14:54
The distance
The Circuit de Catalunya, which was built before the early 1990s, is 4.655 kilometers long. Typical of the route are the long curves, which put a lot of strain on the tires of the cars. A characteristic that Mercedes in particular fears. With a length of 1.047 kilometers, the start and finish straight is one of the longest in Formula 1.
14:49
A look at the Drivers’ World Championship
In the Drivers’ World Championship, Charles Leclerc is at the top ahead of the weekend in Barcelona. The Ferrari driver has 104 points to his credit. Max Verstappen has 19 points fewer. Sergio Pérez is third in the second Red Bull with 66 points, followed by George Russell (59 pts) and Carlos Sainz (53 pts).
14:46
Vettel knocked off
Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, is defeated. In the refurbished Aston Martin, which caused much controversy as the sidepods were very similar to those of the Red Bull, it didn’t get much higher than 16th. Lance Stroll will start from 17th in the second Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso will start from last place at his home race have to drive off. He qualified 17th, but changed parts on the power unit and is now 20th on the grid.
14:44
Schumacher hopes for points
Mick Schumacher is still waiting for points this season. Today the starting position is better than ever, because the German made it into Q3 for the first time. He is tenth on the starting grid today. Not a bad position considering overtaking is no easy feat on the track in Spain.
14:39
silver lurks
Mercedes also wants to get involved again. Carlos Sainz was third in qualifying, followed by George Russell in the first Mercedes. Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull follows only behind them. Lewis Hamilton is also up front in sixth place.
14:37
Who is better at housekeeping?
The decisive factor for victory should also be who can handle the tires better. On Friday the Ferraris quickly collapsed, on Saturday they showed better long runs again. Red Bull could have the decisive advantage here in the fight for victory in Barcelona.
2:30 p.m
Leclerc from pole
Pole on the track in Barcelona is already half the battle towards winning the race, so Charles Leclerc is certainly a big favorite today. The Monegasque botched his first run in Q3 after a spin, but managed the lap perfectly in the second outing and secured pole by a wide margin. Verstappen, however, could no longer attack. The world champion fought in the decisive phase with a DRS, which did not open. Accordingly, Red Bull carried out some repairs before the race to ensure that it doesn’t happen again in the race.
Warm welcome!
Hello and welcome to the Formula 1 race from Barcelona. At 3:00 p.m. it is all about the next championship points in what has been an exciting season so far.