- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Show Preview
It is always marked as Formula One’s homecoming and this year’s Spanish Grand Prix is no different, as the world championship returns to continental Europe for the first time in 2019. Join The Roar tonight for a live blog from 11:10pm AEST.
The opening four races have painted a different picture to that which was etched during pre-season testing, at the very same 4.6km Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – where Ferrari were fastest and the hot tips for the title.
Instead, the Silver Arrows have dominated the flyaway events and have amassed a mighty lead in the championship courtesy of consecutive one-two finishes.
However, is the tide set to turn during the 66-lap grand prix? With teams having brought their first major upgrades of the season, there is certainly optimism that it will.
As far as qualifying was concerned, there was no response from Ferrari to Mercedes AMG as Valtteri Bottas claimed a hat-trick of pole positions in 2019, ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Having had a deficit in the final sector exposed by the Mercedes AMG, the red cars will start from third and fifth on the grid with Sebastian Vettel well behind the championship leaders and Charles Leclerc losing out a position on the second row to Max Verstappen.
25 out of 28 races in Barcelona have been won from the front row, which bodes well for the Silver Arrows who have won every race since 2014 barring 2016, when it was Verstappen who took his maiden win.
The updates seem to have given Haas a boost, with both their cars ending up on the fourth row of the grid. Though the question remains whether they will have the race pace to score the points, which they’ve lacked in the past few races.
If not, there are some handy operators behind in the form of the Toro Rossos, Daniel Ricciardo with a top-ten start in the Renault and the McLarens who will have a free choice of starting tyre outside the top-ten.
Given that this is Carlos Sainz’s home race and that he is the only Spaniard on the grid with no Fernando Alonso now, there will be expectation for the youngster to bring the car home in the points.
Will Mercedes make it an unprecedented five on the bounce then, or can their streak in 2019 be broken?
Tune in for live blog updates for the Spanish Grand Prix on The Roar from 11:10pm AEST, as the European leg of the Formula One world championship commences.
Hide Preview
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.