Max Verstappen shares the main factor that could decide the Barcelona GP, which might be tough news for Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen has pointed out what he thinks will be the key to winning the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix—and it might not be great news for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton if it happens.
Mercedes driver George Russell grabbed pole position for Sunday’s race, with Hamilton right behind him on the front row. The two Brits showed they were the fastest on Saturday, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli was a bit further back in third.
If both Mercedes drivers are still near the front by the first turn, they could have a big advantage over Ferrari. Unfortunately for Ferrari, Charles Leclerc had a bad crash during Q3, which means he’ll start the race in 10th place. This could force Ferrari to get creative with their race strategy.
On the flip side, Mercedes could try different strategies and make sure at least one of their drivers is in a strong spot to win. Tyre wear has been a problem all weekend, and Verstappen, who qualified fifth, thinks it will be a challenge on race day too.
“All the tyres felt bad, so I guess everyone will struggle,” he said. “It just depends on who will struggle the most or not. So we’ll see.”
Both Mercedes and Ferrari have cars that handle tyre wear well this season. But if Mercedes stays at the front, it will work in their favor. For example, even if Hamilton leads early on, Mercedes could try to pit one of their drivers early to undercut him and force Ferrari into a tricky position. Meanwhile, Ferrari might use Leclerc’s early pit stop to gather useful tyre info for Hamilton later on.
McLaren looks like they won’t benefit much from the tyre situation. Lando Norris qualified fourth, ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri in seventh, but team boss Andrea Stella says they still have work to do with their tyres in different conditions.
“We know at McLaren that we have some opportunities to do better,” he told The Race. “We still have room to improve how the car handles tyres, whether it’s cold days like in Canada or hot conditions like here in Barcelona. We’re not as competitive as we hoped in terms of tyre performance, so this is a clear focus for our development.”
Based on what they’ve seen so far, McLaren doesn’t expect any big tyre advantage this weekend.