Rain adds to the party at the Spanish GP and brings uncertainty

dry, Max Verstappen is the great favorite. But in Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunyawith thousands and thousands of people in the stands supporting Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz From the early hours of this Saturday morning, rain wanted to join the party to add extra spice and thus increase the hopes of local fans to see one of their two drivers on top this Sunday, or at least less, winning pole position this Saturday at a track where starting position is important due to the difficulty of overtaking.

For now, In Free Practice 3 where the rain was light but steady, Verstappen led his Red Bull teammate, beating him by 0″250, with Hamilton in 3rd in 0″408, Sainz in 4th place at 0″576, Alonso in 5th position at 0″600, Russell 6th at 0″614 and Leclerc 7th at 0″689. But possible rain in ‘qualy’ could change everything.

In the drought, Verstappen will start as the leading contender for pole position this Saturday. Ferrari will be hoping to fight for that pole and, with their new package of improvements, not melt away in Sunday’s race. And Alonso, after finishing second in Free Practice 2, is close. But Max is everyone’s favorite if nothing unusual happens. And in the rain, that favoritism is no longer so clear.

And if it rains in ‘qualy’?

Water fell in Free Practice 3 and it prevented seeing a representative picture of everyone’s progress. And if he returns to qualifying, despite Max still being the favorite due to the high downforce of his Red Bull, the chance of a normal grid order increases. There may be some yellow, red flag or incident that damages the Red Bull and gives the Spaniard wings. It can also be decisive if the rain is intermittent and know how to mark the time when the asphalt has less water. Many factors are coming into play that will give drivers more options. Cunning and hands count more.

A puzzle for racing

All of the above are just assumptions. What can be proven is that the droplets constantly falling on the circuit mean that all the teams will arrive without all the necessary information they want for the race. On Friday, several teams chose to spend valuable time testing the hard experimental tires that Pirelli will introduce from Silverstone, to see how the new compound affected the aerodynamics of their cars. That, together with the drop in temperature experienced for Free Practice 2, which was around 20 degrees lower than usual, meant that everyone found less degradation on the track. The teams had to study their long run in the warmer conditions on Saturday, but the clouds appeared and with only 10 minutes into the session, the water.

So, if it doesn’t rain, the teams will also face this Sunday’s appointment with more doubts than expected about their race pace and breakdown. It is not known whether the minor degradation was the result of a forecast error in the inclusion of the old turn 14 and the removal of the chicane, or due to the temperature drop in the second session. They will continue to ask that question until they find an answer in the race. Planning possible strategies in that unknown is a big headache for everyone and that can generate more chaos on the asphalt.

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