The Spanish Grand Prix at the 4.655 km, 16 turn Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is always an intriguing weekend. The teams and drivers return to the venue of pre-season testing and use it as a benchmark of where they are at. It is also an opportunity for the teams to bring big upgrades. For example, Ferrari brought forward an upgraded engine ahead of schedule while Renault, for example, were looking to ‘reset’ in Barcelona.
Despite the raft of upgrades brought to Barcelona, it was a familiar story in the timesheets. Mercedes have been the dominant force in 2019 despite Ferrari being tipped to have the quicker car. Indeed, the Ferrari was quickest at this circuit in pre-season testing bit it is Mercedes who arrived with four successive 1-2 race finishes and it was Mercedes who set the pace in Spain. The Silver Arrows topped all three practice sessions and all three parts of Qualifying before Valtteri Bottas claimed his third successive pole position by a storming 6 tenth margin.
