Leclerc becomes strong in Barcelona

taketonews

charles leclerc He will start first this Sunday at the Spanish F1 GP (3:00 p.m.), which takes place at the Circuit de Catalunya, one of the most demanding and technical tracks of the season. The race, the 32nd in a row to be held in Montmeló, promises strong emotions and an uncertain outcome, since equality has been the predominant note during training.

Leclerc, who took fourth pole position in six grands prix, will lead the grid after a high-tension Q3, as a mistake on his first attempt meant he played it all on one card. That of Ferrari, leader of the championship with 19 points of advantage over Verstappen, has achieved the goal with the best time of the weekend (1:18.750). The Dutchman, who in his last attempt has seen how the DRS did not open on the straight and saw the power of his Red Bull reduce, will start second, just in front of sainz Y Russell.

The prognosis for the race is uncertain. All the drivers and teams know the track perfectly, where in February they premiered the single-seater in three intense pre-season days. So the fastest was Lewis Hamilton (1:19.138), but based on what was seen in the first five grand prix, he is not among the candidates for victory in this Spanish GP despite the notable improvement that Mercedes has experienced.

Strategy Pending

Regardless of the speed and, especially, the rhythm of the cars, there will be conditions that can change the scenery. In the first place, most of the teams have presented this weekend a good number of evolutions to improve the performance of the single-seater. On the other hand, the thermometer will exceed 30º and in these conditions the physical demand will be very high, just as reliability problems can arise more easily. Finally, the strategy.

In 2021 the winning tactic was two stops, something usual in Barcelona due to the high degradation, Lewis Hamilton prevailing starting from pole with a soft-medium-medium tactic. The soft-medium-soft option was used by all his pursuers, from 2nd to 8th place.

Q1: Alonso is eliminated

Fernando Alonsoafter an encouraging Friday, has been eliminated in the first qualifying cut after getting upset with lando norris and will start 17th on the grid. In addition to the Asturian driver, the two Aston Martins, who have their first car this weekend, and both Williams have been left out. The best time has been achieved charles leclerc (1:19.861), 31 thousandths ahead of Carlos Sainz. Verstappen He was third just over 2 tenths.

Q2: The Mercedes resurface

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The good omens that Mercedes had shown after the introduction of the new aerodynamic package were confirmed in qualifying, where they endorsed the great step forward they have taken this weekend. The team of Hamilton and Russell have finally managed to control the rebound on the straight, which allows them to be faster in the corners and have more speed on the straight. They did not pass the second cut Zhou, Gasly, Tsunoda, Ocon and Norris, who had his fastest lap erased for exceeding the limits of the track. On the contrary, it should be noted that Mick Schumacher went to Q3 as in Imola.

Q3: Maximum pressure for Leclerc

The first attempt by Charles Leclerc, a great favorite for pole, put the maximum emotion when he spun in the penultimate corner and ran out of record in the first attempt. Verstappen, with the best time of the weekend (1:19.073), was the fastest ahead of Sainz and Pérez. The Monegasque had to make the final attempt under great pressure, but ratified his strength by getting the fourth pole of the year (1:18.750), while the Dutchman was unable to complete his second attempt as he ran out of power and Carlos Sainz leading the second line of the grid, in which the British George Russell slipped in, who once again won the game over Lewis Hamilton, sixth behind Pérez.



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