Demonstrate exemplary control under tension, Charles Leclerc performed a powerful tour of the Spanish Grand Prix. Behind him, under the equally intense weight of expectations that relentlessly build race after race this season, Mercedes has finally taken its first steps towards joining the championship battle, while George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made their best combined qualifier for the season. .
Leclerc of Ferrari took first place at the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya in an extremely competitive session and did so with just one lap after pushing too hard in his first run and spinning. “I tried to do too much and lost,” he said, essentially about a moment that could have cost him a pole until he regrouped and performed clinically, defeating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second place.
Mercedes also showed its toughness with some improvement after a deplorable start to the season, with Russell and Hamilton finishing fourth and sixth. Carlos Sainz was third for Ferrari and Sergio Perez was fifth for Red Bull.
The two Mercedes drivers were more than six-tenths behind, but given their season so far, they can see it as a turning point and are optimistic about Sunday.
This meeting was a critical time for the team, with director Toto Wolff saying it would be crucial in their analysis whether they would follow their current design or admit that they were wrong. They seem to be sticking to their weapons. Their performance was hailed as an excuse for their W13 car and an encouragement that there was more. Addressing the guinea pig problem – forced jumping due to the cessation of pressure – was key to speeding up management and pace, and they had successfully eliminated it. Barcelona heralds a further revival.
Hamilton acknowledged the team’s progress. “Yesterday was the best racing pace we’ve had,” he said. “If we could compete against Ferrari, that would be amazing. The team did a great job. We don’t have a straight jump, which is a huge improvement for us and the car as a whole was better this weekend. “
A series of improvements to the car here allowed Hamilton and Russell to compete. Mercedes didn’t expect to overcome their problems in one fell swoop, but now they’re making the progress they’ve been focusing on with hard work in the factory. Overcoming the guinea pig was key to allowing the team to pursue a clean pace now, Wolf believes. “As soon as we start regular development, as soon as we understand the tires better, now the jumping is gone, I think we will catch up,” he said.
In a captivating session, the busiest since the first round in Bahrain, Verstappen set the pace with his first hot lap in Q3, with a time of 1 minute 19.073 seconds. He had to push for the fierceness of the battle in front, but he crashed the lap, almost four-tenths of a second from Sainz. Leclerc, in a position to provoke, turned to the bully.
In the second run, the Monegasque threw his car to the track, quickly in the second and third sectors, he improved Verstappen by 1 minute 18.750 seconds, taking first place just when Verstappen told his team that he had lost strength and could not improve. The Dutchman had done enough to secure second place, but Red Bull will again worry about reliability issues.
A fierce battle can be expected on Sunday, Mercedes is hoping to join the party, but Leclerc has his hand in the whip. In the best form he is in the best possible position to extend his great lead of 19 points over Verstappen.
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Valteri Botas was seventh for Alfa Romeo, Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher in eighth and 10th for Haas, and Daniel Ricciardo in ninth for McLaren. Lando Norris was 11th for McLaren and Esteban Ocon was 12th for Alpine. Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasley in 13th and 14th place for AlphaTauri, with Guanyu Zhou in 15th place for Alfa Romeo. Sebastian Vettel was 16th for Aston Martin, his teammate Lance Stroll was 18th and Fernando Alonso was 17th for Alpine. Alex Alban and Nicholas Latifi were 19th and 20th for Williams.
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