spanish

F1 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying results: Lando Norris snatches pole from Max Verstappen f,spanish,grand,prix,qualifying,results,lando,norris,snatches,pole,from,max,verstappen,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

“Lando Norris with perhaps one of the finest laps he’s turned in a Formula 1 car.”

That was the description from Alex Jacques in the commentary box on F1TV after the checkered flag flew at the end of qualifying. And if Saturday’s qualifying session at the Spanish Grand Prix is any indication, the rest of this F1 season may be filled with tremendous drama.

Max Verstappen threw down the gauntlet throughout qualifying, and as the seconds ticked down it looked as if the Red Bull driver was going to fend off the challengers in the field. Verstappen was on provisional pole position, but there were still a few drivers on the track.

Including Norris.

The McLaren driver delivered what he described as a “perfect” lap, a thunderous performance that snatched P1 away from his friend and rival Verstappen at the death. While Verstappen was denied pole last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix despite setting the same time as George Russell, Norris finished two hundreds ahead of his friend.

It is the second pole position of the McLaren driver’s career.

Can he translate that into a victory?

Norris said that is the “plan.”

“Of course, I can,” said Norris trackside when asked he he can translate pole position into a victory. “That’s our target. But I know it’s gonna be tough against Max, against Lewis, anyone behind. But we’re to win now.

“So, that’s my plan.”

Norris and McLaren kick off our list of winners and losers during qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix. Here are the full results, as well as some more winners and losers from a thrilling Saturday in Barcelona.

Losers: Williams

The last time Williams finished in the points at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya? That came back at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix when both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa came across the line in the top ten. Since then, Barcelona has been a points desert for the team.

That looks to continue this weekend.

Williams has been on the back foot all week, and that continued with qualifying on Saturday. Both Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant were eliminated in Q1, and the team will face an uphill climb to try and secure points in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

With their two drivers set to start alongside each other on the back row of the grid.

When the team launched their challenger for the 2024 season in New York City in February, the talk from the team was that the FW46 was going to be a more well-rounded car than last season’s challenger. A year ago you knew where the FW45 was going to be strong, particularly at high-speed circuits with lots of straights. Entering 2024, the team was hoping to find a more complete challenger.

While they may have achieved that goal, Barcelona remains tough sledding for the team.

“It’s been a painful weekend guys … I’ll keep trying my best,” reported Sargeant following Q1.

Williams will need something even better than that on Sunday if they are going to break their points-less Barcelona streak.

Winners: Sauber

Finally.

For the first time all season long, Sauber had a reason to work on both sides of the garage in Q2. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu advanced out of Q1, for the first time this year. Bottas was 13th-fastest in Q1, with Zhou right behind him in P14.

While their days ended in Q2, as both Bottas and Zhou failed to advance, it was certainly a step forward for the team during a year that has seen Sauber struggle. The year began with frustration in the pits, as races where the team demonstrated good pace were undone by lengthy pit stops and a problem with cross-threading issues on the wheel nuts of the C44.

Those issues were finally resolved, and now they have their first weekend with both cars in Q2.

Can they translate that into points? With both drivers starting just on the outside of the top ten — with Bottas in P12 and Zhou in P15 — they certainly have a shot.

Losers: VCARB

Both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda described Friday as a struggle for the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team.

Saturday was not much better.

Ricciardo and Tsunoda were both eliminated in Q1, and are set to start alongside each other on the penultimate row of the grid. Ricciardo posted the 18th-fastest time in Q1, with Tsunoda just ahead of him in P17.

VCARB brought a set of upgrades to Barcelona, like many teams, and the word from the team after Friday’s session was that the upgrades were working as expected. “The main upgrade we brought here is the floor, and with these cars, it’s such a big part of development,” reported Ricciardo in the team’s post-practice report Friday. “There’s still some optimism and once we dive into it tonight, we’ll find how it’s working and better ways to set up the car around it.”

“We’re happy with the numbers coming from the upgrade, all is working well and no issues there,” described Sporting Director Alan Permane. “The focus will be on the mechanical side of the car and improving the suspension setup.”

But judging by the results Saturday, the team is still looking for answers on the setup.

Winners: Alpine

Following Friday’s two practice sessions both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly seemed surprised with the performance from Alpine. With both drivers finishing FP2 inside the top ten — and Gasly in P4 — the Alpine duo wondered if that result offered a true picture of how things stood. “To end the day with both cars in the top-10 is a little bit unexpected from where we thought we would be entering the weekend on this particular track,” said Ocon. “Obviously, we do not know what the others are doing but overall, it is a positive start to the weekend.”

Gasly described it as a bit of flattery.

“It’s been a positive Friday for us, especially Free Practice 2,” added Gasly. “The end result, finishing in fourth place, probably flatters us and it was certainly a surprise, but a pleasant surprise, and one that brings a smile to my face!”

Those pleasant surprises continued into Saturday.

Both Ocon and Gasly advanced into Q3, marking just the second time this season that both drivers lasted into the third segment of qualifying.

Gasly ended Q3 in P7, with Ocon in P9. But with Sergio Pérez between them in P8 — and facing a grid drop for a penalty handed down following the Canadian Grand Prix — Alpine enters Sunday’s Grand Prix in position for big points this weekend.

Along with perhaps some more flattery.

Losers: Aston Martin

“We do not know what we’re going to get at the start of every weekend,” reported Fernando Alonso at the start of the week, as relayed by Alex Jacques during the F1TV broadcast.

That seems to be the case at the moment with Aston Martin.

While Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll advanced out of Q2, both drivers saw their Saturday sessions end there. Alonso just missed out on Q3 and will start the Spanish Grand Prix in P11. As for Stroll, after avoiding a penalty for an incident with Lewis Hamilton in FP3 he could not avoid the drop at the end of Q2 and will start Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in P15.

Returning to Alonso, speaking at the FIA Press Conference on Thursday the veteran driver outlined his current thoughts on the AMR24.

“About the car and the understanding: I think we have clear ideas of what we have to improve. Obviously I will not share here with everyone. I think it is quite obvious for everyone that qualifying has been our strength this year and race pace has been a little bit weak,” described Alonso on Thursday. “The straight-line speed and the DRS effect is quite strong also this year in our car but there are a lot of weaknesses as well that we are identifying now with the new package as well, so yeah I think we’re in a good place.”

That might not exactly be the case, given what we saw Saturday. Is this a track-specific issue for the team, or is something else happening at Aston Martin with their 2024 challenger?

Winners: Mercedes

With all the accolades he has earned over a tremendous F1 career, Lewis Hamilton was seeking something on Saturday that was a bit outside the norm.

A start inside the top six.

Despite all the success he has enjoyed over his career, Hamilton had yet to qualify inside the top six this season. His best starting spot in a Grand Prix this year was seventh, something he had done three times: Japan, Monaco, and Canada.

Hamilton will start Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix not just inside the top six, but on the second row. A thunderous lap of his own late in Q3 saw the Mercedes driver secure P3, and with teammate George Russell qualifying fourth, the Silver Arrows have locked out the second row, putting them in position for another huge points weekend.

“I’m really happy,” shared Hamilton trackside after qualifying. “Firstly, thank you everyone. So, so happy to be here and super grateful to be up in the top three. It’s been quite a difficult year so [a] huge amount of work for me going back to the factory.

“And finally, we’re starting to see those incremental steps moving closer to the guys ahead. I didn’t expect us to be fighting for pole necessarily, but every now and then [it looks like with] little bits there and maybe we’ll be close. And so to be there, I’m just grateful.”

Hamilton also praised his teammate and believes that given their starting position, he and Russell can put some pressure on Verstappen and Norris up front.

“Yeah, we’ve made [a] huge step forwards and it’s really just down to every single individual back to the factory who’s pushing in design, pushing and making the new parts that we get to bring as early as possible to these races,” added Hamilton. “And slowly the car is crafting into a racing machine that we can hopefully fight the guys at the front.

“So, George did a great job as well today. So hopefully tomorrow we can apply pressure on the two cars ahead.”

The tremendous result for Mercedes comes at a fascinating time for the team. Not only are they on the cusp of Hamilton’s impending departure to Ferrari at the end of the season, but reports surfaced this week of an anonymous email sent to F1 journalists after the Canadian Grand Prix alleging disparate treatment between Hamilton and Russell by Mercedes. Team Principal Toto Wolff blasted that email during Friday’s FIA Press Conference, indicating that the matter had been referred to police and dismissing “conspiracy theorists and lunatics,” but this is a strange season for the team. One that began with Hamilton’s shocking announcement, and saw Mercedes begin the year on the back foot.

But recent upgrades, including a new front wing, have seen them move to the front the past few races. They are coming off their best result of the season in Montreal, and look primed for something even bigger tomorrow.

Winners: All of us

I honestly yelled.

Watching on my couch as Norris pipped Verstappen for pole position, I let out a shout in my living room … and regretted not making the trek across the pond to see this in person. But if you feel like we are witnessing a season that may go down in F1 history, you are not alone.

“This season is just delivering time and time again … this is the finest season of Formula 1 I can remember.”

Those were the words of David Coulthard in the F1TV commentary box, as Saturday’s qualifying session drew to a close. And the former F1 champion is not alone in this assessment. Take a spin through social media — a huge shoutout to my friends on F1 Threads — and you will see comment after comment about how exciting this season is, and what kind of finish we may be in store for.

When I spoke with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri following his tremendous second-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Australian driver informed me in no uncertain terms that neither championship — the Constructors’ Championship nor the Drivers’ Championship — was “done and dusted.” Yes, Red Bull remains the favorite in the Constructors’ title, and certainly Verstappen remains the favorite in the Drivers’ Championship. But neither title race has been put to bed.

Read that again, because we truly have a pair of title races upon us this season.

And while last year’s winners remain the favorites, if Red Bull and Verstappen are going to repeat as champions they will truly have earned it, as the field is throwing everything at them at the moment. Perhaps the biggest challenge to Red Bull and Verstappen came at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix when the Saturday qualifying session saw the driver pushed to the absolute limit. He answered the call that day, and throughout the rest of the season, similar challenges were few and far between.

Now? The challenges to Red Bull and Verstappen are not just happening week-to-week, they are almost happening on a lap-to-lap basis. There is almost no margin for error for Red Bull and Verstappen, and how they respond is going to be a tremendous story to follow throughout this campaign.

Whether they answer the call, or another team and/or driver delivers a stunning run to a title, will be fascinating to watch.

Buckle up.

Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc avoid penalties after dramatic FP3 at Spanish GP lance,stroll,and,charles,leclerc,avoid,penalties,after,dramatic,fp,at,spanish,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

Sparks were flying Saturday at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.

Not during qualifying — that has yet to take place — but to paraphrase the legendary Allen Iverson, we’re talking about practice.

The final free practice session ahead of qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix saw tempers flare in two separate incidents, one involving Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton and the other involving Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. All four drivers were summoned to meet with race stewards following the session, and following those meetings race officials decided to show some leniency, rather than hand down grid penalties.

Let’s dive into both incidents, and the decisions from the stewards.

Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll

Let’s first talk about the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll. That incident occurred during the session, near the apex of Turn 5. As you will see here, Hamilton is operating slowly along the right side of the track when Stroll comes up behind him. You will see the seven-time Drivers’ Champion wave his hand towards Stroll and concede over the radio to his team that he did not see the Aston Martin driver, but then Stroll looks to turn into Hamilton’s W15 in what the commentators on F1TV termed as perhaps a “ … bit of a sidepod rebuke:”

Both drivers were summoned to meet with race officials at 2:00 p.m. local time. Shortly after the hearing, the race officials released their decision, which was a reprimand for Stroll.

As you can see from the stewards’ report, during the hearing Stroll admitted that “ … he wanted to express his displeasure to the other driver by pulling over on him at the exit.” However, the hearing found that the contact between the two was “incidental,” and while the move by Stroll was found to be “erratic” race stewards did not believe it to be “dangerous,” and therefore thought a reprimand was more in line with previous decisions.

Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc

The incident between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc came later in the session. The Ferrari driver was on a push lap at the very end of FP3 and came upon Norris near Turn 5. The McLaren driver was moving at a much slower pace and on the left side of the track, off the racing line.

Leclerc was frustrated when he came across Norris, and let the McLaren driver know it:

Following the session, both Norris and Leclerc were summoned to meet with race stewards at 2:15 p.m. local time. In the moments ahead of qualifying, the stewards released their decision, which was right in line with the decision handed down regarding the Stroll-Hamilton incident: A reprimand for Leclerc.

Similar to the Stroll incident, Leclerc indicated that he felt he was impeded by Norris and that it “ … upset him.” Leclerc then admitted that he aborted his push lap, but then stated that he “misjudged the position of his car” and made contact with Norris as a result.

Race officials, as they did with Stroll, found the driving “erratic” but not “dangerous,” and determined that a reprimand was in line with previous decisions.

However, some wondered if these decisions were the right approach. Speaking on F1TV ahead of qualifying David Coulthard stated that both Stroll and Leclerc could probably consider themselves “incredibly lucky to get away with just a reprimand.”

Remember, this was just practice.

Qualifying begins in minutes.

Spanish Grand Prix F1 qualifying storylines: Mercedes’ day? spanish,grand,prix,f,qualifying,storylines,mercedes,day,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

Through nine races, the 2024 Formula 1 season has offered many twists and turns.

The most recent curveball? George Russell pipping Max Verstappen for pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix. Both drivers finished with the same time, but due to the Mercedes driver posting his time first, Russell secured the team’s first pole position of the season. While Verstappen claimed victory on Sunday, Russell finished on the podium in third, the first time Mercedes tasted a podium finish in a Grand Prix this season.

With teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing just behind him in fourth — and securing the bonus point for the fastest lap of the race — it was the team’s best result of the entire season.

Now, on the cusp of qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix, are they poised for an even better day?

Friday’s practices saw the Mercedes duo near or at the top of the timing sheets in both sessions. Russell finished P4 in the first session, with Hamilton close behind in P7, and FP2 was even kinder to the Silver Arrows. Russell posted the eighth-fastest time, but Hamilton topped them all, edging out Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris to top the field.

Might Mercedes be poised for another strong qualifying session in Barcelona?

“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,” said Hamilton in the team’s post-practice report. “The track was very hot, so it was tough on the [tires], 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.”

Russell shared his teammate’s assessment, even if he cautioned Mercedes supporters that it was only Friday.

“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,” began Russell.

”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,” continued the Mercedes driver. “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.”

The strong Friday comes at an interesting time for the Brackley-based team. Reports surfaced this week of an anonymous email sent to F1 journalists regarding the treatment of Hamilton by the team. While SB Nation has not reviewed the email, a report from Reuters described the email as “ … purporting to be from an insider” and that it “… accused the Formula One team of sabotaging their departing seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton.”

Team Principal Toto Wolff blasted the email at the FIA Press Conference on Friday, even informing the media in Barcelona that the police have been brought in regarding the matter.

Never a dull moment in F1.

… Alpine?

Friday’s first practice session showed some promise for Alpine, as Esteban Ocon finished inside the top ten and teammate Pierre Gasly was just outside in P13.

FP2 was even better for the team.

When the checkered flag flew at the end of Friday’s second practice session Ocon was inside the top ten in P9, and it was Gasly who provided the true stunner, as he finished fourth in the session.

After a tumultuous start to the season, is Alpine on the verge of an absolute shocker in Barcelona?

Even the team seemed surprised at their strong performance.

“To end the day with both cars in the top-10 is a little bit unexpected from where we thought we would be entering the weekend on this particular track. Obviously, we do not know what the others are doing but overall, it is a positive start to the weekend,” said Ocon in the team’s post-practice report. “It was not the best lap on the C3 [tire] for me in Free Practice 2 with some traffic and there were a few interruptions in both the long and short runs. There are definitely improvements we can make in order to find lap time, so we will keep digging and try to make steps forward for tomorrow’s Qualifying, which is important around this track.”

Gasly surmised that the result probably “flatters” the team.

“It’s been a positive Friday for us, especially Free Practice 2. The end result, finishing in fourth place, probably flatters us and it was certainly a surprise, but a pleasant surprise, and one that brings a smile to my face! In Free Practice 1, we had some minor aerodynamic issues on the car, which we had to fix,” added Gasly. “Once we did that, the car felt good right from the start of the second session. We have a strong baseline to work from and my push lap on the C3 was good but I’m not completely comfortable in the car. There are some things we need to fine tune with the aim of feeling even better in the car tomorrow when it counts.”

If there is a team in need of some flattery, it is certainly Alpine. Even their result in Montreal — their first double-points finish of the season — was not without some controversy, as Ocon seemed frustrated after the race at some team orders that were handed down in the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Then there was the other bit of news on Friday, the announcement that Alpine was bringing Flavio Briatore aboard in an executive role:

BWT Alpine F1 Team announces Flavio Briatore as Executive Advisor

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. pic.twitter.com/KAdNVkQBPP

— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) June 21, 2024

Briatore is a long-time F1 figure and has what you might call a bit of a checkered past. He was convicted in Italy on fraud charges during the 1980s, before his F1 career, and decades later was forced to resign from the ING Renault F1 team due to his involvement in the “Crashgate” scandal surrounding the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Briatore was then banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the FIA, a ban that was later overturned by a French tribunal.

The appointment was a focus in Friday’s FIA Press Conference when Alpine Team Principal Bruno Famin was repeatedly questioned about the move.

“I already answered questions about the past and I don’t really mind about the past. I’m always looking about future and trying what we can get and to get our team better,” said Famin in response to questions from David Croft of Sky Sports F1. “And that’s really our goal. And what I see with having Flavio as an advisor of the team is the opportunity to have his experience and to help us. He has a very high-level knowledge of Formula 1. He knows a lot of people. And I’m sure he will support us in developing the team faster and better. That’s all.”

As the saying goes, winning cures all. Alpine might not be ready to contend for wins just yet, but another strong weekend would certainly be welcome.

Even if some flattery is part of the story.

A “tricky” day for VCARB

At the other end of the spear, it was a “trickier” day for Visa Cash App RB F1 Team.

Friday’s first session saw Daniel Ricciardo in P15, with Yuki Tsunoda at the back of the field in P20. Things did not improve much in FP2, as Tsunoda crept up to P15 and Ricciardo slid back to P16.

Both drivers, however, are hopeful that answers can be found overnight.

“Today was trickier than usual. The pace isn’t where we would’ve liked it to be, so we’ll look into what we’re missing and hopefully, it’ll be better tomorrow.,” said Tsunoda in the team’s post-practice report. “The upgrade is working the way we were expecting but we are not where we want to be and off the pace we usually have, so we’ll review all the data to find what we were missing today.”

As for Ricciardo — who said on Thursday he wants to “earn” his seat at VCARB for next season — it was still fun to get a crack at the reconfigured Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, even if the team “struggled” Friday.

“We struggled a little bit today and missed a bit of competitiveness, but driving is always fun and before today I hadn’t done this track with this last sector. It was the old one a long time ago, now the new one again, and I have to say that I much prefer it because I think that it definitely brings the track to life a bit more,” said Ricciardo. “The main upgrade we brought here is the floor, and with these cars, it’s such a big part of development. There’s still some optimism and once we dive into it tonight, we’ll find how it’s working and better ways to set up the car around it. We still have a bit to do but I hope we can improve for tomorrow.”

As noted by both drivers, VCARB brought a host of upgrades to Barcelona, including a new floor for the RB01. That may have put them on the back foot Friday, but hopefully for the team they can unlock more pace and performance after diving into the data overnight.

Checking in on the title fights

Returning to the front of the field the teams and drivers fighting for position at the top of their respective standings might be in different frames of mind heading into Saturday.

McLaren saw both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri inside the top ten of both sessions, with Norris topping the sheets in FP1 and then finishing third in FP2. “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,” said Team Principal Andrea Stella. “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.”

Ferrari, who are hoping for a bounceback after a disastrous Canadian Grand Prix saw both Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc finish outside the points, might view Friday as a bit of a mixed session. Results-wise Sainz had a particularly strong day, finishing third in FP1, and second in FP2. But both drivers described Friday’s dual practice sessions as “tricky” from their point of view.

“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,” said Sainz in the team’s post-practice report. “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!”

On the other side of the garage Leclerc — who finished P11 in FP1 and P6 in FP2 — echoed his teammate’s thoughts. “Overall, a tricky day on my side. We struggled quite a bit with the balance of the car, so set-up work will be our main focus ahead of tomorrow,” said Leclerc. “We ran a new package in FP2, but we still have lots of work to do as I am not fully comfortable yet.”

As for Red Bull, they too are left looking for some answers. Verstappen was inside the top five in both sessions but never seemed confident in the RB20. At one point in FP2 Verstappen reported that the car was rather “loose,” radioing into the team that “[t]he car is loose in the exits in general. Still just weird understeer mid-corner, this car doesn’t bite.”

Teammate Sergio Pérez placed fifth in the first session, but was outside the top ten in the second, posting the 13th-fastest time.

Following the session Team Principal Christian Horner indicated that it was going to be “tight” this weekend in Barcelona. “Obviously it’s going to be tight. It’s going to be close,” said Horner. “I think we got some very good data, so plenty of work to do this evening.

“It’s going to be a very tight race here in Barcelona.”

Shaping up to be a theme of the season.

Toto Wolff rips ‘conspiracy theorists and lunatics’ at F1 Spanish Grand Prix toto,wolff,rips,conspiracy,theorists,and,lunatics,at,f,spanish,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

It is rare to find a dull moment in Formula 1.

With the grid in Barcelona for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, reports emerged Friday of an email blast to numerous F1 journalists from an insider purporting to have information regarding Mercedes sabotaging Lewis Hamilton, ahead of his move to Ferrari for the 2025 F1 season. That email was sent following the Canadian Grand Prix, which saw George Russell finish third, and Hamilton fourth.

In the interest of full disclosure, SB Nation has not received this email and is therefore unable to independently verify the content contained therein. According to this report from Reuters, the email “[h]eadlined ‘a potential death warrant for Lewis’, it accused Mercedes of ‘systematic sabotaging’ of Hamilton, his car, tyre and race strategy and mental health.”

Speaking at the FIA Press Conference Friday, Mercedes Team Principal indicated he was given clearance to “go in full force,” and the team boss did just that.

“Yeah, so it’s not from a member of the team. When we are getting these kind of emails, and we’re getting tons of them, it is upsetting, particularly when somebody is talking about death and all these things,” began Wolff. “So, on this particular one, I have instructed to go in full force.

“We have the police inquiring it. We are 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,” continued Wolff. “I don’t know what some of the conspiracy theorists and lunatics think out there. Lewis was part of the team for 12 years. We have a friendship. We trust each other. We want to win this. We want to end this on a high. We want to celebrate the relationship.”

Wolff then made it clear that even if you did not trust him on that point, the team is still trying to win a Constructors’ Championship, which requires both Hamilton and George Russell performing well.

“And 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.”

The Mercedes boss also received backing during the FIA Press Conference from long-time friend — and Hamilton’s next boss — Frederic Vasseur. The Ferrari Team Principal called such allegations “irrational” given Mercedes’ quest for a title.

“Yeah just on this one, and I’m putting my relationship with Toto aside, how you could imagine that a company with 1,500 people working night and day, pushing like hell to bring upgrades, and for you it’s not enough, but bringing upgrades each races, we could kill one of our cars or damage one of our cars? This is completely irrational and nobody in the paddock could do something like this,” declared Vasseur. “We are fighting for the championship. Each weekend we are trying to score one point more than the other one. How you could imagine that we say ‘OK, that Lewis, we don’t want to score points anymore with him’. For me it’s completely irrational and completely out of the scope of the person who are doing my business.”

Wolff also addressed recent comments on social media that have turned largely negative regarding the relationship between the two Mercedes drivers.

“So first of all, I’m not reading any comments. I don’t have social media. And I think it’s important to protect oneself by doing so. And I’ve commented about this many times before, there will always be people that have their laptop on the chest in their bedroom and just typing away.,” started Wolff. “And if people feel like they’re abusing, 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.

“And there seems to be lots of irrationality also, because we want to be successful. We want to be successful with the most iconic driver the sport has ever had. The privilege that we had to work with Lewis as an incredible driver, a great personality, that goes through the ups and downs like any other like any other sports person. I totally respect the reasons for him going to Ferrari. There is no grudge. There is no bad feeling.”

The Mercedes boss then outlined how the matter is being handled internally.

“The interaction we have in the team is positive. And so every comment from the outside of what is going in the team is just simply wrong. But there’s always a limit. I mean, if emails are being sent or telephone numbers are being used for these messages, then for me, the joking stops,” outlined Wolff. “And we will pursue it, whether that is successful or not. But there are limits to certain things. And obviously, online abuse is not only something that happens to us or to the team or to the people, it happens badly to Lewis, badly to Lewis, and to George.

“And therefore, people should, and we’ve seen Max [Verstappen] speaking out about it and Kelly [Piquet, Verstappen’s partner]. People that abuse are cowards, because they hide. So whatever is going on out there with social media, with all the good things that it provides, and all those people that have been given a platform, that’s just the negatives that come with it. I have no feelings to someone that abuses for the reasons I just said before.”

Both Hamilton and Russell addressed some of the social media commentary on Thursday, with the seven-time champion declaring the team needs “support not negativity” from fans. Verstappen and his partner Piquet also took to social media in recent weeks to blast rumors about their relationship, with the F1 driver calling the “falsehoods” on social media “insane and ridiculous.”

Returning to Mercedes, the team addressed some of the social media rumors during Thursday’s media session at the Spanish Grand Prix. “I think they know if you look over the years, we’ve always been a strong team. We’ve always worked really hard together,” said Hamilton at the team’s Thursday media session in Barcelona. “I think we need support, not negativity, and I wasn’t actually aware that George was experiencing negativity.

“George has done nothing but his best every single weekend and is delivering for the team, so he can’t be faulted at all,” continued Hamilton. “Of course, there can always be things done better within the team, and that comes through conversation, through communication, and that’s something that we are consistently working on. But we’re all in the same boat. We’re all working hard together. We want to finish on a high and feel that we owe that to our long-term relationship that we’ve had.”

F1 Academy Spanish Grand Prix: Abbi Pulling delivers a qualifying sweep f,academy,spanish,grand,prix,abbi,pulling,delivers,a,qualifying,sweep,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

Heading into the third race weekend of the 2024 F1 Academy schedule, the biggest question was whether anyone could catch Abbi Pulling.

During Friday’s qualifying session, the answer was no.

The Alpine driver swept qualifying on Friday and will start both races up front at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. However, Pulling certainly had to work for those pole positions, as several drivers put themselves on provisional pole position throughout the session.

Track evolution was a massive part of the story. As time wound down in the qualifying session the sun was doing the same in the sky, and the lap times began to tick down lap-by-lap. With two minutes to go Pulling was atop the timing sheets and on provisional pole, but several drivers were still on the track looking for those critical tenths — or more — to catch Pulling at the top of the timing sheets.

Ultimately, however, they could not.

Haas driver Chloe Chambers came closest, just 0.059 seconds behind Pulling’s fastest time. Nerea Martí, the hometown heroine, qualified third.

Doriane Pin, recovering from the rib injury that kept her out of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will start fourth. Bianca Bustamante, who enters this F1 Academy weekend sitting fifth in the standings, will start in that position in the first race.

“That was a nailbiting one, wasn’t it?” radioed in Pulling to her team following the session.

As for the second race, Pulling will be again starting up front. Under F1 Academy rules, the fastest time in a qualifying session sets the grid for the first race, but the starting order for the second race is set by each driver’s second-fastest time. Chambers will start third, with Pin in P3 for the second race this weekend, which takes place on Sunday.

Here are the full qualifying results:

F1 Academy Race 1 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Position	Driver	Team	Time
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Abbi Pulling	Alpine	1:41.396
2	Chloe Chambers	Haas	+0.059
3	Nerea Martí	Hilfiger	+0.133
4	Doriane Pin	Mercedes	+0.384
5	Bianca Bustamante	McLaren	+0.525
6	Tina Hausmann	Aston Martin	+0.597
7	Hamda Al Qubaisi	Red Bull	+0.727
8	Lia Block	Williams	+0.837
9	Jessica Edgar	American Express	+0.838
10	Lola Lovinfosse	Charlotte Tilbury	+0.980
11	Emely de Heus	Red Bull Ford	+1.023
12	Maya Weug	Ferrari HP	+1.049
13	Amna Al Qubaisi	VCARB	+1.099
14	Carrie Schreiner	Sauber	+1.106
15	Aurelia Nobels	Puma	+1.359

F1 Academy Race 2 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Position	Driver	Team	Time
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Abbi Pulling	Alpine	1:41.544
2	Chloe Chambers	Haas	+0.076
3	Doriane Pin	Mercedes	+0.255
4	Nerea Martí	Hilfiger	+0.378
5	Hamda Al Qubaisi	Red Bull	+0.704
6	Lia Block	Williams	+0.720
7	Tina Hausmann	Aston Martin	+0.725
8	Bianca Bustamante	McLaren	+0.771
9	Jessica Edgar	American Express	+0.776
10	Lola Lovingosse	Charlotte Tilbury	+0.834
11	Emely de Heus	Red Bull Ford	+0.982
12	Carrie Schreiner	Sauber	+1.012
13	Maya Weug	Ferrari	+1.017
14	Aurelia Nobels	Puma	+1.346
15	Amna Al Qubaisi	VCARB	+1.468

Daniel Ricciardo anticipating ‘competitive’ F1 Spanish Grand Prix daniel,ricciardo,anticipating,competitive,f,spanish,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 18, 2024 By: admin

Through nine race weekends this Formula 1 season, the team at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team have placed themselves near the front of the midfield. VCARB currently sits sixth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship standings with 28 points, 21 points ahead of seventh-place Haas. As the grid heads to Barcelona, there are thoughts that VCARB could perhaps throw a scare into Aston Martin, and make a play for fifth in the standings by the time the season is over.

However, VCARB is certainly expecting a tough fight at the Spanish Grand Prix, thanks to the track in Barcelona. For years the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was used for pre-season testing, thanks to its long straights and mix of corners.

As such, many teams are bringing upgrades to the Spanish Grand Prix, which could make for a “competitive” weekend.

“Barcelona is always a track where everyone brings updates, so I think it’s going to be a really competitive weekend. Let’s see what everyone brings. I’m excited to drive it with the faster last sector that they changed for last year,” said Daniel Ricciardo in the team’s media preview. “I’m looking forward to getting back on that track. Normally, it’s quite familiar but we didn’t do any testing there this year, so should be fun.

“I’m looking forward to keeping this run going, trying to get some more Q3 appearances and points finishes. I’ve been waiting a while, but I like to think it’s the start of where my season continues to progress and show performances like I did in Montreal,” added Ricciardo. “Really looking forward to it and excited to get the European leg started!”

Yuki Tsunoda, who has scored 19 of VCARB’s points this season, is hoping to rebound after a disappointing Canadian Grand Prix. VCARB was in the running for a double-points finish, but a spin by Tsunoda in the late stages dropped him out of contention.

“Even though the race in Montreal didn’t go the way I wanted, and the weekend as a whole was a bit up and down, it was positive that we managed to turn things around from Free Practice to qualifying, from one extreme to another. It showed that, as a team, we know how to adapt, and we came back well to get to Q3 once again,” said Tsunoda. “This definitely gives me lots of confidence that we know how to turn things around and make them work!”

Tsunoda believes that getting a good feel for the team’s challenger early in the week will bre critical for success at the Spanish Grand Prix.

“Now it’s time for Barcelona, which is a tough test for the car, but so far this season the VCARB 01 seems to perform well at all tracks, so I have no concerns on the performance side. As for the track itself, Sector 1 and Sector 3 are different animals and you can’t really have a car that is well-balanced in both of them, so you need to compromise, but we are not worried about that,” described Tsunoda. “The key will be to get a good understanding of how our package is working at this track as soon as possible during Free Practice and then get the most out of it. It’s another track where overtaking is difficult so qualifying will again be very important.

“I seem to be performing quite well in quali in recent races, maybe it’s the way I build up to it over Free Practice and it’s also linked to controlling my emotions, managing myself better and doing it consistently,” continued Tsunoda. “That makes your driving and feedback better and gives me extra confidence, so I’m looking forward to it.”

As noted, many teams are bringing upgrades to Barcelona.

And VCARB is one of those teams.

“With regards to our approach to the race, recent results have been reasonable and we have been scoring points, began Jody Egginton, the team’s Technical Director. “However, the midfield battle is incredibly tight and we are under no illusion that we must deliver well-executed events to be towards the front of this group with a chance of scoring points. So, like for any other Grand Prix, there have been intensive preparations in the simulator and offline tools to prepare for this event.

“A significant amount of work was put in by Faenza and Bicester to prepare and deliver an aerodynamic update consisting of a floor, bodywork and rear wing for both cars, to provide a measurable performance benefit,” continued Egginton. “As a result of having this update, the Friday sessions will be especially busy, in order to gather and process as much data as possible and get ready for Saturday onwards.”

F1 Spanish Grand Prix: Mercedes and Toto Wolff hope to build on ‘positive momentum’ f,spanish,grand,prix,mercedes,and,toto,wolff,hope,to,build,on,positive,momentum,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 18, 2024 By: admin

Mercedes are coming off their best weekend of the entire 2024 season in the Canadian Grand Prix. George Russell scored the team’s first podium in a Grand Prix this season, with a second-place finish after qualifying on pole position, and the fourth-place finish from teammate Lewis Hamilton — coupled with the bonus point for the fastest lap of the Grand Prix — saw the Silver Arrows bank 28 points over their weekend in Montreal.

Can they keep that momentum going in Barcelona?

Previewing this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff outlined how the team hopes to keep the momentum going, but the configuration of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya may pose a stiff test for the upgraded W15.

“We have continued to make incremental gains across the past few races. It was encouraging therefore to take another positive step forward in Canada,” said Wolff in the team’s media preview. “To see that translate into our strongest team result of the season so far is a reward for everyone’s hard work.”

Wolff cautioned that not only is the circuit in Montreal “unique,” but Mercedes are not the only team working hard at upgrading their challenger.

“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,” added Wolff. “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.”

As for what to expect in Barcelona, Wolff outlined that the Spanish Grand Prix might be the best measuring stick yet for how far the team has progressed with the W15.

“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,” described Wolff. “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 enter the Spanish Grand Prix still in fourth place in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, but the 28 points they banked in Montreal saw the team inch closer to not only Red Bull at the top of the table, but Ferrari in second:

Not only did Mercedes outscore Red Bull 28-25 in Montreal, but they outscored Ferrari 28-0 thanks to a double DNF from the Scuderia.

It might be hard to duplicated that in Barcelona, where Red Bull is expected to perform well and Ferrari might be bringing some upgrades of their own, but the results these past few weeks indicate that progress is truly happening at Mercedes.

F1 Spanish Grand Prix: Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Sauber seeking ‘comprehensive improvements’ f,spanish,grand,prix,valtteri,bottas,zhou,guanyu,and,sauber,seeking,comprehensive,improvements,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 17, 2024 By: admin

The 2024 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix arrives with nine of the ten teams having enjoyed a points finish this year.

Sauber, however, is still seeking their first positive result of the campaign.

While both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have shown pace at times this season, the team still has nothing to show for their efforts over the 2024 F1 campaign. Earlier in the season the team was undone by a problem in the pits, and continued lengthy pit stops turned promise into heartbreak.

Now they arrive at the Spanish Grand Prix, the first race of an F1 tripleheader, knowing they need “comprehensive improvements” yet still “confident” in their ability to finally break through into the points.

“We return to Europe after a challenging weekend in Montreal, determined to bounce back at the first possible occasion. The team is united, we understand that comprehensive improvements are essential across all areas, but we remain confident in our ability to compete for points once again,” described Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi.

“The tight margins in this sport mean that even the smallest enhancement can be pivotal, particularly in qualifying. Improving our single-lap performance is vital to positioning ourselves better on race day and targeting a top-10 finish,” continued Alunni Bravi. “Our dedication and hard work will be key to turning our season around and everyone, both trackside and back in Hinwil, is ready to embrace the challenge ahead.”

While Bottas has yet to secure his first points of the F1 season, the driver is coming off his best athletic result of the 2024 calendar year. The driver and his partner Tiffany Cromwell participated in the FNLD GRVL cycling event this past week the duo helped organize.

Bottas captured his first gravel race win, while Cromwell secured victory in the women’s 177 kilometer race

Having tasted success on the bike recently, Bottas is now hoping for more success on the track.

“It’s good to be back in Barcelona, a place that we know like the back of our hands. This is a place that always suited me and feel I can be at my best here. It’s a circuit that has no secrets for the teams: we have reams of data about it, in every condition and with every variable accounted for so, once again, it will be the finest details that will make the difference, especially on Saturday,” described Bottas. “Although we haven’t been as strong in the last few races as we should be, we are confident in our abilities. The team has put in tremendous amounts of effort to understand our issues and improve our performance. It’s a tight field, but with improved qualifying, we know we can be back in the fight for points again.”

While his teammate is not coming off similar athletic success during his week away from the track, Zhou is also hopeful for a positive result in Barcelona.

“I’m excited to be back racing again, and I am determined to get back into the fight for points,” described Zhou. “Unfortunately, the last few races didn’t go well for me and the team, but we are determined to bounce back. We’ve used our little break wisely to identify issues and work hard to be competitive again.

“I have some good memories of Barcelona – last year’s race was a lot of fun and I brought home some points, too. It’s a track we know well and that should mean there will be no surprises – it’ll be all about ultimate performance,” added the Sauber driver. “It’ll be crucial for us to start strong: nailing our setup early into the free practice sessions with lots of running to put us in a good position for qualifying and ultimately the race.”

To date, the team’s best results have come in the past two weeks, when Bottas placed 13th in the Monaco Grand Prix, and then 13th again in Montreal during the Canadian Grand Prix. Perhaps that momentum — and Bottas’ success in FNLD GRVL — gives the team the boost they need to finally open their account in Barcelona.

Spanish Grand Prix: Haas ‘feeling it’ as F1 tripleheader begins spanish,grand,prix,haas,feeling,it,as,f,tripleheader,begins,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 17, 2024 By: admin

This weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix markes the first of three-straight races on the Formula 1 calendar, a fact that poses challenges for all ten teams.

Including Haas.

In the team’s media preview of the Spanish Grand Prix, Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu noted that the sport has reached that part of the schedule where everyone is “feeling it,” a fact that makes the upcoming tripleheader even tougher for the teams.

“A triple-header is always pretty tough, thankfully a lot of our team is UK-based so it helps that the last race of this triple is in the UK, but it is still very hard,” described Komatsu. “It’s getting to that point of the season where everybody’s feeling it, so it’s very important that we look after ourselves to be able to perform at our best, to be efficient and focused, especially on the back of two events where our trackside operations weren’t the best. We can’t let that happen, so we need to look at ourselves and see how we can operate at our best.”

This weekend also marks the return of reserve driver Oliver Bearman to the VF-24, as the reserve driver and Ferrari supersub participated in FP1 ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, driving Kevin Magnussen’s car. This weekend Bearman will again participate in FP1, this time replacing Nico Hülkenberg.

The practice session comes amid consistent rumors that Bearman will be tapped for a full-time seat with the team next season.

Komatsu is hopeful that the team’s recent upgrades will mesh well with the many high-speed corners Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has to offer.

“Spain is the first circuit since we introduced our upgrades which has proper high-speed corners, so I’m really looking forward to assessing our update at that circuit and see what it’s like,” added Komatsu. “We have Bearman joining us again for FP1, this time in place of Nico, so he can continue from where he left off in Imola.”

Like his boss, Hülkenberg is also lookign forward to the high-speed corners the Spanish Grand Prix has to offer.

“It’s one of the classic circuits we’ve been going to over the years. It’s obviously a very high-speed circuit and I think it’s going to be very hot there this year, it used to be the first race of the European season,” added Hülkenberg. “I expect there’s going to be very hot, Spanish, temperatures. The vibes in Barcelona and the Spanish lifestyle are pretty cool and go well with a fun race. I like triple-headers, we’ve known them now for a few years and June is that month when things get quite busy.”

While Hülkenberg has already announced his 2025 plans, as the German driver will head to Sauber for next season ahead of the organization becoming the Audi works team in 2026, Magnussen is one of the drivers currently on the grid facing an uncertain future. But the Danish driver is simply looking forward to the high-speed circuit, and the racing that it offers.

“It’s one of the most well-known tracks for all the drivers, probably the track I’ve done most laps of out of them all. It’s a good track, lots of high-speed corners there, and can be quite difficult to overtake,” described Magnussen. “It’s become better, the track is more enjoyable after they’ve removed the last chicane and that’s also helped overtaking a little bit, so hopefully we can be competitive there. It’s a triple-header, but it’s nice to be in the European part of the season, it’s all familiar surroundings, short flights and no jet lag.”

F1 Spanish Grand Prix: What comes next in the Red Bull-McLaren-Ferrari fight? f,spanish,grand,prix,what,comes,next,in,the,red,bull,mclaren,ferrari,fight,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 17, 2024 By: admin

Two weeks ago the Formula 1 grid arrived in Montreal with visions of a true title fight on the minds of fans and drivers alike. “I don’t think either championship is over by any means,” Oscar Piastri declared to me when I sat down with the McLaren driver for an exclusive interview following his second-place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix.

“The Constructors’ [Championship] I would say is still open. We’re still a third of the way through the year. So it’s definitely still all to play for. I would say, of course, we’re at a bit of a disadvantage being as far back as we are, but it’s certainly not impossible,” continued Piastri “And yeah, I think even in the Drivers’ Championship, it’s not done and dusted yet.”

However, Max Verstappen had something to say about that latter point in Montreal.

Verstappen’s win in the Canadian Grand Prix, coupled with a DNF for Charles Leclerc, his closest challenger in the Drivers’ Championship, meant the Red Bull driver pulled 25 points further head of his nearest threat. Even with Lando Norris’ P2 in Montreal, Verstappen’s first-place finish saw him gain a few more points on the McLaren driver.

Now, the Constructors’ Championship was another matter. Sergio Pérez suffered a DNF of his own, so while Verstappen added 25 points to Red Bull’s account with his win, Norris’ P2 and Piastri’s P4 saw McLaren bank 28 points in the Canadian Grand Prix. Those two results, coupled with the Ferrari double DNF, meant the field on the Constructors’ side of things tightened up even more in Montreal.

As Piastri said, neither championship is “done and dusted” just yet. And things have only tightened more in the Constructors’ Championship these past few weeks.

Will things tighten even more in Barcelona? That is surely the biggest storyline to watch this week as the F1 grid heads to the Spanish Grand Prix.

But it is not the only one.

What awaits on the driver market front?

Will the fluid driver transfer market deliver more news this week?

With the F1 world descending upon Barcelona, the focus likely shifts to Carlos Sainz, Jr. The Spanish driver has yet to confirm his plans for the 2025 season, when Lewis Hamilton slides into the seat Sainz currently occupies at Ferrari.

Rumors have surrounded Sainz ever since that announcement, with teams such as Mercedes, Sauber — soon to become the Audi works team — and most recently Williams linked with the accomplished driver.

Late last week reports surfaced that despite expectations that Sainz would move to Sauber, ahead of the transition to Audi, that Williams was in the driver’s seat to land the driver. According to these reports, Williams has offered Sainz a four-year deal, giving the driver a potential out after two seasons if he believes the team has not made sufficient progress in his mind.

Of course, nothing is official until ink is put to paper, and Sainz himself has brushed aside various reporting already this season.

“The only thing I can tell you is there is nothing locked in. I’ve seen reports, I don’t know if it’s in Spain, people saying I’ve signed. I look at those things and it makes me laugh because I remember seeing reports three months ago that I had signed for Mercedes, reports that I had signed for Red Bull. Now obviously those places are not going to happen,” said Sainz earlier this month.

“So it’s funny now seeing people say I’ve signed for Williams. It makes me laugh that this goes a bit unpunished for some media person. It concerns me that people can get away with that kind of stuff,” added Sainz. “When I have something to announce, you guys will be the first to know and I will be here openly talking about my future.”

Now Sainz is just one of the drivers yet to announce his future plans. Other drivers we are waiting to hear from include Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, and more. But with the grid in Sainz’s home country, it is fair to turn our thoughts to an announcement from him first.

The future of F1 in Barcelona

As the grid arrives in Barcelona for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, the future of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the F1 grid is in severe doubt. At the start of this calendar year it was announced that the Spanish Grand Prix will move to a new street circuit in Madrid beginning in 2026, on a track that will city’s exhibition center.

The new location will extremely accessible for fans, as the new circuit will be just five minutes away from Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suarez airport, and near local Metro and train stations. According to the announcement, “ … it is estimated that 90% of fans will be able to travel to the paddock via public transport, while those staying in local accommodation will be a short walk away from the venue.”

While that might be great news for fans, it calls into question the future of an event in Barcelona.

Will Spain soon host two races, or will the new circuit in Madrid remain the sole race on Spanish soil going forward? Or perhaps Barcelona will again host F1 pre-season testing, as it did until 2023, when the site of pre-season testing was moved to Bahrain.

The next step in the never-ending development wars

We are truly in the thick of the 2024 F1 season, and when you add in the layer of a true title fight shaping up — at least when it comes to the Constructors’ Championship — every upgrade matters.

And as you might expect, teams are bringing a host of upgrades to Barcelona ahead of the upcoming tripleheader (more on that in a second).

Andrea Stella, the McLaren Team Principal, teased some upcoming upgrades for the Woking-based outfit recently. “For the coming races, we will have some upgrades, but they won’t be a single kind of big upgrade like we have seen over the last 12 months,” said Stella. “This is more some individual components where we found a little bit of performance and rather than waiting to deploy everything together once ready we take it track side.

“So I won’t say what but we will see some new stuff coming over the few coming races.”

McLaren, thanks to a P2 from Lando Norris and a P4 from Oscar Piastri last time out, actually gained three points in their chase of Red Bull at the top of the Constructors’ standings. And with Ferrari dealt a double DNF in Canada, McLaren pulled 28 points closer to the Scuderia, and they now trail Ferrari by just 40 points.

While Mercedes is a bit farther back in that fight, the Silver Arrows are coming off their best weekend of the year, with George Russell notching a podium finish in Montreal. That result comes as the team has been rolling out a series of upgrades, starting with the Miami Grand Prix. That package has included a new front wing, with Russell utilized in the Monaco Grand Prix and then Lewis Hamilton utilized in Montreal.

But the Silver Arrows are not done, as a new floor is coming for the W15.

“I think definitely, since Imola, we’ve taken the right steps and put parts on the car that are working, something that we were struggling in the past couple of years,” said Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff recently. “Now directionally we seem to be adding performance every weekend and we have new stuff coming also, new parts coming in Barcelona that should help us. So I would very much hope that we can continue this positive trajectory.”

While the new floor is a big component, and a new front wing is something certainly visible to the naked eye, Wolff outlined that Mercedes has been bringing many new components these past few weeks, some of which might not be visible to the untrained eye.

“Sometimes when you bring a highly-visible part like a bodywork or front wing, this is pretty much the talk of what has changed the performance,” added the Mercedes boss.

“But the truth is we have, over the last three races, brought so many new parts, visible and invisible for the eye, that have contributed milliseconds to more performance. I think this is where those marginal gains then have that positive effect. That was just a huge effort of the factory, so I think the wheel has started to get some real motion on it.”

As for Ferrari, the Scuderia planned on bringing their latest set of upgrades later this season, but reports out of Maranello indicate that they may push those new components out for the Spanish Grand Prix, given the disaster that was the Canadian Grand Prix for the team. According to Formu1a.uno, Ferrari was targeting Silverstone for another aggressive package, but the team may be “ … accelerating production times to introduce the most important innovations already in Barcelona.”

Will that truly be the case? We’ll know more in a few days.

Finally there is Red Bull. Will they have some upgrades of their own in Barcelona?

Team Principal Christian Horner hinted recently that they indeed might have some new components ready for Barcelona. “It’s a possible yes,” said Horner when asked if Red Bull would roll out some upgrades in Barcelona. “We’re closer to the top of the curve, so you get into a law of diminishing returns. But there will be subtle upgrades over the summer months.”

As the F1 schedule hits the summer the action on the track — and in the factories — heats up.

Round 1 of a tripleheader

When the 2024 F1 schedule was announced, many noticed that the calendar called for three different triple headers.

The first is upon us.

This weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix kicks off three straight weeks of racing. Following the Spanish Grand Prix, the grid will head to Red Bull Ring, for the Austrian Grand Prix. That weekend adds even one more layer, as the Austrian Grand Prix is one of six F1 Sprint race weekends.

Following Austria, the grid then heads to historic Silverstone, the site of the British Grand Prix.

Beyond the usual challenges an F1 week presents for teams and drivers, having three straight weeks of racing adds even more hurdles — and potential problems — for the ten teams to endure.

So buckle up friends, as a lot of F1 action is heading your way these next three weeks.

33 soon … ?

When the grid arrived in Barcelona a year ago, Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso were in many ways the talk of the F1 world. Aston Martin was still second in the Constructors’ Championship standings, one point ahead of third-place Mercedes. As for Alonso himself, he was in third place, 12 points behind Sergio Pérez. As you might expect from that place in the standings, the veteran driver was in fine form, having five podiums in six starts.

That beginning of the 2023 season led to talk of “33 soon?”, the rallying cry that followed Alonso’s quest for his elusive 33rd grand prix victory. With the grid arriving in Barcelona, there was hope that perhaps Alonso would earn that elusive victory in front of a home crowd.

However, if anything the results in the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix told the story of what was to come for Aston Martin down the stretch a year ago. Alonso finished down in seventh — behind teammate Lance Stroll — and he would see the podium just three more times over the rest of the year.

“I think sixth and seventh positions were the maximum for us. I thought our performance seemed better in qualifying, so I think we need to look at why and aim to bounce back for Canada,” said Alonso after the race. “We still scored some solid points and we had no risk at the end of the race. I want to thank the fans for their passion, energy and support this weekend. It was very emotional and special for me.”

Canada was one of those final three podiums for Alonso in 2023, as he finished P2 behind Max Verstappen. But that elusive 33rd victory has yet to materialize for the veteran driver.

Can he make some magic happen at home this weekend?