Spanish Grand Prix: The Hits/Misses of the editorial team

The TOPS

Verstappen, the roaring 40th

Max Verstappen has subscribed to this column since the beginning of the season. Pole position, victory, fastest lap, and leading from start to finish, the Dutchman has achieved the third Grand Slam of his career. Above all, he has once again shown that he is the strongman of this season and even of this period that we are experiencing in Formula 1. With complete control, he was barely threatened at the start by Carlos Sainz before executing his game plan until the finish line. Just a few laps before the checkered flag, while his teammate held the fastest lap, “Super Max” even had the luxury of going for that additional point against the advice of his engineer who asked him to bring the car “home”. Another masterclass for the Red Bull driver, who, with this 40th victory in F1, is now just one win away from Ayrton Senna’s record.

Mercedes found thanks to their developments

Constrained to showcase its numerous developments in Monaco after the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the Mercedes team had not been able to draw significant lessons from their new package on the streets of the Principality. In Spain, on a circuit that reveals the teams’ strengths, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were able to gauge the progress made by their car.

Comfortable from Friday, Hamilton qualified on the second row before delivering a magnificent race behind the untouchable Verstappen.

Even though he could have lost everything after the contact with Norris at the start, the seven-time world champion dominated on worn tires against Sainz’s Ferrari, which was on new tires, allowing him to get the upper hand on the Spaniard for second place.

Back on the podium, Hamilton is now ready to start afresh in this season aboard a W14 car that suits him much better.

Like his teammate, Russell delivered a very impressive performance on Sunday. Despite starting from the second half of the pack, the younger of the two Britons quickly made his way to the front. Highly motivated and communicating with his team through the radio, Russell also overtook Sainz on the track before defending his position on the podium against Pérez towards the end of the race.

Promising signs ahead for Brackley. The developments are working and the drivers are enjoying their cars. Now ahead of Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship, there is no doubt that Toto Wolff’s team is on the verge of establishing itself as the second strongest team on the grid.

Guanyu Zhou, the pleasant surprise of the pack

Thirteenth on the grid, ninth at the finish, the Alfa Romeo driver maximized the potential of his machine by scoring two valuable points for his team. In a battle for the Top 10 for a large part of the race, Zhou found himself in the midst of several on-track battles, whether it be with the Haas cars or with Yuki Tsunoda, narrowly avoiding a collision.

Cautious with his tires and aggressive when necessary, the Chinese driver took advantage of this Spanish Grand Prix to once again assert himself within his team against his teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Having risen to the level of the Finnish team in the championship, Zhou is now fully integrated into his team after a year of ups and downs. The next races will determine whether the battle for 7th place in the championship, which promises to be exciting, will be between Alfa Romeo, Haas, and AlphaTauri.

The FLOPS

Ferrari, inconsistency as the key word

When they were questioned after the race, Charles Leclerc and Frédéric Vasseur had the same word on their lips: “Inconsistency”. Inconsistency in performances, inconsistency in strategies, but above all, inconsistency in tire usage.

Despite the developments in Catalonia and a first podium for Carlos Sainz, Ferrari only left this seventh race of the season with the ten points from the fifth place.

Quite disappointing for a team whose ambition at the beginning of the season was to challenge the dominant Red Bull. Even worse, the Italian team couldn’t understand Leclerc’s shocking elimination in Q1 during the qualifying session.

The Monegasque driver tried hard to climb back up the field, but he was hindered by a strategy that was difficult to understand from his team, starting with hard tires, switching to softs early in the race and eventually finishing with another set of hard tires.

This race gave the impression that the Scuderia was still searching for a solution with its car, whose performance varies from one race to another, and even from one session to another.

After being dominated by Aston Martin since the beginning of the season, the Reds now see Mercedes pulling away. Frédéric Vasseur and his team will have to react quickly if they don’t want to make obtaining fourth place in the championship their new ambition for this season.

Alonso misses at home

Difficult to place Alonso in the category of flops. And yet. Only 9th in Q3, the Spaniard could hope to climb up to the Top 5 in front of his home crowd. Ultimately finishing 7th, the Aston Martin driver had the potential to finish higher given his pace towards the end of the race.

Wisely nestled in his teammate’s exhaust, Alonso did not attempt anything to gain a position. Coming back like a cannonball on Stroll with fresher tires, he indicated to his team that he would not try to overtake him.

Surprising when you consider the fervor and determination of the Bull from Asturias during a race. Is it because the Canadian is the son of his employer? Or is it to bring back big points for the team by taking no risks? Whatever the case may be, fans could have regrets about not seeing a battle between the two Silverstone cars.

Another surprising episode during the Spaniard’s weekend, his call to the radio during qualifying to denounce Pierre Gasly for not leaving enough space for Max Verstappen on a fast lap.

Not at all involved in the maneuver, Alonso may have wanted to show Alpine the lingering resentment he still harbored after “the Piastri affair” last summer. However, the double world champion owes a lot to the Enstone structure, as it was the one that led him to the title in 2005 and 2006 and brought him back to F1 in 2021.

Alonso should rather focus on the development of his car, which was outperformed by the Mercedes throughout the weekend, instead of seeking punishment for his fellow competitors.

Magnussen and Bottas, experience is no longer enough

With 148 and 207 starts in F1 respectively, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas are among the most experienced drivers on the current grid. Nevertheless, since the beginning of this 2023 season, the two Northern European drivers have failed to capitalize on this quality on board their cars.

Eliminated in Q1, Magnussen was a mere spectator to his teammate Nico Hülkenberg’s magnificent lap in Q3. Despite battling with the German in the middle of the race, the Danish driver subsequently vanished from the screens to finish 18th, too far from the points and only ahead of Bottas and Sargeant.

Jan’s son couldn’t find the rhythm to climb up and offered his team a new anonymous race after Monaco. Magnussen will have to quickly rectify the situation if he doesn’t want to see Günther Steiner start looking for a possible replacement for him.

As for Bottas, his race was reduced to helping his teammate by blocking his pursuers. Although team spirit is commendable, his performance falls far short of the expectations placed on him by Alfa Romeo.

Dominating the race, Zhou, who made it into the points, left Bottas crossing the finish line in a very disappointing and concerning penultimate position. Now tied in the championship with the Chinese driver, the former teammate of Lewis Hamilton can no longer afford any mistakes if he wants to establish himself as the leader of his team.