Even if Red Bull had to give way to Mercedes on Friday, everything indicates that victory in Spain at the weekend will again be decided between Red Bull and Ferrari.
“If you look at the last races, that’s the way it has to be,” says Max Verstappen, who finished fifth in Friday’s practice session.
Ferrari arrives at Barcelona with a major update package designed to bring the Reds back in front of the Bulls. Red Bull, on the other hand, has a smaller update that is primarily intended to save weight. “Our car is still a bit fat,” says Verstappen. “It will be interesting how many it will bring them, but in the end we just have to look at our package.”
“We all know this circuit very well and therefore have to make sure we have a clean weekend,” said the Dutchman.
That worked out well on Friday. Unlike in Miami, Verstappen got through Friday in Barcelona without any problems. However, he only finished fifth, 0.336 seconds down. “It was a bit difficult to find the balance in the heat,” he says. “We still have to work on the pace over one lap.”
“But the long runs looked pretty decent. I’m happy with that,” he adds. “We must now try to find the middle ground.”
“You basically have two rounds…”
Teammate Sergio Perez also had the same problems on Friday: “With a lot of fuel we have a good idea of which direction we need to take, but little fuel is the real problem,” says the Mexican, who gave his car to test driver Jüri Vips in first practice had to give up and therefore still has some catching up to do. “It’s really difficult to do laps there.”
“You basically have two laps. It’s not a track where the tire holds. You have one lap to judge the balance,” he says. “But you lack the very big grip. It’s a bit difficult in that respect.” But he was able to read something in the long run, “and hopefully I can find the time tonight that I need to be there tomorrow.”
The Mexican finished seventh on Friday, just under a second behind Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
Will Mercedes become a factor?
Ferrari is likely to be another contender for pole and victory, but Red Bull also have Mercedes in their sights, finishing second and third on Friday. “I’ve been saying all year that it’s only a matter of time before they get it right,” emphasizes team boss Christian Horner.
“It looks like they are getting their problems under control, so they will be another factor in this World Cup,” said the Briton. “You’ve had a strong day and we still have a few things to sort out.”
Interestingly, on Friday, Mercedes led the top speed classification, which has actually been Red Bull’s territory so far this year. “We saw in Miami a few weeks ago that they turned up the heat on Saturday. The question is whether they did it again today,” says Horner. “We don’t know what engine modes the others are using. We’ll see that tomorrow and on Sunday.”
In any case, Horner can see the updates that Ferrari and Mercedes have brought with them and that should make for an exciting fight. “It will be very close,” believes the team boss. “It will depend on who has the right instincts in qualifying on Saturday – and then of course in the race on Sunday.”