2019 Spanish Grand Prix - Catalunya, May 10-12

[mclaren111]

I'm hoping Mclaren will improve enough to challenge RB...

[Bill_Kar]

i do understand that its been four 1-2s in a row for the Mercs.
But Ferrari were struggling with tyres in temp drop in quali surely hit Ferrari bad...
Well, ferrari bringing upgrades... should help thier quest of getting more downforce and balance to get the tyres be in the operating window.
I also understand conventional wisdom says Mercs to the win... But its gonna be very important weekend and gonna be the first win for the Ferraris..
Just got the feeling this year Ferrari might rule the European leg...completely..

#ForzaFerrari

TBH, yes I know it has been said a lot but I actually believe that there is everything to play for. Like you said, if Ferrari sort out their tire issues, we've got a championship in our hands.

But don't jump to conclusions :we do not know the sheer power of each car & and we don't know how good can the Mercedes get with the updates. That being said, even if Ferrari solve the pirelli puzzle, it doesn't mean they will dominate or that they have the better car.

[Vasconia]

Not the best race of the season but I am curious to see if Ferrari can sort out its tyre and aero problems. The season needs desperately a Ferrari win just to keep the things exciting.

I hope too that McLaren can make an step forward and put RB under some pressure.

[mclaren111]

Not the best race of the season but I am curious to see if Ferrari can sort out its tyre and aero problems. The season needs desperately a Ferrari win just to keep the things exciting.

I hope too that McLaren can make an step forward and put RB under some pressure.

Me Too...

[Wouter]

I hope too that McLaren can make an step forward and put RB under some pressure.

That has to be a huuuuge step!
Last race Sainz was 66 sec behind Verstappen.

[Bill]

If Mclaren wants to contend with Rbr first they need to take care of Racing points and a highly resourced Renault no easy feet , one step at a time. Mclaren seems to work best in a straight line not good in the corners that why they are relatively competitive in Baku and Bahrain it needs a lot of downforce

[Big Tea]

Come on Mclaren guys, be realistic. Front of the also ran's if the best that can be expected for at least the first half of this year, which is no mean feat.

Don't put them and yourselves under unrealistic pressure, enjoy the fight.

[foxmulder_ms]

i do understand that its been four 1-2s in a row for the Mercs.
But Ferrari were struggling with tyres in temp drop in quali surely hit Ferrari bad...
Well, ferrari bringing upgrades... should help thier quest of getting more downforce and balance to get the tyres be in the operating window.
I also understand conventional wisdom says Mercs to the win... But its gonna be very important weekend and gonna be the first win for the Ferraris..
Just got the feeling this year Ferrari might rule the European leg...completely..

#ForzaFerrari

Merc 4 1-2s are masking the "real" picture. Merc is not that dominant. With slightly more luck Ferrari could have won two of the races. So, I think the cars are basically equal like last year. What Merc has slightly better drivers and better strategic calls.

[BwajSF]

i do understand that its been four 1-2s in a row for the Mercs.
But Ferrari were struggling with tyres in temp drop in quali surely hit Ferrari bad...
Well, ferrari bringing upgrades... should help thier quest of getting more downforce and balance to get the tyres be in the operating window.
I also understand conventional wisdom says Mercs to the win... But its gonna be very important weekend and gonna be the first win for the Ferraris..
Just got the feeling this year Ferrari might rule the European leg...completely..

#ForzaFerrari

Merc 4 1-2s are masking the "real" picture. Merc is not that dominant. With slightly more luck Ferrari could have won two of the races. So, I think the cars are basically equal like last year. What Merc has slightly better drivers and better strategic calls.

And also vastly better on making the tyres work... so all to play for in the Spanish GP

[dtro]

i do understand that its been four 1-2s in a row for the Mercs.
But Ferrari were struggling with tyres in temp drop in quali surely hit Ferrari bad...
Well, ferrari bringing upgrades... should help thier quest of getting more downforce and balance to get the tyres be in the operating window.
I also understand conventional wisdom says Mercs to the win... But its gonna be very important weekend and gonna be the first win for the Ferraris..
Just got the feeling this year Ferrari might rule the European leg...completely..

#ForzaFerrari

TBH, yes I know it has been said a lot but I actually believe that there is everything to play for. Like you said, if Ferrari sort out their tire issues, we've got a championship in our hands.

But don't jump to conclusions :we do not know the sheer power of each car & and we don't know how good can the Mercedes get with the updates. That being said, even if Ferrari solve the pirelli puzzle, it doesn't mean they will dominate or that they have the better car.

I think the problem for any of the teams with tyre issues, i.e. Haas and Ferrari (off the top of my head this year) is that they take a bit longer than two weeks to solve.

Unless we get a Ros/Ham-esque coming together of Bot/Ham then we're probably in for another Merc 1-2.

[Roman]

Are we really saying that it's only about who wins, and that the rest of the field might has well not have bothered turning up?

I mean no disrespect but I find this 'it's only about who wins' to be a bit sad. It's a bit like telling the 40000 London Marathon runners the other week that they wasted their time because they didn't win....

Well, F1 is a professional sport. The winner takes it all. And yes, for me personally an exiting midfield battle will not keep me in front of television the way an exiting battle at the front will. I am not a fan of any of the midfield teams, I sympathise with one or two of the drivers there and follow their success (which unfortunately at the moment usually is max P7) but that is it.

And I believe that the majority of F1 viewers feel the same, actually it is the same with almost every sport. Almost everyone will remember the current world champion in football/soccer, some might remember who came in second, but already third will be problematic for many (insert any other sport popular in your country and the results will be similar).

And if the London Marathon runners only ran for me, well I am sorry, then they all wasted their time, I didnt even know the was a Marathon the other week

Oh and I forgot to mention in my prediction that after the race f1technical will discuss whether Leclerc is better than Vettel or not.

Edit: I forgot to mention, all weather models predict dry and sunny weather, very few clouds and 18-23 degrees. Could really give us an outlook what to expect from the remainder of the season.

[dans79]

Imo, Ferrari has 2 issues.

• They have a tire working zone issue related to their aero and suspension design philosophy. Fixing is will require compromises and time.
• Mercedes hit the ground running in Australia, and has been improving their car every race with upgrades or an increased understanding of the car and/or the tires. Thus When Ferrari gets their issues worked out, any advantage they had 8 weeks ago might be gone.

[Mansell89]

At first I was a little surprised to see Norris and Sainz choosing 3 sets of hard tyre here, especially as they are C1, so the hardest available.

But then thinking about it, we know from testing that C5s we’re actually losing performance at the end of the lap (remember how C5 made only marginal gain in lap time on C4) so that does suggest that this circuit might be eating the Pirelli tyres.

Having said that, you’d think C2 and C3 should be the quicker tyre and also see out the distance without too much wear, surely?

Just something to look out for I think.

[digitalrurouni]

I think Bottas will take Pole and win the race. Vettel and Leclerc dramas will ensue. I am hoping McLaren will be the best of the rest. Really become a big fan of Lando Norris and Sainz and Zak Brown for the 'renaissance' that McLaren is experiencing. Shame that they switched to Renault though. I was hoping they had the patience to iron issues out with Honda but no matter that's the past. Looking forward to this race though it will be 'boring'.

[pb6797]

Why is everyone writing Ferrari off, given that this is where Ferrari absolutely dominated the testing? If there is any circuit where they can make the tyres work and get the setup right, surely this is the one?