it didn't feel like we were too far off being right in the mix at the front. We have taken a step forward with the car in recent races. Everyone has worked so hard to get us to this point and make those incremental gains. We've got a clear direction of where we want to go moving forward too. We're starting to see that feed through to our performance on track. Hopefully we can continue the momentum from today into Saturday and get closer to our competitors ahead".
George Russell, too, finally had the opportunity to go through the free practice sessions without any major problems. But just like his teammate, he too is preaching calm ahead of the third free practice session, and qualifying:
"We had a good day on track today. The car was performing really well around this circuit. It was encouraging to see Lewis top of the timesheets and we were consistently at the front. Our long run pace in FP1 was competitive. In FP2, it seemed that our single lap pace was slightly stronger than our long run speed but overall, the car is feeling strong. It is only Friday, but it has been a while since we've been consistently at the upper end of the field. I'm feeling good and excited as this is what we've been chasing for a while. We won't get ahead of ourselves though and will work diligently tonight and tomorrow to prepare as best as we can for Qualifying and Sunday's Grand Prix".
Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director, adds:
"We've had a solid first day on track here in Barcelona. We made a step forward with the updates we brought to Monaco and Montreal, but it's been encouraging to see that the car is working well around a track with plenty of high-speed corners. Our single lap pace looks competitive and quite close with several other teams. It's always hard to know where you stand on Friday given the range of power modes and fuel loads, but we've also had many a good first day followed by a tough qualifying session. We will therefore focus on improving on the feedback that the drivers are reporting and see where we end up tomorrow afternoon in Qualifying".
While Toto Wolff, Team Principal e CEO Mercedes, turns his attention away from the first two practice sessions for a moment, and focuses his talk on what is happening around the team, which has recently been accused of sabotaging Lewis Hamilton:
"It's not from a member of the team. When we are getting these kinds of emails, and we're getting tons of them, it is upsetting, particularly when there is somebody talking about death and all these things. On this particular one, I have instructed to go on full force. We have the police inquiring [about] it. We're researching the IP address. We are researching the phone. All of that because online abuse in that way needs to stop. People can't hide behind their phones or their computers and abuse teams or drivers in a way like this. I don't know what some of the conspiracy theorists and lunatics think out there. Lewis has been part of the team for 12 years. We have a friendship. We trust each other. We want to end this on a high. We want to celebrate the relationship. If you don't believe all of that, then you can believe that we want to win the Constructors' World Championship. And part of the Constructors' World Championship is making both cars win. So, to all of these mad people out there, take a shrink. There will always be people that have the laptop on their chest in their bedroom and just typing away. If people feel like they want to abuse and hit out and hide behind a made-up Instagram account, or anything else that, for me is... come up, say who you are, and we'll take the criticism and discuss. But don't hide. If emails are being sent or telephone numbers are being used for these messages, then for me the joking stops, and we will pursue it, whether that is successful or not. But there are limits to certain things".
While at the end of the first practice session it was Lewis Hamilton who was honored with the first position, at the end of the second session it was Lando Norris who was ahead of the rest of the group. The British driver knows that McLaren is among the favored cars to win the Spanish Grand Prix, but he tries to downplay it:
"A positive day in hot conditions. It was difficult to get the perfect balance, which I think is the same for everyone, but overall, I felt comfortable with the car today. I feel like we're in good shape with some things to improve overnight, but not a lot and I'm confident we can put ourselves into a good position. It's super-close, like we've seen in the last few weeks, so, it's about the smaller things and trying to get everything together. Tomorrow will be the key".
On the other hand, Oscar Piastri, who is far from being among the top performers, is not very happy:
"That's Friday done, a decent day with a few areas to tidy up but I think the car's looking competitive, which is good. I found a few things in FP2 with my driving and the set-up, so it's about dialling everything in a bit more overnight. There's some work to do ahead of Qualifying and as expected, it looks very tight at the front so getting the most out of our package tomorrow will be important for Sunday's race".
Andrea Stella, McLaren Racing Team Principal, concludes:
"A useful practice day in Barcelona. There were no major issues, and we completed our run plan which included establishing the correct car set-up, which is extremely important here given the demanding nature of the track for grip in these long corners, and hot conditions. We have been able to work on the tyres, trying to understand which compounds are the best for the race, and how to use the Soft tyre for Qualifying. I think we have collected good data, which we will now review overnight. Overall, no surprises. It looks pretty tight at the front of the field, and we can see, like we've been seeing lately, that all cars seem to be able to produce quick laps. We'll have to stay focused and deliver good laps, but the potential is encouraging, and we'll try to maximise our performance to score as many points as possible this weekend".
Carlos Sainz Jr. enjoys the support of his audience in Barcelona. That, however, did not seem to affect the behavior of the Spanish driver, who with seriousness did his work of understanding the updates present on the car, despite the fact that the heat somewhat limited the work:
"Quite a tricky Friday, as always here in Barcelona when the sun is up and the track changes quite quickly. We struggled a bit in both sessions to get the right balance on the car, but I think everyone had similar issues today. So overall, I’m reasonably happy with the car, but we have work to do, especially race pace-wise. What I really enjoyed today was the atmosphere at the track. Thank you to all the fans for their support. I’m looking forward to putting on a good show tomorrow".
Charles Leclerc was not comfortable with the set-up envisioned by Scuderia Ferrari. The work in the pits to improve the quality of the car's driveability took a long time, and the Monegasque driver could not complete the work as planned:
"FP1 was very difficult for everyone. First of all, because the conditions are extremely hot, which makes the cars hard to drive. Secondly, we were a bit off with the balance. On top of that, at the beginning, I didn't have the updates because we wanted to compare both cars, so all in all, it was quite a complicated session. In FP2, however, I regained the feeling. I didn't put everything together and still need to find some rhythm. Overall, it was a bit of a difficult Friday for me, but I know where to find the lap time, so I'm not too worried about tomorrow. The time spent in the pits? I had a small issue with the car and didn't do the long run I was supposed to do in FP2, but I have a very clear idea of what we need to do to improve the car and I'm confident we'll make a step forward tomorrow. The intervention was just a setup change that took a bit longer than expected".
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP, returns to talk about the problems encountered in Montreal. The French manager is keen to specify that certain situations should not occur again:
"I believe we had all the problems in the world in Canada during the same weekend. I think it was an isolated case, but overall I believe that in Montreal we also had some positives in terms of performance in certain phases. We just need to work on the negatives. It happened during the season, but so far we have had good reliability, and I hope it was an isolated case".
So he adds:
"Leclerc's problems had nothing to do with the engine; it was an electronic issue and it has been resolved. It looks very competitive at the front, with Mercedes joining the fight. It will be tough and closely contested until the end because in the last two races, a tenth of a second can cost you two or three positions, and it will remain like that until the end. This means we need to put all our resources into the fight: we are pushing to the maximum to ensure we do a good job in terms of track operations, and it will be like this until the end".
As is often the case, Max Verstappen faced problems during both of the first two practice sessions in order to best trim his car:
"Today we just tried a few set ups out there in FP1 and FP2 and we have been trying to fine tune the car a little bit. I think the day itself has been positive and a bit more normal without any issues. This is what we have been hoping for, so now it’s about tidying things up a little bit more, which is quite normal. There is still a bit of work to do but we are feeling positive going into the weekend".
Red Bull Racing brought upgrades to Barcelona, affecting the weight and cooling of the car. Sergio Perez confesses that at the beginning of the day the car seemed to be well adjusted, but with lassare time the interventions performed took the team off the right track:
"I started the day well but then going into FP2 we made quite a few changes on set-up and I think we lost track somewhere, so there are plenty of things to analyse overnight. We have made a lot of changes and explored the car quite a bit today, so hopefully we are able to pick the right bits from that going into tomorrow. We will work tonight to ensure the car is in the correct place for optimal performance for qualifying and the race, it’s about finding the right balance. Qualifying will be super crucial to me this weekend due to the three place grid penalty, the lack of overtaking around here means it will be very important to be high up, in order to get into a good position on Sunday".
Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer, concludes by talking about the behavior of the tires on the scorching Spanish Montmeló circuit:
"Barcelona always provides a stern test for all the parts that go to make up a Formula 1 car and the tyres are no exception to that rule! That was the case today, in high temperatures, with the track getting close to the 50 °C mark, which added further stress to the tyres that are already subjected to some of the highest lateral forces of the whole season. Honestly, we have not seen anything particularly surprising in terms of the performance of the three dry weather compounds, even if obviously we have not yet had a chance to study today's data in detail. The performance difference over a flying lap seems to match the predictions - six to seven tenths between Hard and Medium and just over a second between Medium and Soft - and the C3 appears to be a possible option for the race, especially in terms of exploiting its performance advantage off the start line and over the opening laps, as indeed we saw last year".
On Saturday, June 22, 2024, before the start of the third free practice session, the third gearbox and third transmission were installed on the cars of Carlos Sainz Jr., Yuki Tsunoda, and Valtteri Bottas, while the fourth gearbox and fourth transmission were installed on Logan Sargeant's car. None of the drivers will be penalized as the new components fall within the maximum number allowed by the technical regulations. Carlos Sainz Jr. set the best time during the third free practice session. Following him, within just 0.074 seconds, were Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen. The World Champion was the only driver to use the session to carry out an 11-lap race simulation on Medium tires with a full fuel tank. The close competition was confirmed by the fact that thirteen drivers were within one second. Oscar Piastri was tenth, having ruined his fast lap with an off-track excursion at turn 7, while Sergio Pérez was seventh, still struggling with setup issues.
At the end of the third free practice session, Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton were summoned by the stewards due to a collision between the two drivers at turn 5. Lance Stroll received a reprimand, his first of the season. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris were also summoned due to a collision between the two drivers at the same turn, and the Monegasque driver also received his first reprimand of the season. A few hours later, when the qualifying session began, Logan Sargeant was the first to set a timed lap, quickly beaten by Daniel Ricciardo. The benchmark set by the Racing Bulls driver was subsequently improved by Sergio Pérez. Shortly after, Alex Albon moved up to second place, while Max Verstappen was the first to record a time under 1’13”0 (1'12"306). Following him were Oscar Piastri, then Lewis Hamilton, and finally Lando Norris, 0.080 seconds behind the World Champion. Charles Leclerc then took the lead with a time of 1’12"257, while Nico Hülkenberg moved up to fifth before Pierre Gasly positioned himself ahead of the German driver. Shortly after, George Russell moved up to fifth place, 0.2 seconds off the Monegasque driver's time. Sergio Pérez climbed back up to sixth place, while Valtteri Bottas brought his Stake F1 Team car to seventh, just ahead of teammate Guanyu Zhou. Moments later, Oscar Piastri moved up to sixth place, then Lewis Hamilton took the lead from Charles Leclerc with a lap of 1’12"143. At the end of the session, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon, and Logan Sargeant did not advance to the next stage. In Q2, the drivers waited a few minutes before heading out on track, except for Lance Stroll, who completed his first attempt with a time of 1’13”360 on a set of used tires. Esteban Ocon lowered the benchmark with a time of 1'12"376, which was then improved by Sergio Pérez and Pierre Gasly. Nico Hülkenberg moved up to third place, while Fernando Alonso was fifth but was soon overtaken by Valtteri Bottas. Moments later, Charles Leclerc set the fastest time with a lap of 1’12"038, only to be surpassed by Oscar Piastri with a time of 1'12"011. Carlos Sainz Jr. then recorded an even faster time, taking the lead. The battle between the Ferrari and McLaren drivers continued with Lando Norris, who set a new best time of 1'11"872.
Finally, Max Verstappen took the top spot, while the Mercedes drivers were in sixth (George Russell) and thirteenth place (Lewis Hamilton, who was using used tires). When Lewis Hamilton switched to new tires, he closed to within 0.139 seconds of Max Verstappen. Esteban Ocon moved up to seventh place, while Nico Hülkenberg climbed to twelfth. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly moved ahead of Esteban Ocon, and Sergio Pérez placed himself ahead of both Alpine drivers. Fernando Alonso improved his time but could not go beyond eleventh place and was eliminated. Along with the Spanish driver, Valtteri Bottas, Guanyu Zhou, Nico Hülkenberg, and Lance Stroll did not make it to Q3. At the start of Q3, both Red Bull Racing drivers immediately went out on track. Sergio Pérez's time of 1’13"061 was not very significant, as the Mexican driver opted to use worn tires. Max Verstappen, however, set a time of 1'11"673, placing himself ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. Oscar Piastri moved up to third place, 0.8 seconds behind Max Verstappen. However, the Australian driver's time was later deleted for exceeding track limits. Lando Norris came close to the World Champion's time, stopping just over 0.1 seconds short. Charles Leclerc moved up to fourth place. The arrival of the Mercedes drivers changed the standings: George Russell was third, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. However, Russell complained on the radio about his teammate's behavior during the warm-up lap. Sergio Pérez, on his second fast lap, was seventh, while Oscar Piastri spoiled his performance with an off-track excursion and finished in tenth place. Carlos Sainz Jr. set a time just 0.063 seconds slower than Max Verstappen's; however, the Spanish driver was also surpassed by Charles Leclerc, by only 0.005 seconds. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen further improved his time, using the slipstream provided by Sergio Pérez, recording a lap of 1'11"403. But it was Lando Norris who managed to secure pole position with a time of 1’11”383, while the two Mercedes drivers confirmed themselves in third and fourth places, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Lando Norris claimed the second pole position of his career after his first at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.
"I'm super, super happy. We've been close to the front all weekend, but needed to have a perfect lap, and I think we delivered that. We've been quick for the last two months, and we've probably missed a pole by not having that perfect lap. Today, for the final run, we made a few changes, found some places to make tiny improvements and it all worked out. We're in a great position to convert pole into a victory but it's going to be incredibly tough against Max, against Lewis and everyone behind them - but we've been strong since Miami, we're here to win, and that's definitely the target".
At the end of qualifying, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen chat about how the session went, given the good relations between the two. In particular, they criticize the stewards' decisions, referring to the incident between Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, where the latter was disadvantaged by the Monegasque driver's behavior. The Dutch driver says:
"It's absurd that he only received a reprimand".
Lando Norris responds:
"Is that what he got?"
Max Verstappen replies:
"Yes, just a reprimand".
Lando Norris, disconsolate, concludes:
"The whole front wing was fucked".
And Max Verstappen confirms:
"I know, yes. Crazy".
Somewhat surprisingly, Max Verstappen failed to take pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix. While it is true that his Red Bull Racing needed a lot of work to fix the set-up, the Dutch driver hardly makes mistakes in qualifying:
"We made some good set up changes going into qualifying and the car was a lot better. I think we really maximised that and the car felt more connected and nice to drive. We were strong into the high speed and I felt really comfortable there and the high speed corners were really quick. We have had a clean weekend and have been fine tuning the car throughout the week. During the practice session I felt like we were not the quickest out there but qualifying felt really good. McLaren were quick the whole weekend and we have been a little bit behind them, so we need to look at what we can do to optimise the performance tomorrow and be more competitive. Looking to tomorrow, I think it will be very tight; it will be about how we approach the tyres, especially with the high degradation. It will be a close and exciting race tomorrow. We need to analyse a few things but qualifying has been good so we can aim to fight for the win".
So he adds:
"The dominance we had is gone; we need to find more performance and improve the car if we want to win the title. The gap with Perez is very wide, and I think that says a lot too. There are still many races, and if you have a fast car, you can quickly make up ground. McLaren has simply done a good job; their car is strong everywhere, and they are also managing the tires very well. McLaren is doing better than us; otherwise, they wouldn't be ahead of me. We are also making progress, but not as much as others. McLaren has built a very solid package".
That Red Bull Racing is not having a brilliant time is demonstrated, again, by Sergio Perez, who failed to qualify beyond eighth position:
"I am not happy with my position today, the target was to be higher up. It was a tricky qualifying, we struggled initially and we burned through the tyres quickly unfortunately, which meant we weren’t able to extract the maximum out of it. My final lap wasn’t as clean as it needed to be in Q3, I didn’t have enough of a rhythm or a pace. We needed more of a progression through the session and we didn’t have that, we will work hard to have that for the race. We have made some good changes so we should be on the right track for Sunday. It will be a difficult race from P11 with the grid penalty and it will be very important to be patient and get the right opportunities, especially if it’s wet because anything can happen. We have to be ready to be out there when it matters. Hopefully we are able to secure some good points and take them away from our rivals".
Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver, Sergio Pérez, is penalized three positions on the grid for continuing on during the Canadian Grand Prix despite having the car in an unsafe condition after it was damaged following contact with the barriers. Christian Horner, CEO and Team Principal Red Bull Racing, he will rue the fact that he did not take pole position here in Barcelona as well, as he did in Montreal:
"That was very close. We matched the time in Montreal and today we missed out by two hundredths of a second but a great performance by Max and the Team. Equally good to see Checo stepping back into Q3. He will have some work to do with the three place penalty putting him in 11th but it’s all to play for tomorrow. We’ve done some good work overnight; we’ve improved the car which sees us on the front row in a very good position. It’s one of the longest runs to turn one of the year so starting in second place is not necessarily a disadvantage. There’s also some chance of rain, particularly in the morning so it could be another really exciting day tomorrow, but I don’t think this race will just be about the start, it’s going to be about the tyres, the degradation and how the left-hand tyres survive".
While Red Bull Racing's outside consultant Helmut Marko warns the team, saying McLaren currently has the best car on the track:
"If we look at Friday's long runs, McLaren is the clear favorite. With the modifications we've made, we assume that tire wear will be less. We hope that the Safety Car comes at the right time, or doesn't come at all. After FP3, we didn't know if we would be in the front two rows or not. In the end, we lost pole to Lando in Turn 4, while we were faster in the first and third sectors".
If what Helmut Marko says seems true for Lando Norris, a little doubt arises regarding Oscar Piastri. The Australian driver, in fact, was never comfortable with the car during this weekend:
"Not the best Qualifying, we just struggled with the balance of the car the whole way through. Obviously the car has pace so we'll dig into what went wrong and work out how we can fight back tomorrow. Today was just one of those days, unfortunately".
Andrea Stella, Team Principal McLaren Racing, concludes:
"A pole position at a circuit like Barcelona, which is very demanding for the drivers and for the cars, is obviously a great result for the entire team. We have achieved important milestones recently, but the pole position was still one of those achievements that had eluded us. It's good that we could confirm the progress of the team, and of the car, with this pole position. A great drive by Lando, he drove qualifying faultlessly and, when it counted, put together one of the best laps of his career. Again, the field proved to be very, very tight, so anything can happen tomorrow. We'll have to stay focused and try to maximise a good start from pole for Lando".
So he adds:
"On Oscar's side, the Qualifying session was a little untidy. Oscar struggled a bit more to get into a rhythm and, in Q3, couldn't effectively put together a lap without exceeding track limits - but we know the pace is there and tomorrow is a completely different situation. We will reset, look at what we need to improve, and we look ahead to finishing in a better position to where we start and scoring important points for the team".
With Lewis Hamilton's third place, the Mercedes team can finally smile again. The British driver, after recent controversy, finally managed to qualify ahead of his teammate:
"This is another encouraging result for us as a team. Everyone has been working so hard to bring updates and improvements to the car, making incremental gains and small steps over the season so far. We are starting to become more consistent too and that is huge for us. That is down to every member of the team putting in the extra hours and I want to say a big thank you to them. The car is getting more enjoyable to drive. Today, the gap was three tenths, but I think in reality it was less as we didn't get everything out of the car on that last lap. I am going into tomorrow focused on trying to fight for the win. We are in a good starting spot with that long run down to turn one. Degradation will also play a key role tomorrow and I think our long runs in practice looked strong in that respect. I hope that translates into Sunday and we can have a good afternoon".
It is also a good day for George Russell, who qualified in fourth position. Although his own expectations were higher, the British driver is not complaining about the qualifying result:
"The car has been feeling great this weekend. Our pace was strong throughout practice, and we felt confident going into Qualifying. A second-row lock-out is a decent result but the gap to Norris and Verstappen was slightly bigger than we expected. Both mine and Lewis set good laps, but I don't think either of us felt that we maximised them. Getting the tyres perfectly in the window around a challenging track like this is so difficult. I think those ahead managed to do that and maybe we didn't today. On a circuit like this, the ultimate race pace of a car will always win out. I think our race pace looked good throughout the weekend so far and I hope we can fight for the podium and potentially victory. The recent steps we've taken with the car are clearly helping and we're looking forward to building on that momentum".
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO Mercedes, admits that not everything went as planned during qualifying. But, all in all, the end result is not so bad:
"P3 and P4 is a solid result. The car balance wasn't quite as good as on Friday though. Added to that, both drivers felt that there was little more time left out there. The gap to pole position was slightly larger than we had envisaged throughout practice, therefore. That was a little frustrating, but it is positive that we were able to get ourselves ahead of the Ferraris. Our attention now turns to race day. Our long run pace looked solid throughout practice, but it was similar to others around us. Hopefully we can be in the mix though and take the fight to those ahead. It will be a race determined by that pace coupled with tyre degradation, so let's see what we can do".
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director, concludes:
"The car balance has been trickier than yesterday. At times, it looked like we might have had an opportunity to challenge for the front row. In Q3 though, the pace of Norris and Verstappen was just out of reach for us. The positive is that we have both cars at the sharp end of the field. That will create some opportunities in terms of strategy. The key thing tomorrow is going to be race pace and tyre degradation. We looked decent on the long run yesterday and we've done a bit of work on the setup overnight, so our aim is that we have made another step in the right direction. It is also encouraging that the hard work of everyone in the team is steadily moving us closer to the front, and hopefully we can make further steps in the next few races".
As for Scuderia Ferrari, every prediction prior to the start of the race weekend was completely overturned. Moreover, for Charles Leclerc, the problems to be faced were certainly not few:
"It has been a really tough weekend until qualifying; I struggled a lot in FP1 and FP2. In the first practice, we had the old package; we obviously had to do the comparison between the two cars, which was necessary. On a track like Barcelona, though, losing two sets of tires complicates things a bit in finding the rhythm. In FP2, the car seemed really out of place in terms of balance. In FP3, we made substantial changes and I immediately felt much more comfortable. Despite this, we didn't have the pace of the front runners. In a way, I am happy with the progress between Friday and Saturday, which I think will pay off in the race, but I am disappointed with the qualifying result, which shows we are further behind than we expected. It's certain that the update package we brought is doing what it needs to and is a good step forward, but we know well that in Formula 1 everything is relative. Other teams have also brought updates, so it all depends on how much improvement they have made too. We can certainly optimize this package more, but that shouldn't be an excuse. I think we just lacked a bit of pace this weekend. Jock Clear said that the update is in line with the previous ambition to try to make the car better and easier to drive, considering that last year was very difficult".
So is there a danger that now the car seems easier and better to drive, but in the end, you lose speed?
"It's a very difficult question to answer. Today I felt good, sure, but I can say that this is a performance update and not a drivability update. So what we've seen is definitely an improvement in the car's performance, 100%, and we are seeing it with data that we expected. But it's also important that the car is drivable to allow us drivers to extract the maximum potential".
Carlos Sainz Jr. emphasizes that the competition is really tight. But the distance to the pole position is really a lot....
"Before the weekend, I would have said that this wasn't a track where we could be very competitive because it's somewhat similar to China and Suzuka, where we haven't been strong. The practice sessions, however, encouraged me, and I thought we could fight for pole, but once we got to Q2, we saw that Red Bull and McLaren had a bit more. Podium? If we start well and get into the top-5, it's possible. If we're sixth after the first lap, it becomes more complicated, but I think if we're a bit further ahead, we can fight, considering how much strategy matters. Mercedes beat us both by 30 thousandths, and it's certain that we can find those 30 thousandths in this car or on our lap: the reality is, however, that they have improved a lot in the last races, and we are slower. Now we have to start pushing because on these circuits, they are stronger".
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP, concludes by saying that the most one can aspire to at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix is a podium finish:
"Overall, it was a decent session even if, but for a few thousandths of a second it could have been better. But that’s part of the game and we have to accept it. Looking forward to the race we have to put everything together and I’m confident it will be possible to have a solid comeback from the third row. We decided to save one set of Soft tyres with both drivers for tomorrow and we’ll see if this will give us an advantage, especially on a track like this in which how you manage the tyres can make a big difference. We know it will be a very tight fight until the end of the season, with ups and downs and so our target must be to always score points. A plausible target for tomorrow? The podium".
The return of Flavio Briatore to an active role in a Formula 1 team has sparked a wave of outrage from the British press, which has not forgotten the events of the 2008 Singapore Crashgate. However, the Italian manager responded to the criticism, saying:
"An independent court ruling acquitted me. And I have received renewed appreciation, even here in Barcelona, from many team principals. Of course, F1 is always a den of gossip. There are ups and downs in a career. I have been rehabilitated and could have returned as early as 2012; I had many offers. None of the offers seemed sexy enough to me. You know, I act with my heart too, which has been operated on and is new. I'm also a sentimental person. I built the Alpine headquarters in Enstone, formerly Renault. I am attached to this team. We built and won together. The marriage was made".
While Carlos Sainz Jr. could not make the many Spanish fans in the stands at the circuit happy, things were certainly no better on the other side, where Fernando Alonso is present:
"It was very close in Qualifying today with just a few tenths between several cars. We were slightly pessimistic heading into the session, so I think we have to be quite pleased with tenth position for tomorrow's race following Sergio's [Perez] penalty. The support from the home fans has been amazing and I'm very thankful for this. While we would love to be fighting for something more, we'll see what we can do tomorrow starting inside the top ten and try to maximise our race to score some points".
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director, at the end of the three free practice and qualifying sessions can analyze the behavior of the tires, and give their own opinion on their possible behavior in the race:
"Another extremely close qualifying, with very small gaps and several teams and drivers looking capable at some point or other of being quickest. With today's pole for Norris, it means that four teams - Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and now McLaren - have managed to start from the number one slot on the grid. On a track that is very demanding for the entire car-engine-tyre package, today we saw that performance increases from one year to the next are really significant. Today's pole time is almost a second quicker than last year's and over half a second better than the average of the simulations we received from the teams. As for tyre use in the race, one has to keep in mind the considerable drop in temperatures we saw today, particularly on the track surface, which was around ten degrees cooler than yesterday afternoon. While this drop did not have any significant effect over a flying lap, it could be an important factor tomorrow, even if in fact there is a real chance it might rain. In the dry, that means the Medium and Soft dry compounds offer the best performance. On paper, the quickest strategy does indeed involve the use of two sets of C3 and one of C2. We can rule out a one-stop strategy because it's too slow, but the idea of a four stint, three-stop race is not so far-fetched, being only a handful of seconds slower than a two-stop. How the drivers manage tyre performance over each stint will also be very important, something which the teams worked on very carefully in the final free practice session".
On Sunday, June 23, 2024, before the race, the third unit related to the energy recovery system and electronic control unit is installed on Alexander Albon's car under the closed park regime without the approval of the FIA technical delegate. The Thai Williams driver is forced to start from the pit lane. At the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, George Russell, taking advantage of the battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who started from the front row, takes the lead. He is followed by the World Champion, who in turn leads the two McLaren drivers. Russell holds the lead only until the beginning of the second lap, when he is overtaken by Verstappen. Further back, for fifth place, there is a battle between the two Ferrari drivers: Carlos Sainz Jr. prevails after the two cars make contact. On lap 16, Russell and Sainz Jr. make their first pit stop: the British driver's stop is slow, so much so that the Spanish driver pulls alongside him in the pit lane, but cannot rejoin the track ahead of his rival. On lap 17, Lewis Hamilton also makes a pit stop and rejoins the race behind Carlos Sainz Jr., whom he had been leading before the stop. Hamilton, now on hard tires, passes the Spanish driver on lap 19. After Max Verstappen's pit stop, switching to medium tires, on lap 18 Lando Norris takes the lead, followed by Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. On lap 21, the Australian driver gives up his position to Max Verstappen. Between laps 24 and 25, first Lando Norris, then Charles Leclerc stop at the pits: both switch to medium tires. After the stop, Lando Norris drops to fifth position, behind Carlos Sainz Jr..
On lap 27, the British driver overtakes the Spanish driver, while Charles Leclerc passes Pierre Gasly, moving up to sixth place. Lando Norris continues his comeback and overtakes Lewis Hamilton on lap 32. During lap 35, a battle ignites between Lando Norris and George Russell. The two drivers run side by side through several corners before the British McLaren driver prevails and takes second place. On lap 37, both George Russell and Carlos Sainz Jr. make their second pit stop. Both decide to complete the Grand Prix on hard tires. Lewis Hamilton waits until lap 44 to switch to soft tires. On lap 45, Max Verstappen makes the same choice. On lap 48, Lando Norris also stops for his second pit stop, managing to rejoin the race ahead of George Russell. Lewis Hamilton is fourth, ahead of the two Ferrari drivers. On lap 50, Max Verstappen has a 6.8s lead over Lando Norris, 9.7s over George Russell, 10.8s over Lewis Hamilton, and 14.8s over Carlos Sainz Jr. After a few laps, Scuderia Ferrari allows Charles Leclerc, now on soft tires, to pass his teammate. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen's lead over Lando Norris decreases lap by lap, prompting his team to ask him to increase his pace. Lando Norris gets within 2s of the World Champion but cannot challenge him for the final victory. Charles Leclerc's chase of George Russell also ends unsuccessfully. Max Verstappen wins Grand Prix number 61 in his career, the seventh victory of the season and the second in a row. For the three-time world champion it is the fourth victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, the third in a row.
"We were not the fastest on the track at all, but we were perfect in everything, congratulations to everyone".
With these simple words, expressed at the end of the race via radio, Max Verstappen explains how it was possible to beat the McLaren on the Barcelona circuit, despite Red Bull Racing not going through a good period. For the Dutch driver, this marks the seventh win out of ten races, undoubtedly a success built on every little detail given that McLaren had the best car on the track, as shown by the lap times:
"The race was decided at the start. I took the lead on lap 2 and from there I was able to build a cushion. After that, we played a defensive race because Lando had a very fast car and they were better than us on degradation too, because at the end of the stint they were doing very well. However, we did everything right, the rather aggressive strategy paid off. We came very close, but we are happy to have won again. The start? I had to do a bit of rallying, Lando pushed me onto the grass and we braked late into turn 1. I was trying to take the lead, which I eventually did by passing Russell. I wanted to be in front to manage the tires, once I succeeded everything was easier. The tires here get very hot and you slide a lot. You have to manage but you are always on the limit".
While Max Verstappen amazes everyone with his performance, Sergio Perez continues to have difficulty driving this RB20. The Mexican driver just does not seem to be comfortable, and he continues to collect negative results:
"We struggled a little bit with the pace today and it was super hard to pass anyone on that first stint, especially in the dirty air, I was managing my tyres and in a DRS train. I think that ultimately compromised our race and we had some balance issues on the soft tyre, which made things harder than predicted. We switched to a three-stop strategy and that meant we managed to save, what I believed was the maximum today, given our starting position. Our Saturday was the main problem, and I am pretty disappointed because we haven’t been able to maximise the potential in the car this weekend, at least on my side, I think Max did a tremendous job today to come away with the win. I have made good learnings this weekend for the coming weeks, I am hopeful we can be more competitive and come back strong in Austria. I need to help deliver perfect weekends for the Team because it is going to be a very competitive season".
Christian Horner, Team Principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing, at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, emphasized how the team executed a perfect race against a car, the McLaren, that is currently superior:
"It is more satisfying to win fighting like this against Norris, but it’s nicer when you have a 40-second advantage. It was a great race, Max did an excellent job. The start was crucial, and after overtaking Russell, we ran a very strategic race, without errors and without problems. Max works in harmony with the team. We got all the decisions right today, then Max on the track gets the job done. He made the overtake on Russell very quickly at the right moment, held off Norris at the start, and then managed the tires. After that, we went fast; we knew we would finish close with Lando at the end. We had to avoid mistakes, and the team made none today".
And he adds:
"Max is the best driver in the world right now, but car and driver must work in harmony. For many years we didn’t win races even though we had Max in the car: everything must work in harmony. Max is doing an extraordinary job and is showing why he is the World Champion. He and Lando were in a class of their own compared to everyone else today. There was a big gap to the third place, and I think McLaren is also doing a great job: Lando is driving very well, but Max is still at the top. We continue to win these hard-fought races by small margins, but when you’re racing at the front, everything counts: pit stops, strategy, in-laps, and out-laps. It was a great performance by the team today. The Imola test? We wanted to run with a different car to compare it to the current one. Max drove the car because he wanted this comparison to see how the 2022 car handled the curbs at Imola compared to the 2024 car. Clearly, you always learn in this job, and as a comparison, it was very interesting".
The start, in which Lando Norris slipped to third place, and a first stint perhaps extended a few laps too many, deprived the British driver of a deserved second career win:
"Could I have won? No, I should have won. I lost the race at the start. Today the car was fantastic, we were the fastest. I am disappointed. But there are many positives. One negative, however, ruins everything. This is a test from which I have to learn. We still scored a good haul of points, I thank the team because the car was fantastic. I don't know what I did wrong at the start. I found Max beside me and then George surprised me on the outside. Congratulations to Max and Red Bull, it's a shame to have lost the race here, it's frustrating. Austria? Performance-wise, it's one of my favorite tracks. We are in a great moment, we need to raise the level and we will be ahead of everyone".
Andrea Stella, Team Principal of McLaren Racing, is convinced that the MCL38 is on par with the RB20, and that the victory slipped away not due to strategy (with pit stops that were much later compared to those of Red Bull Racing) but because of Lando Norris’s start, where he lost the lead to George Russell and Max Verstappen:
"The victory slipped away at the first corner. In Barcelona, it’s not a surprise to lose from pole position because the road is long to the first corner. I appreciate the fact that Lando stayed out of trouble, we wanted to finish the race. We knew the pace was strong. The strategy was good. I want to praise the guys who prepared it very carefully. We knew that we shouldn’t pit too early here, otherwise, the tires would run out. In the end, we couldn’t fight for the win, but I believe we are very, very close. It’s a great result for McLaren to talk about being on par with Red Bull, but we want to improve the car".
Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, adds:
"We thought we could win the race and Lando is disappointed for losing the victory. But he did an incredible job, so I’m not going to stand here and scold him because he didn’t have a perfect start. The team did a great job, the car was very fast, and Lando drove incredibly well. Overall, if both cars finish in the points and one makes it to the podium, how can you be disappointed? We have gained on Ferrari and Mercedes, and if Perez doesn’t pick up the pace, we can also close in on Red Bull. Everyone thought the championship was over after the first weekend, but we were all wrong".
Another less-than-stellar day for Oscar Piastri, who alternates between truly outstanding races and below-par performances:
"P7 rounds off a tough weekend. I think the race today was a positive to take away, but overall, a challenging few days in Spain. Obviously, Qualifying was the biggest frustration and made things very difficult going into the race. I think we did some good things on strategy, trying to pull ourselves up but ultimately didn't quite have the pace this weekend but we'll go again next week in Austria".
Through a series of circumstances, Lewis Hamilton finally managed first to stay ahead of his teammate in qualifying, and finally, making full use of the Soft tires, he managed to secure an unexpected third place, just passing George Russell in the final stages. There were undoubtedly no sabotages against the English driver. However, after the controversy erupted, Lewis Hamilton was finally able to show all his talent:
"A great day and a solid weekend for us. I have to thank the team, they trained a lot on pit stops and strategy and they were perfect. Like Lando, I also had a very bad start. We lost positions at the start to the Ferraris and then it was tough to get back to where I am now. Maybe with a better start we might have been able to keep up with those in front of us. Certainly, we wouldn’t have been so far behind. Soft tire strategy? It was planned from the start, I had chosen to race with soft-medium-soft. Overtaking Sainz? All the overtakes were close. We touched wheels but it was all fair".
The Mercedes team can smile, as in addition to the podium finish achieved by Lewis Hamilton, his teammate, George Russell, managed to take fourth place:
"There were a few things that went against us today, unfortunately. We had a slow first pit stop, and then the Hard tyre didn't feel great in the final stint. Nevertheless, as a team our aim was to maximise what we could achieve today, and we did that with P3 and P4".
So he adds:
"Lewis drove a great race today and we take away the huge positives from what have been a very promising last couple of races. I was dreaming of making a move like I did into turn one last night. I didn't think it would quite come to fruition in the way that it did! I remember Fernando making a similar start in 2013. We had a headwind so I knew I could brake quite late. It was a very satisfying move and felt good to lead a race again. Unfortunately, Max was too fast for us today, as was Lando. But two podiums in two races is very encouraging as we head to Austria".
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO Mercedes, is all in all happy with the final result. The Austrian manager can therefore look forward to the team's return - very soon - to winning:
"We can take a lot of positives away from today. We have taken several steps forward in the previous few races and it is good to see these confirmed here in Spain. We are not quite there yet, and we have to more to do to catch those ahead. Nevertheless, we are on a positive development trajectory, and it feels good to be back in the game. It was also fantastic to pull off two of the best overtakes I've seen in a long time. George made a mega start and braked late to take the lead. Lewis's overtake on Sainz meanwhile was great racing and an important moment for his race. It's been a while since we've been able to enjoy a Grand Prix podium with Lewis, so it was fantastic to see him up there. We're now looking forward to the next two races in the triple-header and building on the momentum we are establishing".
So he adds:
"This third and fourth place represent a solid result. The car performed quite well, but you can also see that something is missing to reach Norris's speed. Our correlation hasn't worked for two years. After Imola, all the steps we have taken have worked much better. They are small steps, but they are marginal gains that make a difference. Today we see a Norris and also a Verstappen who are fast on all circuits. Can we be strong in the upcoming races? Austria normally doesn't go well for us; I don't know how it will go this year. Silverstone is a circuit we know, and on very fast circuits, the car has performed well".
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director Mercedes, concludes:
"It's been a solid weekend from the drivers and the whole team. We felt like we could have been closer to pole than we were yesterday, but ultimately, we didn't have enough pace to challenge Max and Lando today. Nevertheless, it was good to get on the podium with Lewis. With George just behind in fourth, that completed a decent points haul for us. George had a great start and made a very impressive move on the brakes around the outside iunto turn one. Lewis's start wasn't quite as good, but he did a good job to recover around turns one and two to get back to fourth. It was evident fairly on that we were having to push pretty hard to not fall back from Verstappen and that meant we had to make our pit stops a little earlier than planned. By the time we got into the second stint, our focus was on ensuring we beat the Ferraris. Lewis was able to do that comfortably in the end and managed his tyres well in the final stint to do the same. We're encouraged by the fact the car has worked well at Montreal and here in Barcelona. We need to find more speed to get right to the front but we are working hard on that and should be able to continue to close that gap with further developments to come".
For months, Toto Wolff has talked about a possible recruitment of Max Verstappen by Mercedes.
However, the Dutch driver has always dismissed the overtures. Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AMG, was alongside Toto Wolff in the Mercedes team garage during the Spanish Grand Prix. The Swedish manager made a light-hearted comment regarding the possibility of Max Verstappen joining the Anglo-German team:
"The best drivers want to be in the best cars, and our job is to put together the best package possible. 2026? The cards will be reshuffled, and Max would look good in silver too...".
But Christian Horner responds:
"Max is happy at Red Bull, he has won 70% of the Grands Prix this year and is leading the World Championship. Sometimes people try to destabilize the team with such statements".
Finally, Toto Wolff weighs in on the matter, saying:
"Horner says I can only dream of signing Max? If he says so... We'll see what happens. Can these performances convince him? Yes, I've always said we need to work on our car and push to be competitive. If the car performs well, all good drivers will want to join us. Today our priority is to work for ourselves, Lewis, and George, and finish the season on a high note. After that, we'll see if the car looks fast enough to win a world championship, Max will consider it".
At the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, frustration within Scuderia Ferrari turns into anger. Charles Leclerc is furious with Carlos Sainz Jr., accusing him of having harmed him in the early race battle:
"The battle was not fair, but more importantly, it was not the right moment because we knew we both needed to save the tires, especially in the last corner. Obviously, on that particular lap, I saved as I should in the last corner, but I saw Carlos not saving at all and he passed me at the end of the straight. In the end, that's how it went, but there was no need to take that risk, tackling the corner as if it wasn't there. Unfortunately, he damaged my left front wing, which cost us some time. We will talk within the team afterwards. It is also his home Grand Prix, an important moment for his career. He wanted to do something spectacular, but it was not the right time, and it cost us a position in the end: it was not a very nice moment. Where did I lose that lap to Russell? I think in the battle, because after that we had a good race, but with 'ifs' and 'buts' we could have done many other things. In the end, when you are behind, you have to try to do something different. After the race, it is always easy to say that we could have done better, but today I don't think that was the case. The problem of the weekend is that we lacked pace, and that's what we need to look at closely".
On his part, Carlos Sainz Jr. explains what happened and especially rejects Charles Leclerc's accusations of unfairness:
"For me, the situation was clear: we had a new set of Soft tires, Mercedes had used Soft tires, and we had to go on the attack. That's what I did. I don't know what happened to Charles on the first lap, I don't know if he made a mistake, but I had the opportunity to overtake him and I can't stay behind forever. Especially since from then on I went on the attack against the Mercedes and was close to overtaking them in the first stint. I wanted to move forward. I don't know what he's complaining about".
Subsequently, the Spanish driver talks about the disappointing performance of the SF-24s in Barcelona:
"I expected to be closer. McLaren and Red Bull are far ahead and Mercedes has improved so much that they are now ahead of us on these types of tracks. If we went back to Monaco tomorrow, we would be fighting for the win, but now there are more tracks like Barcelona than Monaco. We need to improve: in medium-high speed long corners, we struggle more than the others".
Frédéric Vasseur cannot rejoice either at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix. The team principal of Scuderia Ferrari HP talks about the qualifying session, which was disappointing and, according to him, then prevented the team from at least reaching the podium:
"For me, the conclusion is that we need to do a better job on Saturday. Yesterday there was a difference of two-tenths, and today we had almost the same gap. Considering the 67 laps, we finished 20 seconds behind, which is indeed two and a half tenths per lap. The important thing is to be on pace on Saturday: in qualifying, you need to make that small step forward because starting behind makes it difficult to overtake, and you have to take risks with the strategy".
Talking about the duel between Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc, Frédéric Vasseur downplays it:
"It was a small contact, but we didn't lose anything. At that stage of the race, we were fifth and sixth, and at some point, with the strategy, we ended up behind some cars: that's where we lost a few seconds. I think [Leclerc] was a lap short of catching Russell, but in the end, we started fifth and sixth and finished fifth and sixth".
Looking to the future, despite the common saying that the results from Barcelona are useful for understanding the quality of the cars, Frédéric Vasseur does not seem too pessimistic about the comparison with Red Bull Racing, McLaren Racing, and Mercedes:
"This is the situation in Barcelona, and that's clear, but it wasn't the situation two weeks ago, nor in Monaco. I think the values will change every weekend because there are no longer five-six tenths between each car, as there was in the past, when you could do what you wanted but the ranking was always the same. Now we have four teams within two-tenths, and that means that positions can always change, due to the setup, tire management, and tire temperature. Maybe you can make a small step that then gives a big gain. This means that everything will be open in Austria next weekend: there will be a different format, with the Sprint, and the track will probably be more suited to our characteristics".
And he concludes:
"At the moment, we are satisfied with the numbers we have, but we must consider that everyone is improving. This means that bringing something new to the car doesn’t naturally translate into a step forward, just as not having updates doesn’t mean taking a step back. And now everyone is bringing new things, each team every two or three Grands Prix. The list that arrives on Friday morning from the FIA only concerns aerodynamic components, but we must not forget that we are not only developing aerodynamics. And sometimes it takes two or three races to extract the maximum from the package we have. Perhaps we will utilize the car better next week in Austria. Last year it was often like this for everyone: if you analyze the performance of the race where each team brought something new, it was the following race where there were actual performance improvements. And it will be like this until the end because we have a sort of performance asymptote. Now all the development packages are much smaller compared to 24 months ago".
It could be assumed from the beginning of the weekend that it would be tough for Aston Martin to make it into the top-ten.
What worries the British team, however, is the fact that the Alpine managed to finish in the positions ahead of both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. In this regard, the Spanish driver said:
"It was disappointing not to score any points this weekend in front of the home fans. The whole weekend we have struggled with our pace, and we suffered with high tyre degradation in today's race. It's likely to be tough over the next few race weekends, but we will get our heads down, work even harder and look to improve. We have Austria next weekend and then the team's home race at Silverstone".
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director, concludes the interview round by congratulating the winner, Max Verstappen, as well as of the competitors who tried to take the victory from him:
"It was a very intense and at times spectacular race and here I'm thinking of Russell's incredible start, similar to Alonso's from 2011, and the duels between the aforementioned George, first with Max and then with Lando. The race among the leaders was like a game of chess between the four teams who filled the top eight places, with the moves made up of strategy choices and tyre management. However, from our side it was actually a very linear race. All three compounds performed as expected, both in terms of wear and degradation, despite the fact temperatures were significantly higher than was predicted yesterday. The same can be said for the strategies, when it came to tyre usage and the pit stop windows. Soft and Medium delivered the best performance, while despite the higher temperatures, the Hard struggled a bit in terms of overall performance, while not offering a decisive advantage when it came to degradation".