After trips to Australia, Bahrain, China and Azerbaijan, Formula 1 kick starts its European season in Spain this weekend. Motorsport Week takes a look at the main talking points ahead of the upcoming grand prix in Barcelona.
Will it be as close as pre-season testing?
The Spanish Grand Prix has been an intriguing race in recent years. Mercedes’ first-lap clash in 2016 kicked open the door for Max Verstappen to triumph, in 2017 Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel duelled for the win, while last year qualifying was a close-run affair until the thinner gauged tyres skewered Ferrari in race trim. The outcome of pre-season testing suggested 2019 would be a close-run affair between Ferrari and Mercedes but so far, the latter’s minor pace advantage has been translated into a major points buffer, such has been the efficiency of the Silver Arrows in comparison to the limping horse. Mercedes has a strong Barcelona record – unbeaten in qualifying since 2012 and having taken four from five wins – but Formula 1 could do with Ferrari finally not only unlocking the package it believes it has, but then delivering it on Sunday. It has brought forward the introduction of its second-specification power unit, initially planned for Montreal, so could that make the difference this weekend?
Can Haas avoid another tyre drama?
Haas departed pre-season testing ostensibly atop the midfield and solidified that position in Australia, but since then its fortunes have as-yet-irreversibly turned sour. Kevin Magnussen has raced to lacklustre 13th places with Romain Grosjean a best of 11th, that China result sandwiched by a clash and a brake failure. Haas has pinned its problems down to its use of Pirelli’s notoriously tricky tyres, reckoning it has identified the fault, but fixing it is another matter. In short, Haas’ VF-19 enters the graining phase but does not re-emerge, instead sliding around on too-cold tyres. The high-stress Barcelona circuit should alleviate some concerns – albeit with cooler-than-usual conditions expected – but longer-term it needs to address its problem. “There’s no point saying ‘Oh, it’s not working’,” said boss Guenther Steiner. “Nine teams can get it to work. Who’s better? Who’s worse? We are absolutely the worst one to get it to work. I’m very conscious about that one. It’s very serious.”
Will Williams retain hope for 2019?
Williams’ awful season reached a new low in Azerbaijan. Even on the list of possible worst-case scenarios the team is unlikely to have factored ‘still unwell driver wrecking car on loose drain cover after just two laps’ into the equation. The recovery truck element only enhanced the tragi-comedy. Robert Kubica shunting the other car in Q1 was but another setback. The alarming trend is not only that Williams was late with its recalcitrant car, but that its chasm to the rest has shown no sign of closing through the opening four events. In a relentless development battle Williams would be expected to reduce the gap but in fact is being left behind even more. Williams, as with other teams, will bring updates to its car in Barcelona but the pressure is surely magnified on the Grove-based outfit due to its dire predicament. If the upgrades provide green shoots then it will be of enormous comfort, but if not, all remaining hope for 2019 can surely be placed in the bin.
Is this Barcelona’s swansong?
Barcelona – well, the area around Montmelo – is almost a second home for the Formula 1 paddock but this weekend could be the last Formula 1 race to be held at the circuit. With high-profile discussions surrounding the future of grands prix in Britain, Italy and Mexico dominating talk, Spain’s long-term prospects have slipped under the radar. Indeed, several paddock folk in Azerbaijan were surprised to hear of Spain’s fragility on the calendar. The three-year deal agreed in 2016 expires at the conclusion of this weekend’s race and it is set to relinquish its spot on the schedule to Zandvoort for 2020. The ongoing political situation in the country, accentuated by the unresolved Catalan independence argument, has not helped (the mayor – up for re-election at the end of May – already reduced the circuit’s F1 budget), while the departure of Fernando Alonso is another setback. Barcelona will (probably) still be regarded as an ideal pre-season test venue, but perhaps Formula 1’s visits will from now on be restricted to March and not May.
Can ‘new’ F3 deliver the goods?
After a long, long winter of waiting the new-for-2019 FIA Formula 3 championship begins this weekend – albeit the calendar is such that its next event won’t be until late June’s France round. The series is effectively a merger of European Formula 3 and GP3 though in reality is a rebirth of the Bruno Michel-run category that was launched in 2010, with the new car an evolution of the Pirelli-shod GP3/16. 10 of motorsport’s leading junior teams have signed up and each will field three drivers, resulting in a bumper 30-car grid; whether the quality and quantity can be sustained long-term is another matter entirely. Both GP3 and European F3 trained drivers for the top level but the absence of the latter – particularly from a more open engineering perspective – is a loss for motorsport, while the calendar is undoubtedly regressive, missing previous favourites such as Pau and Norisring. It’s a positive step for FIA streamlining, so let’s hope it delivers the goods in terms of racing quality and driver talent.
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