Although the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix produced an on-court thriller, it still produced capable stories; from the most recent bankruptcy of a disorderly divorce to the clearest update to date on the long-term hierarchy of Mercedes. LUKE SMITH chooses talking points
A week after heat-induced agitation in the formula one order at Silverstone, the heat threatened to do so at the Spanish Grand Prix.
But instead, what spread a kind of lethargic and processional matter at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya; a family situation for the track that ended with a family winner.
For the fourth year in a row, Lewis Hamilton won in Spain after a dominant demonstration that saw him pass to Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, who finished at the time and third respectively.
It was a race that saw Mercedes from its disorders on Silverstone’s tires and its depth, which allowed Hamilton to climb to 37 points in the most sensitive drivers’ championship.
MORE: The moment Verstappen knew he had lost victory at the Spanish GP
Here are 10 things we come out of the spanish Grand Prix weekend.
As has been the case after any defeat in the hybrid V6 era, Mercedes was left licking its injuries after the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix when tire control disruptions allowed Verstappen to claim a wonderful victory. And as has been the case after the lick of injuries, Mercedes recovered emphatically with a crushing victory.
Team principal Toto Wolff had discussed Verstappen’s chances of participating in the Spanish Grand Prix after Red Bull’s driving force inspired his long educational careers on Friday, a summary that matches that of Autosport Grand Prix editor Alex Kalinauckas after his clash at FP2.
MORE: Why F1 can have a clash between Mercedes/Red Bull in Spain
Track temperatures rose to 50 degrees Celsius for the start, and when Verstappen was given the leap over Valtteri Bottas to leave Hamilton helpless, it seems he can push for a moment the victory in a row. This time, however, Hamilton had a lot on his hands.
After keeping Verstappen at the distance from the arm at the start, he turned the screw from about the tenth lap to forge an advantage that would be second to none. There’s not a single complaint about the tires, there’s no “tires gone.” call Pete Bonnington on the pit wall.
“I’m very proud of the engineers who regained our weakness,” Wolff said after the race.
“This shows the strength of the organization, we returned with a little pain after Silverstone, and on Sunday night the paintings began to triumph over this problem.”
“Today we had the same temperature of 50 degrees on the asphalt, and the car was very good. That’s what I’m most proud of, strength in the intensity of the organization.
Much of the attention to the technique until 2020 has been whether Hamilton can succeed in two of Michael Schumacher’s once unwavering long-standing records. The victory marked the 88th victory of Hamilton’s career, reaching him just 3 of Schumacher’s 91 overall, which will actually fall until the end of the season.
The victory also propelled Hamilton to a 37-point lead in the most sensitive championship, which would set a record for seventh crown. But another Schumacher record was set short in Barcelona on Sunday when Hamilton became the all-time record holder on the F1 podium, been on the podium for the 156th time in his career.
MORE: Why Hamilton’s Legacy Already Triumphs Over Schumacher’s
Hamilton said he felt “humiliated and honored” for succeeding in a milestone like this after the race, and claimed a difference that had belonged to Schumacher since beating Alain Prost at the 2002 British Grand Prix. Schumacher’s last podium came for Mercedes at the 2012 European Grand Prix in Valencia. However, it was some other wonderful Hamilton of F1 who seemed to channel his serene victory on Sunday.
Hamilton said he felt “in a state of time” because of the car’s problems, not even realizing he was on the last lap of the race when he crossed the line of victory. These are quotes reminiscent of Ayrton Senna, who evoked the fact of feeling an extracorporeal pleasure in qualifying for the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix. But Hamilton then under pressure that it was not such an airy occasion that had happened in Barcelona.
“It’s not an extracorporeal experience,” Hamilton said after the race. “I think [I was] in my best shape. I like to communicate about looking to be our best self, and each of us has, I suppose, an unlimited capacity, and I felt like I was on a higher level. “
Given the speed credit inherent to the Mercedes W11, Verstappen does not finish a race above the third. But for Sunday’s fourth race in Spain, he did just that, separating the Mercedes drivers again.
Verstappen’s second-row speed bases were launched early when he dodged Hamilton’s trailer and he checked to cross the slow Bottas. Although he was unable to maintain speed with Hamilton during the first relay and had to negotiate some radio dismay with his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen seemed to have enough to keep Bottas at bay.
Verstappen showed no frustration after the race, appearing genuinely happy and happy with the place of the moment. Obviously, Red Bull lacked the merit of the tires that led them to their fantastic victory at Silverstone, which makes any defeat of a Mercedes car a great feat.
He would probably have 37 problems with Hamilton in problem classification and realistically only has a small chance of fighting for the title, however, Verstappen is helping to keep things attractive in the most sensible way, a role that deserves to be filled through Bottas, like us. we’ll be back soon.
So who has been the driving force in the season: Hamilton or Verstappen?
“There is very little selection between them,” Said Red Bull team leader Christian Horner.
“I hope that in the next races we will see them compete, because I think that’s what the audience would like to see, that’s what the groups would like to see, and I think it would be fine. Formula One. “
We can only expect to have a battle like this, because based on Sunday’s race, even Verstappen’s ability is enough to close the existing feature hole from the beginning.
Despite all the communication about “Bottas 3.0” or any edition he is in late, the Finn has shown in Spain why lately he has not fought Hamilton in the name race.
Start-ups have been a weakness for Bottas so far this year. His misside in Hungary, however, resigned him to defeating Verstappen in the race for the moment, and a family history was repeated on Sunday in Spain. Bottas could not be towed on the descent to Turn 1, which allowed Verstappen to advance before Racing Point’s Lance Stroll reached third place.
Although Bottas controlled Transparent Stroll in five laps, it was enough for Verstappen and Hamilton to make enough room for the Mercedes moment to never be a risk to either. Even the resolution of moving to comfortable tires for the last relay was not enough to approach Verstappen, which led Mercedes to do a 3rd prevention in the past to be sure of the bonus point of the fastest lap.
Bottas was frank in his post-race evaluation, admitting that he may already see the 2020 name “moving away.” He is third in the standings, 43 issues of his teammate, whom he has not beaten since the first game of the season.
MORE: The dark truth for those looking to overthrow Hamilton’s inner Mercedes
To beat Hamilton, you have to run as close to perfection as you can imagine week after week. Right now, Bottas just doesn’t do that. And it’s a tide that shows very few symptoms of reversal.
While Bottas went through a pink Racing Point car on Turn 1 on Sunday, some would have been surprised if it was Lance Stroll and not Sergio Perez, who is so aggressive. But that shouldn’t.
Stroll has not only proved to be a very good starter in his F1 career, although he came from modest positions on the grid, however, he has been one of the forgotten heroes of the 2020 season to date.
In fact, the speed of Racing Point’s debatable RP20 car contributed to Stroll’s rise to fifth position in the drivers’ championship, but he fit perfectly with teammate Pérez on the weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Stroll qualified fifth, only a tenth of a moment Perez, and finished third in the early stages after his lightning break. The resolution of avoiding two charges Perez a place on the road in a precaution, but that was recovered in the final standings after the commissioners gave Perez a five-minute penalty for not obeying the blue flags.
It’s another mature, hassle-free demonstration for Stroll, who, in her fourth season on the F1 grid, dispels any doubt that may persist about her dignity from a position in the field. He deserves a lot of credit for that.
It was noted that Stroll had a close discussion with Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari after the race, and added only a few tips that they could be teammates by 2021 when Aston Martin of Racing Point. In the current form of Stroll, it’s hard to say that he would be absolutely out of position against a four-time world champion.
The divorce between Vettel and Ferrari has been over a long time ago, but although they have just been separated and a final season has passed for the sake of children, things are getting complicated.
But first, the positive: Vettel produced his most productive demonstration of the season to date by wearing down ambitious and probably strategic paintings in a single stop to move from 12th position after preventing in the 7th position on the line. However, the way he and Ferrari got there was complicated.
The plan was to lead a two-stop strategy, with Ferrari placing Vettel in a comfortable set of tyres for his time after starting in the media. He spent the start of the race keeping AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat at a distance, to lose a position in the clearing.
Vettel was given some transparent air after the forward cars collided for a moment and began to push, only to be asked if he wanted to reach the end of the race in his existing application set, and knowledge appeared in lower degrees of degradation.
Oh, for love, Vettel said all at once. “I’ve already asked you the question, now I’ve been pushing for 3 rounds.”
He then asked his engineer to calculate the numbers and calculate a time for the target turn to succeed at the finish line without stopping, which, however, made it work.
Vettel under pressure after the race that Ferrari did not want to review its strategic manufacturing plans or communications, but the tension between the car and the pit wall is audible to everyone at the moment in the consecutive race.
The call to strategy would probably have been worth it this time, but obviously there’s a disconnect between Vettel and Ferrari right now. And you’re unlikely to do much for your confidence level.
The question marks around Alexander Albon are, despite all the encouraging messages from Red Bull, refusing to leave. The ranking was better this time for Albon, who ranked sixth on the grid, still seven tenths as a second in Red Bull RB16, Verstappen’s brother.
Since the speed of racing has been his wonderful strength so far this season, it’s a good opportunity for him to take a step toward his teammate and at least win the midfield battle. But Albon never had a chance.
He was unable to get close to Racing Points in the early stages and slowly withdrew from Stroll and Perez as the first relay progressed. Red Bull then decided to bring Albon early, at the end of lap 16, to take a set of rubber tires.
The tire did little to motivate confidence in a team over the weekend – it finished fewer laps than the longer or medium relays of the race – which, combined with traffic, meant that Albon’s times were affected.
Even when Albon joined the media for his third term, he struggled to keep them alive. This allowed Sainz to gain an advantage over Red Bull, and Vettel, at one stop, also stay ahead of the final, while Albon was heading towards a frustrated car exercise attached to the Ferrari.
“I didn’t have tires in every single relay,” Albon said. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s the opposite of Silverstone. It was a bit like a rating, but more, I find it hard to keep the tires alive.”
Albon still can’t understand what the challenge is. And there are only a limited number of “recovery readers” you can talk about before asking why you recover in the first place.
The Spanish Grand Prix rarely registers as the venue for exciting or exciting races, such is the difficulty of overtaking at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. And the 2020 edition is no different.
We thought we had noticed the last track in 2019, only for F1 to succeed in an overdue deal to keep the circuit on the schedule for this season, which will now be postponed until next year under the contracts revised below. Pandemic.
This means that we are probably in a position for at least some other disappointing and forgettable deal, as the track is not smart for trendy F1 cars.
Even in the excessive heat of August, which some say can cheer things up, drivers found themselves driving their cars from the start, looking to stay away from the cars that preceded them. It’s hard to keep Barcelona. We know. And I hope this will be corrected with the new cars coming in 2022.
But having problems in the race where no car is less than a moment from another is a rather damn damning picture of the suitability of the track for the existing formula.
The noise around The brake ducts of Racing Point faded a little in Barcelona, even as the shots continued between the team directors, but, despite everything, there was clarity about the long-term direction that the FIA sought to take.
A letter sent through FIA’s Secretary-General for Motorsports Peter Bayer to all groups before the weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix showed that the company would take strong action against copying cars from 2021.
The resolution had been through the FIA’s head of single-seat affairs, Nikolas Tombazis, a week earlier in Silverstone, but the arrival of an official communication showed how seriously the sport’s guiding framework is being taken.
Bayer told the groups that updated regulations “would expressly save groups from photography or other opposing engineering techniques to copy giant portions of other cars on the team,” thus banning Racing Point’s technique of copying last year’s title-winning Mercedes W10 car.
The FIA’s assurances to the team were sufficient for McLaren and Williams to drop their appeals against the Racing Point sanction, as their fears dissipated enough.
However, Renault and Ferrari will appeal, taking it to the FIA International Court of Appeal.
This is good news for those who want the F1 to remain a game for independent brands, but who can still open a box of worms about what is and is not a ‘copy’.
All eyes may be on Hamilton, as a new contract with Mercedes ends beyond the end of the year, however, your team manager is fitting into a focal point.
Wolff is also out of contract at the end of the year and in the past has said he will have the kind of role he needs to retain with Mercedes in the future.
The suggestion that you can take on a higher role that would see the team’s daily control entrusted to someone else, Wolff will no longer attend each and every race.
Wolff gave his fairest expression about his long career on the weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix. He said the game challenge “goes bills” with so many trips, but added that “there’s no explanation why not stick with Mercedes.”
“We’ll know what role it is,” he said.
Discussions between Wolff and Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius on the matter are expected to continue. Wolff also stated that consulting with his wife, Susie, as the themes of the family circle were in fact a consideration.
“I think you have to pay attention to yourself, which is not easy,” Wolff said.
“I can set up a car more fluently than myself. That’s where Formula One goes. It’s taking the right resolution for the team, which is my most sensible priority.”
“I speak of each and every millimeter with Ola Kallenius and Susie, and I hope to be in the same area next year and talk to all of you. Otherwise, I’ll stay close to the team.