As I sit here writing this on the Monday evening after the Spanish Grand Prix I find it refreshing to say that for the first time in quite some time the race at the Circuit de Catalunya was entertaining and exciting and threw up some impressive drives. Before we talk about how the championship is going I think it is important to say that Barcelona was an important litmus test for the new technical regulations.
The last time I wrote this blog was after Saudi Arabia and at that point things looked good as far as the the cars being able to follow each other closely was concerned. That trend has continued since then at the races in Melbourne, Imola and Miami but the reason that I say Spain was so significant is because the track is massively aero dependant and traditionally as a result it has not thrown up a lot of wheel to wheel racing. If the new ground effect regs can improve the racing in Spain, which it certainly seemed to yesterday them I believe that they can really now be deemed a success.
Ok good, the cars can race each other and we are seeing race craft come to the fore. What about the championship battle then? Since my last post after Saudi things have developed quite a bit. Ferrari and LeClerc may have dominated Melbourne after yet another car failure for Max Verstappen but RedBull have been busy bringing updates to the car thick and fast and have caught and passed their Italian rivals in both championships. RedBull may count themselves lucky yesterday after LeClerc’s own reliability issue robbed him of what would probably have been an easy win but he is now six points behind Max in the table.
When you think that the only two races Max hasn’t won this season have been the two races that he retired from and he would have finished second more than likely in both of them then he could have been at the top of the table by 40 points. That puts Ferrari’s charge in a different perspective and suggests that RedBull may have the upper hand in this years race so far. It is for this reason that I feel that Ferrari need to to take things up a gear otherwise they may see yet another title opportunity slip away. I am not being overly dramatic here either. Don’t get me wrong Ferrari have a big opportunity this year to bring success back to Marenello but dropping points like they did at Imola with LeClerc’s silly mistake and again on Sunday with the car not being reliable will be massively damaging if it keeps happening. They are up against a team in RedBull that are well drilled, have plenty of championship experience and have the confidence of being defending champions (in the drivers championship anyway). Ferrari cannot give anything away to them and must fight back over the next couple of races with strong results to claw back lost ground. I would love to see Ferrari become World Champions this year but at the moment they need to show more. I’m being overly critical because I want to see them do well.
The teams second drivers are also goimg to play a role in the title fight and it is necceaary I think to consider how they are faring so far. Sergio Perez is having a much stronger season than last, the car seems to be much more suited to him this time round and that is maybe a result of the change in regulations. His pace is much closer to Max and he is bringing home the points. He could have won in Saudi if the safety car had fallen differently and would have won yesterday if he had not had to move aside for Max, it was Max after all that had made the mistake at turn 4 early on. So Max has strong back up this year while over at Ferrari things are not going well for Carlos Sainz.
Sainz has undoubtedly had some bad luck this year but he has also made costly errors and not been on the pace of his team mate. I feel sad talking about Sainz as a second driver because I was hoping that we would really see him challenge LeClerc this year and make his own title bid. However given the start he has had and the difference in points of the two Ferrari drivers it is hard to see him as anything else. I’m sure he will find some form and have some great races as we go forward but surely Ferrari will use him to aid LeClerc in his battle with Max. Carlos must improve both for his own sake and his position in the team but also for the Constructors championship. Both RedBull men are bringing home big points and Ferrari will fall behind if Sainz does not turn things around.
Outside the title battle we have seen Mercedes continue to struggle in recent weeks but Spain did look much better for them. Their upgrades definitely worked as we saw by the pace shown through the weekend but also the lack of violent porpoising on the straights. It has been suggested all season that the car has some good underlying pace but the porpoising issue was preventing the team from turning that into hard results. They are not there yet and I do feel that it will be a few more races before we really find out what they capable of this year but Spain was the first time that real progress has been made.
One of the most intriguing questions pre season was how well Russell would fair alongside his illustrious team mate. After six races it is the young charger that has looked the most comfortable and that has shown the most speed. I am not in the camp that is questioning Lewis’s commitment or speed when I say this but he has looked pretty lost at times so far. His comeback to 5th (should have been 4th) on Sunday shows that he still has everything that is needed and can pull of those stellar drives that leaves everyone speechless, indeed it was one of his best races in my humble opinion but as the car improves we will look to him being right there with George. I don’t think anyone thought that Lewis would destroy George, we all recognize how much talent the Merc protege has for that, but seeing Russell consistently ahead has been a bit of a surprise.
I do feel that one reason for this might be the fact that Lewis has spent the last few seasons in cars that have been class leading where as Russell has been toiling at the back in inferior equipment. The struggles that the Williams team have had in recent times have maybe been beneficial to George’s ability to deal with difficult cars. For him this years Merc is still a step up but for Lewis it is a backwards step. I have no doubt that Lewis will sort things out, I feel that he is playing the long game at the moment and taking the punishment now so that good times follow later. Hopefully at a later date we will have six cars at the front all with a good chance of victory.
It is Monaco this weekend and who knows what that will give us. Will Leclerc’s hometown jinx continue or will RedBull edge further ahead. Maybe a surprise result will occur or the track may allow Merc to challenge at the front. Maybe Carlos day will come and he will find his feet in the Ferrari. Who knows but I hope it is a good one. Monaco is always a treat, watching the drivers thread the cars at top speed through the twisty streets is a joy. Until next time enjoy the racing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My F1 talk 