Ready for another Ferrari-Red Bull duel: Leclerc starts from pole position ahead of Verstappen, Sainz in third place. In the heat of Barcelona, Charles will have to try to keep Max behind him. Third inconvenience the Mercedes in recovery
3.17 pm – Lap 17/66 Verstappen tries on Russell
Verstappen glued to Russell, but the Mercedes Englishman defends himself with his fingernails. Pit stop for Sergio Perez.
3.15 pm – Giro 16/66 the top 5
Leclerc (no pit-stop), Perez (no pit), Russell, Verstappen and Bottas. The latter three stopped to change tires. Still woe betide Verstappen’s mobile wing
Ore 15:23 – Giro 15/66 pit stop per Verstappen e Russell
Max and George stop, Leclerc instead lengthens the stint. Tire degradation lower than expected.
3.11 pm – Giro 13/66 Problems at Drs for Verstappen
From the garage they communicate to Max that the Drs is working badly, obviously the problems before the race have not been completely resolved. The Dutchman however managed to pass Perez and third.
3.18 pm – Giro 11/66 Photocopy errors for Sainz and Verstappen
One of the causes could be the wind that pulls in strong gusts right in that corner, the 4. Verstappen now behind Perez who let him pass. Leclerc has almost 10 ” advantage over Russell.
3.17 pm – Giro 10/66 The top 5
Leclerc, Russell, Perez, Verstappen, Bottas. Sainz eleventh
3.15 pm – Round 9/66, Verstappen turns
Verstappen loses the car at the same corner as Sainz, corner 4. He too manages to continue but now fourth.
3.12pm – Lap 6/66 Sainz in the gravel
Carlos Sainz went off the track at turn 4. The Spaniard lost the front and spun into the gravel. He manages to continue but his race now becomes an ordeal.
3.10 pm – Lap 5/66 Leclerc-Verstappen, duel with fast laps
The gap remains unchanged, it will be a very long match between Leclerc and Verstappen. Meanwhile Hamilton asks the box to retire but they tell him to continue. Bottas passes Schumacher for sixth place. The top 10: Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Perez, Sainz, Bottas, Schumacher, Ocon, Ricciardo, Norris
3:07 pm – Giro 3/66 Verstappen very close to Leclerc
The Dutchman, one second behind Leclerc, is setting the fastest lap for now. The departure of Carlos Sainz was very bad, while from the bottom Alonso has already recovered five positions and fifteenth.
3:06 pm – Round 2/66
Here are the top 5 Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Perez and Sainz. Schumacher moved up to sixth by exploiting the problems of Hamilton and Magnussen.
15:04 – Hamilton hole, Magnussen off the track
Tussle at the start between the Dane from Haas and Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion had to return to the pits to replace a tire. The race becomes a nightmare for him.
15:03 – Let’s go!
Leclerc manages to stay ahead of Verstappen who tries the attack but does not pass. Sainz started badly and slipped into fifth position
3:02 pm – The training round is over
Cars lined up on the grid in front of traffic lights.
2:59 pm – The training round has started
The cars left the pitches of the grid for the formation lap, all ready for the start of the Spanish GP in a packed circuit.
14:56 – Leclerc and Verstappen start on red tires
The Barcelona track hosted the first pre-season tests, in completely different weather conditions, in the climate of February. An almost unprecedented challenge in this heat. Leclerc and Verstappen will start on red tires, the fastest. Like everyone on the grid, only Hamilton chose the averages.
2.11 pm – Horner on the Verstappen Drs: Everything ok
We had a problem on the moving wing on Saturday and fixed it. Now been fixed. It will be a tough race for the tires, that worries me more. So Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal.
14:49 – Leclerc has to stretch in the World Cup
After Verstappen’s two victories in Imola and Miami, Leclerc’s advantage over Max dropped to 19 points. Winning here would give him peace of mind in view of the appointment at home in Montecarlo, next week where on paper the favorite Ferrari
2.46 pm – The starting order of the top 10
Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Russell, Perez, Hamilton, Bottas, Magnussen, Ricciardo e Schumacher.
2.39 pm – The role of Sainz
Ferrari would need an inspiration from Sainz at the start from third place, if he managed to get ahead of Verstappen he could make life complicated for the Dutchman. Perez’s other Red Bull starts fifth, sandwiched between Russell and Hamilton.
2.13 pm – Single-seater on the grid
Verstappen came out of the garage just in the final minutes, the mechanics had to make a race against time to replace the moving wing and he could only make one warm-up lap. Starting in the front row next to Leclerc, the first corner will be very interesting: who in front has a better chance of making the tires last longer.
14:23 – Warm-up laps, cars on the track
Machines on the track for the first warm-up laps, the Red Bull mechanics completed the operations on the moving wing and also max Verstappen ready to leave the garage.
14:11 – Replaced the Drs on Verstappen’s car
After the problems in qualifying, the Red Bull mechanics mounted a new moving wing on Verstappen’s car and all the supports and parts necessary to activate it, including the actuator. Not a simple operation.
13:57 – Record heat
The temperatures, as expected, have risen again: 36.1 degrees with the asphalt at 48.3 c. With this heat, some data indicate Verstappen as a favorite in tire management, but we must also take into account the overheating of the petrol engines, a phenomenon that Red Bull suffered in Bahrain and Australia.
13:45 – Alonso changes engine and starts last
Fernando Alonso will scatter from the back for replacing the Alpine power unit, a tactical choice by the French team to have fresh pieces available: for the Spaniard he changes little, he qualified 17 due to a strategy error of his Wall. The home GP will be very difficult for him, who won here in 2013 for the last time with Ferrari.
13:40 – Mercedes optimism
Russell sprints from the second row, fourth. Hamilton, on the other hand, is sixth. The young Mercedes driver is particularly optimistic about the competitiveness of the car when it comes to updates: I think we can compete with the Ferraris, not with Verstappen who has an edge in the pace of the race.
12:11 pm – Doubts about overtaking
In Barcelona, overcoming has always been difficult, but will it be the same with the new 2022 cars? We’ve seen close-quarters duels pretty much everywhere this year. On this track Verstappen obtained his first F1 victory, in 2016 on his debut with Red Bull. Taking advantage of the accident in the first laps between Hamilton and Rosberg.
11:59 am – Two-stop strategy, maybe three
The great heat continues in Barcelona: 32.3 C the air with the asphalt at 41.1 and temperatures are set to rise by 3 pm, the starting time of Formula 1. It will be a race linked to tire management, yes they involve two pit stop strategies, it is difficult to complete the 66 laps with only two stops. Ferrari has an extra set of red tires to use, Leclerc spared them in qualifying.
11:00 am – All full at Montmel
Long queues to get to the Catalan racetrack, there is a full house. 330,000 people are expected throughout the weekend. There have not been so many audiences since the World War fight between Alonso and Hamilton in 2007. There is not a free seat even in the gallery dedicated to Carlos Sainz, where tickets cost 350 euros.
Ore 10:15 – Mercedes outsider
There is an outsider to keep an eye on: Mercedes, back on good levels and dragged by the new leader Russell, fourth and still ahead of Hamilton (6).
09:58 – The unknown tire
As always, the unknown tires weigh. From the data on the simulations this time there would be no big difference in consumption between Red Bull and Ferrari. But the sixty-six rounds in the Spanish furnace will be a very severe test. Whoever is sweeter with tires will also win.
09:52 – Red Bull always fierce
Leclerc on pole was able to exploit Verstappen’s bad luck. The Dutchman was unable to make the last attempt due to a malfunction of the mobile wing. But in the race there is still a real danger: Ferrari still has fresh memories of the Miami GP where Verstappen was faster and managed to overtake Leclerc without worries on the track.
Ore 09:45 – Leclerc is a pole pi bella
everything is ready in Barcelona for the umpteenth Ferrari Red Bull challenge. Charles Leclerc won his fourth pole of the season on Saturday, the thirteenth in his career, perhaps the most beautiful, after a spin at the first exit that had left him only one attempt available to set the time. Leclerc did not fail. After the mistake, I simply thought about doing the same lap again, but without the mistake. And it worked he explained.
May 22, 2022 (change May 22, 2022 | 15:29)
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