The intense heat expected in Montmeló could be the great enemy of the riders and the teams, who will undergo remarkable changes
Traditionally, the arrival in Montmeló marked the ‘real’ start to the Formula 1 season. After the round of the first races, which started in Australia, the Spanish Grand Prix was a return home, to a place known to all . It’s no coincidence that pre-season testing is held there: the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a perfect lab for testing new cars.
That’s why it’s great peace of mind for everyone to land in this sixth race (other years it was the fourth or fifth). After opening or reopening circuits, Montmeló is a circuit ideal for the first major evolutions. All teams, some more and some less, wear new pieces. For example, Alpine will put a rear wing on its two cars, as will Ferrari, which will also take a first big step forward in that area to try to use the trickle of news Red Bull has shown in the agreements that have been held.
What they didn’t expect is that there would be the heat that they are going to find. The Circuit will be a red-hot paella pan, which will test the resistance of the cars, the drivers and also the fans. The aim of those responsible for the Spanish Grand Prix is to see the grandstand full again and all indications are that it will be. The national fans have shown their enthusiasm to see a Carlos Sainz who is in a position to win (or at least reach the podium) and a Fernando Alonso who still drags a lot, although he is no longer in a position is to win.
In what may well be the last Asturias Grand Prix in Formula 1 (they will decide in Alpine in July), Alonso has high hopes. He is going through a streak to soon be forgotten, taking four top prizes without scoring, with the one in Miami still very much alive. The two penalties that took him out of the nobility zone dropped him to a bitter eleventh place, something he doesn’t want.
But things, at their own pace, can improve. You don’t have to run before you walk or walk before you crawl, and since Alpine wasn’t up to the task at the start of the campaign, Alonso can only wait for, ‘piano, piano’, the situation improves. Sooner or later, that long-awaited moment will come when you pick up the pace and start adding positively.
Although it is more of a legend than statistics, it is always said that whoever does well in Spain will do well for the rest of the year. While there will be a slightly modified Circuit this year from what was seen in testing (several flight path extensions, completely new facilities and most importantly a fan-packed grandstand), it makes sense that it will be a very predictable weekend.
If so, the battle for victory will be in the hands of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. And maybe from Carlos Sainz. What seemed hopeful has turned into pressure, and that pressure has become an obligation for the man from Madrid, especially at a job where he counts his entries into the ‘top 10’. It has never failed to score with the crowd and fans trust (to some degree) that it will arrive. The Madrid’s ‘barrichellización’ is one of his great fears, but he does not put himself in the position of favourite. “People have enthusiasm and desire, just like me. What no one can forget is that I am the one who most wants to get that first win and that it happens as soon as possible. I’m the first to enjoy it and fight for it,” he recalled in one of the many interviews he held last week.
Sainz is very clear that there is a car and potential, but he needs something more. Call it confidence, ‘feel’ with the F1-75 or whatever, but he’s arriving in Montmeló worse than expected, especially considering his brother-car teammate is leading the World Championship. “I have been within a tenth in pretty much all qualifying and even had the occasional pole position in Q3. Without feeling confident in the car or knowing exactly what to do to get the most out of it, I’m fighting for pole positions and podiums. That’s why I trust that at the very least I find that tenth I found in the second half of last year, good things will come,” he promised. Perhaps Montmeló is the starting point.
Source: La Verdad
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