Spanish Grand Prix Preview

Max Verstappen has dominated the Formula 1 season, notching four wins from five races. The Dutch driver’s victory at the rain-hit Monaco Grand Prix last weekend was another masterclass performance by the double champion. 

The Track

The Red Bull driver is on course to win a third consecutive race if he claims a win in Barcelona this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix.  

Last season, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was forced to let Max through as the team saw the Dutch driver’s pace advantage. Naturally, Perez wasn’t happy to concede the victory to his teammate, but he did bag the solitary point for the fastest lap. 

The only other driver to win this season has been Perez. Therefore, it’s hard not to pitch Red Bull as the favourites to dominate proceedings in Barcelona. 

The RB19 is devastatingly fast in a straight line and the 613-metre main straight is the perfect spot for Verstappen and Perez to put the hammer down at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.

The big news this year is that the organisers have opted to encourage more overtaking by removing the chicane in the last sector. Another interesting development is to change the old layout. Let’s hope it pays dividends in terms of the number of overtakes. 

The track is well-known to the drivers having been used for pre-season testing for many years. It has been a mainstay on the calendar since 2013 and has a good mix of slow and medium corners. 

There are two DRS zones and arguably the best one for overtaking is at the end of the lap coming up to T14 which gives the cars an extra 15km/h to 20km/h down the straight. 

Look out for the long and fast right-hander at T3, and notice how the car’s balance is shifted through the corner. 

Lastly, it’s great to return to a traditional racing circuit since the opening Bahrain GP in late March. Since then all the races have been situated at street circuits.

The Alonso Factor

The 41-year-old has undergone a renaissance at Aston Martin and scored his fourth podium finish last weekend in Monaco. His second place was the best finish this season, and the Spaniard will be relishing to take the fight to Max and co. at his home race. 

Alonso has not won the Spanish GP since 2013, however, he currently lies third in the drivers’ standings behind the Red Bull duo.

The AMR23 has been sensational in the hands of the double world champion, however, he knows that it’ll be a tall order to maintain pace with the energy drink team.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will be looking to improve on their performances from last week. 

Another interesting litmus test that’s set for this weekend is the results of the upgrades introduced by Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. The former secured a fourth and fifth-place finish in Monaco and Mercedes will look to build on that good showing.

Monaco wasn’t the best track to showcase the several upgrades teams added to their cars. There’ll be more pressure on those teams who have made significant changes to see if they can reach fruition and bring them closer to Red Bull. 

Look out for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly for Alpine as they hope to extract the pace from their car in Barcelona. Under the skin the Alpine is a seriously quick car, however, the young French drivers haven’t had a chance to show its true mettle. Will Barcelona be in the race? We’ll wait and see.

Verstappen is the favourite for the race win and pole position with odds of 1.40 for the former. Sainz at 5.50 to get onto the podium offers good value as does Valtteri Bottas to finish in the top 10 at 3.85. 

Predictions

Winner – Verstappen

Podium Verstappen, Perez, Alonso 

Fastest lap: Verstappen

Pole position: Perez

First to retire: Lance Stroll 

Most Team Points: Red Bull 

Both Cars Qualify for Q3 Shootout: Mercedes 

Practice 1/2/3 Winning Car: Verstappen/ Red Bull 

Safety Car: Yes 

Top 6: Norris, Ocon, Gasly

Top 10: Tsunoda, Piastri, Bottas

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.