Spanish Grand Prix F1 qualifying storylines: Mercedes’ day?

Through 9 races, the 2024 Formula 1 season has provided many twists and turns.

The most up-to-date curveball? George Russell pipping Max Verstappen for pole place on the Canadian Grand Prix. Both drivers completed with the identical time, however as a result of Mercedes driver posting his time first, Russell secured the group’s first pole place of the season. While Verstappen claimed victory on Sunday, Russell completed on the rostrum in third, the primary time Mercedes tasted a podium end in a Grand Prix this season.

With teammate Lewis Hamilton ending simply behind him in fourth — and securing the bonus level for the quickest lap of the race — it was the group’s greatest results of the whole season.

Now, on the cusp of qualifying on the Spanish Grand Prix, are they poised for a good higher day?

Friday’s practices noticed the Mercedes duo close to or on the prime of the timing sheets in each classes. Russell completed P4 within the first session, with Hamilton shut behind in P7, and FP2 was even kinder to the Silver Arrows. Russell posted the eighth-fastest time, however Hamilton topped all of them, edging out Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris to prime the sector.

Might Mercedes be poised for an additional sturdy 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,” mentioned Hamilton within the group’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 evaluation, even when he cautioned Mercedes supporters that it was solely 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,” started Russell.

”Our long term tempo in FP1 was aggressive. In FP2, it appeared that our single lap tempo was barely stronger than our long term velocity however total, the automobile is feeling sturdy. It is simply Friday, nevertheless it has been some time since we’ve been persistently on the higher finish of the sector,” 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 sturdy Friday comes at an fascinating time for the Brackley-based group. Reports surfaced this week of an nameless e-mail despatched to F1 journalists relating to the therapy of Hamilton by the group. While SB Nation has not reviewed the e-mail, a report from Reuters described the e-mail 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 e-mail on the FIA Press Conference on Friday, even informing the media in Barcelona that the police have been introduced in relating to the matter.

Never a boring second in F1.

… Alpine?

Friday’s first follow session confirmed some promise for Alpine, as Esteban Ocon completed inside the highest ten and teammate Pierre Gasly was simply exterior in P13.

FP2 was even higher for the group.

When the checkered flag flew on the finish of Friday’s second follow session Ocon was inside the highest ten in P9, and it was Gasly who supplied the true stunner, as he completed fourth within the session.

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

Even the group appeared stunned at their sturdy efficiency.

“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,” mentioned Ocon within the group’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 end result in all probability “flatters” the group.

“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’s a group in want of some flattery, it’s actually Alpine. Even their lead to Montreal — their first double-points end of the season — was not with out some controversy, as Ocon appeared pissed off after the race at some group orders that had been handed down within the closing levels of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Then there was the opposite bit of reports on Friday, the announcement that Alpine was bringing Flavio Briatore aboard in an government function:

Briatore is a long-time F1 determine and has what you would possibly name a little bit of a checkered previous. He was convicted in Italy on fraud expenses through the Nineteen Eighties, earlier than his F1 profession, and many years later was pressured to resign from the ING Renault F1 group as a result of his involvement within the “Crashgate” scandal surrounding the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Briatore was then banned indefinitely from any occasions sanctioned by the FIA, a ban that was later overturned by a French tribunal.

The appointment was a spotlight in Friday’s FIA Press Conference when Alpine Team Principal Bruno Famin was repeatedly questioned in regards to the transfer.

“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,” mentioned 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, profitable cures all. Alpine won’t be able to contend for wins simply but, however one other sturdy weekend will surely be welcome.

Even if some flattery is a part of the story.

A “tricky” day for VCARB

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

Friday’s first session noticed Daniel Ricciardo in P15, with Yuki Tsunoda behind the sector in P20. Things didn’t enhance a lot in FP2, as Tsunoda crept as much as P15 and Ricciardo slid again to P16.

Both drivers, nonetheless, are hopeful that solutions might be discovered in a single day.

“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.,” mentioned Tsunoda within the group’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 mentioned on Thursday he needs to “earn” his seat at VCARB for subsequent season — it was nonetheless enjoyable to get a crack on the reconfigured Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, even when the group “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,” mentioned 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 famous by each drivers, VCARB introduced a number of upgrades to Barcelona, together with a brand new flooring for the RB01. That could have put them on the again foot Friday, however hopefully for the group they will unlock extra tempo and efficiency after diving into the info in a single day.

Checking in on the title fights

Returning to the entrance of the sector the groups and drivers preventing for place on the prime of their respective standings could be in numerous frames of thoughts heading into Saturday.

McLaren noticed each Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri inside the highest ten of each classes, with Norris topping the sheets in FP1 after which ending 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,” mentioned 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’re hoping for a bounceback after a disastrous Canadian Grand Prix noticed each Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc end exterior the factors, would possibly view Friday as a little bit of a blended session. Results-wise Sainz had a very sturdy day, ending third in FP1, and second in FP2. But each drivers described Friday’s twin follow classes as “tricky” from their perspective.

“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,” mentioned Sainz within the group’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 opposite facet of the storage Leclerc — who completed P11 in FP1 and P6 in FP2 — echoed his teammate’s ideas. “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,” mentioned 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 in search of some solutions. Verstappen was inside the highest 5 in each classes however by no means appeared assured within the RB20. At one level in FP2 Verstappen reported that the automobile was quite “loose,” radioing into the group 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 positioned fifth within the first session, however was exterior the highest ten within the second, posting the Thirteenth-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,” mentioned Horner. “I feel we acquired some superb knowledge, so loads of work to do that night.

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

Shaping as much as be a theme of the season.