The reason why the Spanish F1 GP will be even more important this year

Most teams have a GP of F1 Emilia Romagna. That should be the event where the major upgrade packages are announced. They planned major changes in Mercedes, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Alpha Tauri. Also Aston Martin should bring some new parts, although the Silverstone team is following another plan which is based on bringing their evolutions on track in drops rather than presenting a big package at the same appointment. However, before the event, the threat of rain seemed to complicate the evaluation of these developments on the track in case of competing in the wet. And finally, the cancellation of the Imola GP due to the floods that hit the Emilia-Romagna region forced the teams to change their plans.

Now, the doubt lies in the place where these sets will present their novelties, and everything seems to point towards the Spanish F1 GP, which will be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from June 2 to 4.

Monaco is not an option

The next one The Grand Prix is ​​Monaco, next Sunday. This is a unique layout, where you ride at low speeds and where no clear conclusions can be drawn from the improvements. It’s also not the ideal track for risk reporting because of how close the walls are and because it’s expected to rain. Any accident can damage new parts and increase equipment costs. so, Barcelona has more relevance in this championship.

Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​the perfect place to bring improvements

In the traditional calendar, Barcelona used to be the preferred track for teams to make their first major breakthroughs. The reasons are many. With the arrival of the ‘Great Circus’ in Europe, its proximity to factories favored it. Also its design, ideal for drawing conclusions about the performance of pieces in highly marked sectors facing different types of tracks. In addition, the Circuit is one of the tracks that the teams know and where the most representative data can be obtained. In fact, preseason tests were held there before this Bahrain course exclusively.

Now, after the cancellation of Imola, Barcelona is seen as the ideal setting for the teams to mount their innovations on their cars and to extract important data from the Catalan event for the development of their single-seater and his performance on various tracks for the rest of the course.

The wait for Mercedes continues

We need to be aware especially of Mercedes. It seems complicated that in Brackley they risk mounting many novelties that they will bring to Monaco and they may have to wait for Barcelona to see their new look. Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes, announced a revolution in its car months ago for Imola and “very positive data“of simulations after the revision of the whole car, without removing anything as a change to his car. He did not even deny that it resembled the Red Bull.

But weeks ago, he lowered expectations and said that despite getting a half-new car, that “won’t change things.” We will see. Mercedes had to bring “a new front suspension, a new chassis and a new floor”, among other improvements. also expected new engine cover and some new sides, perhaps, the failed ‘zero sidepod’ concept has been left behind. That means Mercedes could show a B version of its car in Barcelona where it can get out of the well.

Ferrari, a three-way plan

For its part, Ferrari has already introduced a new floor with a modified diffuser in Miami. His new package should be completed in Imola with a new rear suspension and, in Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​with a new sidepod concept more similar to Red Bull’s. Now, the question is whether they will decide to mount this new rear suspension and their new sidepods at the same time in Barcelona.

Aston Martin, staggering

For his part, Mike Krack, head of Aston Martin, announced some clear plans weeks ago: “We’ll have some new parts in Baku, Imola, Montreal and some at Silverstone, but we’ll take each small increase as soon as it’s ready instead of waiting to put everything together in big packages. It’s a strategy that has worked well for us last year.”. The Imolas could not bring them out due to the cancellation of the GP and they are expected to do so in Barcelona to continue his plan in Montreal and Silverstone.