Spanish Grand Prix cheat sheet – What time does it start? Where can I watch it?
Mercedes has enjoyed the best start to a season in Formula One history, taking four consecutive one-two finishes to open up a 74-point lead in the constructors’ championship. Will Ferrari respond before it’s too late?
This weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix is set to get underway at 15:10 p.m. local time, 14:10 p.m. (BST) and 9:10 a.m. (ET). For U.S. viewers, all of this weekend’s sessions are live on ESPN:
Friday — Practice
Practice 1 – Friday, May 10, 4:55am – ESPN2
Practice 2 – Friday, May 10, 8:55am – ESPNU
Saturday — Qualifying
Practice 3 – Saturday, May 11, 5:55am – ESPN2
Qualifying – Saturday, May 11, 8:55am – ESPN2
Sunday — Race
Pit Lane Live – Sunday, May 12, 7:30am – ESPN3
On The Grid – Sunday, May 12, 8:30am – ESPN2
Race – Sunday, May 12, 9:05am – ESPN2
U.K. viewers can watch every session live on Sky Sports F1. Check local listings for all other territories.
Only twice in 12 years has Lewis Hamilton’s teammate been able to get the better of him over the course of a Formula One season.
Jenson Button achieved it when the two were at McLaren back in 2011, arguably Hamilton’s worst season and one where he suffered a spate of mechanical issues. More recently it was Nico Rosberg who bested Hamilton. The German did it in 2016 en route to his sole world championship crown.
Bottas’ impressive start to 2019 is one which has surprised many. The Finn has already claimed two wins from the first four races, a stark improvement from his winless 2018 campaign that left his position at Mercedes in jeopardy.
Other than his mediocre weekend in Bahrain, which still ended in P2, Bottas has been a real match for Hamilton so far this year, at times he has even looked to have had the edge on the five-time world champion.
The question is whether or not he can sustain it as Hamilton generally steps up a gear when racing returns to Europe. Last year, from races five to 14, Hamilton outscored Bottas 186-119. Needless to say that can’t happen again if he wants to challenge for the title.
The Circuit de Catalunya is a track which every driver is familiar with, given it’s the home of pre-season winter testing.
Mercedes has been the dominant force on Saturday in Barcelona, taking all five pole positions in the V6 era. On four of those occasions the Silver Arrows have locked out the front row.
On Sunday it’s been Hamilton who has had the best of it in recent times winning in 2017 and 2018, however, like Azerbaijan in the last race, Spain has thrown up some surprise race results in recent times and it can be a tricky one to predict.
Ferrari’s pace in testing at this very circuit was ominous, but they appear to have fallen behind Mercedes after the first four races. Still, if circuit form is anything to go by, this could be the Scuderia’s best chance of taking a win, particularly given they are bringing their first planned engine upgrade.
While wins have been scarce, Red Bull has always enjoyed the circuit with double top five finishes in two of the past three years. Max Verstappen might yet find himself on another podium.
Down the order, Haas could potentially rediscover some form this weekend. The American team had great pace last year in Spain which resulted in Kevin Magnussen finishing sixth. Haas was also lightning quick in pre-season testing in Barcelona.
10 – Different winners of the Spanish Grand Prix in the last 12 years.
18 years, 227 days – Max Verstappen’s age when he won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix on his Red Bull debut.
7 – Fastest laps by Michael Schumacher in Spain. More than any other driver in history.
100% – Mercedes has scored pole position at Barcelona in every year of the V6 turbo era.
Kimi Raikkonen – The only driver outside of the top three teams to score points at every race in 2019.
Available compounds: Hard C1 (white), Medium C2 (yellow), Soft C3 (red)
Mario Isolo, head of car racing — “There are very few mysteries about Barcelona for the teams, especially this year as the pre-season tests were held in quite good weather conditions that should be more representative of the season. However, a number of teams are planning on bringing some car upgrades, so it will be interesting to see the effect of those on tyre behaviour, together with the continued evolution of the new track surface, which we already noted earlier this year. Even in pre-season testing, the cars were incredibly quick out of the box here, so this could be yet another race like last year in Spain where more lap records fall.”
Minimum starting pressures: Front 22.5 psi, rear 20.5 psi
It’s a consistent week of overcast weather in Barcelona with temperatures no warmer than 21C at any point.
Like most races we’ve been to this year, rain is again very unlikely with just a 10 percent chance on both Saturday and Sunday.
As mentioned above, a return to Europe brings out the best of Hamilton and he’s gunning for three straight wins in Spain. It’s pretty hard to look past him.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton