Quick shift for Verstappen as he finds himself needing alternative drivers
During the heat of World Champion Max Verstappen's competition, Mercedes keeps picking up speed: Lewis Hamilton clocked the fastest lap during Friday training in Barcelona. At Red Bull, worries about Sergio Perez's performance are growing.
At the end of a solid training day, Lewis Hamilton emerged from his Mercedes with a grin, waving cheerfully to the Barcelona audience. The Formula 1 record-breaking world champion set the quickest time at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, reinforcing that Mercedes is on the rise once more. In 1 minute, 13.264 seconds, the future Ferrari driver posted the day's fastest lap, leaving Max Verstappen far behind by a considerable margin. The Dutch world champion had to admit defeat to Hamilton, trailing by 0.240 seconds. His teammate Sergio Perez from Mexico finished in 13th place, just behind Nico Hülkenberg (Haas).
Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko expressed worry, trying not to read too much into the results. "We didn't max out the engine power, Max isn't that far away yet," Marko told Sky. However, it's evident: The days of absolute dominance are long gone, and a heated fight for the lead between Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren is taking shape in Barcelona. "It's a given that four brands will clash," Marko stated: "We haven't nailed down the ideal setup for a single lap yet. The long runs were only halfway decent." Perez's poor performance caused greater concern for Marko. "In such a tight field, we can't afford to have our drivers that far apart," Marko said: "We need to dig into that, but it's not good for the strategy."
Carlos Sainz outperformed his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in both sessions. Unlike recently in Montreal, where Ferrari struggled throughout the weekend and failed to score any points, it now appears that the Scuderia can keep up. Lando Norris was also impressive, clocking the fastest time in the first training session in the afternoon with his McLaren and finishing third in the second session behind Hamilton and Sainz. Hülkenberg had to sit out the first training session as his Haas-Bolide was taken over by the British youngster Oliver Bearman. When he took control in the second training session, he was only slightly slower than his teammate Kevin Magnussen, who finished 11th.
The weekend kicked off on a chaotic note. On Friday morning, Alpine announced the appointment of Flavio Briatore, who will consult with the team from then on. The Italian, former team boss and Schumacher's foster father, is one of the most flamboyant figures in Formula 1 history. He has a good rapport with Renault CEO Luca de Meo, Briatore told Sky: "We share similar visions and ideas about the team. We want to make the team competitive again." At least that seems to be working during training: Pierre Gasly finished surprisingly in fourth place.
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Despite Red Bull Racing's worries about Sergio Perez's performance, Mercedes AMG is making a strong comeback in Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton outperformed Max Verstappen during training sessions, setting the fastest time and reinforcing Mercedes' dominance.
