F1 Spanish GP 2020 Pre-Race Talking Points

With their front row lockout of the 2020 F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes have taken pole position for every race of the season so far. Lewis Hamilton took his 92nd career pole, but there could be some changes on the horizon. F1’s governing body, the FIA, has decided to clamp down on special engine modes used by engine manufacturers for qualifying. Mercedes’ is supposed to be the most potent and when they first started using them, Hamilton dubbed them ‘party mode.’ The ban on these special modes could be coming as soon as the Belgian Grand Prix in two weeks. 

Nothing in it

Just 0.059 seconds. That was the gap between the best qualifying times by the two Mercedes drivers, with Hamilton on pole. In last week’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Bottas was on pole by just 0.063 seconds. The two drivers have very little to separate them in qualifying but as has often been the case, Hamilton has been stronger over a race distance. Crucially for the Mercedes drivers, the weather is hot in Barcelona as it was in the two Silverstone races where they ran into tyre trouble. It could leave the door open for Red Bull Racing-Honda’s Max Verstappen and the two Racing Point-BWT Mercedes drivers.

The fight for third

Behind the Mercedes drivers, Max Verstappen was 0.708 seconds behind Hamilton’s pole time. The Dutchman showed potential for good race pace in the Friday practice sessions. That race pace could lead to one of two outcomes. Either Verstappen pressures Mercedes into eating up their tyres or he could be fast enough to stay out of the reach of ‘Tracing Point.’ That is the somewhat derogatory term given to Racing Point-BWT Mercedes for reverse engineering last year’s championship winning Mercedes. Racing Point has not yet fully capitalized on the one lap pace they have shown. They currently lie fifth in the constructors’ championship behind not only Red Bull, but also Ferrari and McLaren-Renault. 

Another miss for Vettel

For the second straight race, Sebastian Vettel has missed the final segment of knockout qualifying. It has been a miserable season for Vettel so far. First, he found out that Ferrari were done with his services after 2020. After that has come the first five races of the season where the former four-time world champion is yet to make it to the podium and has scored just 10 points. In contrast, his teammate Charles Leclerc has scored 45 points including two podiums and a fourth place finish. And this has been achieved in a Ferrari that was destined to be mired in the midfield due to a power deficit compared to the other engine manufacturers.