Two and a half months after winter testing on the same track, F1 returns to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. As tradition dictates, with a circuit that is well known to the teams, the teams have brought in many changes.
We were talking to you last night about Aston Martin F1’s upgrades to its AMR22, which are the most visually spectacular, with completely revised sidepods. The car floor has also evolved, as has the bonnet.
Only Haas F1 and AlphaTauri did not bring any new features, while Alpine F1 and Red Bull mainly brought parts specific to the characteristics of the Barcelona layout. Among the other teams, the novelties are numerous.
New floors and many evolutions
At Ferrari, the F1-75 features a revised floor, which should help reduce the porpoising of the red single-seater. It also has a new diffuser, with a revised angle, new rear brake scoops, and new fins.
At Mercedes F1, the outer fins of the front wing have changed, with a different angle. The floor of the W13 has been completely revised, and fins have been added to the diffuser. It is said in Barcelona that if the “zero pontoon” concept does not work in Spain, the team will abandon it and return to the winter version of Barcelona.
McLaren also brought a lot of new things, starting with a new front suspension. Along with Red Bull, they are the only team to use tie-rod front suspensions, not pushrods.
The McLaren MCL36 also receives a new diffuser, while body parts, including the engine cover, have evolved accordingly to be able to adapt to these important changes. Gills have appeared, and the front brakes have received carbon protections, and no longer titanium.
Alfa Romeo F1 brought new front and rear spoilers, as well as new suspension wishbones. The engine cover sports a new shape, and it received new cooling vents. The C42 also has a new floor.
Finally, Williams has simply added fins to the outer parts of the diffuser, and the FW44 also has new concept-specific fins to suit the Barcelona circuit.
Studious EL1s, and the great debut of Vips and De Vries
Three non-incumbent drivers were at the wheel during this session. At Alfa Romeo, Robert Kubica has made his return for EL1 in place of Guanyu Zhou. The Pole had driven the C42 for half a day in Spain this winter.
At Red Bull, Juri Vips made his F1 debut in a race weekend, replacing Sergio Pérez. It was the same for Nyck de Vries, who took the place of Alex Albon during this first session of the day.
The drivers started the session on hard tyres, as the track was over 45 degrees, and the teams wanted to test the different compounds. The lap times remained at 1’22” for a long time, then 1’21” when the medium tires were fitted.
Carlos Sainz was the first to approach the winter times in 1’19.907, eight tenths from the March test benchmark. Max Verstappen positioned himself close to him, before Charles Leclerc took the lead. hand in 1’19″828, also on soft rubber.
Fernando Alonso hampered Lewis Hamilton by idling on the line out of the corner, and the stewards announced an investigation against the Spaniard. The second of the day, because he treated the commissioners “incompetent” this morning, and could also be summoned for this reason.
An incident was also noted between Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, while George Russell nearly crashed into Vips’ Red Bull. Stewards quickly ruled that the incident between Verstappen and Bottas did not require an investigation.
The end of the session saw no improvement, and it was therefore Leclerc who remained in the lead in Free Practice 1, while Sainz completed a Ferrari double. Verstappen is third ahead of the F1 Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton who frame Alonso’s Alpine.
Lando Norris places his McLaren in seventh place ahead of Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda. Esteban Ocon is 11th ahead of Lance Stroll and Kubica, then the Haas of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen. Sebastian Vettel is ahead of Bottas, De Vries, Latifi and Vips.
| Pos. | Pilot | Car | Temps | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari F1-75 | 1:19.828 | 27 |
| 02 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari F1-75 | 1:19.907 | 27 |
| 03 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull RBPT RB18 | 1:20.164 | 28 |
| 04 | George Russell | Mercedes W13 | 1:20.590 | 28 |
| 05 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine Renault A522 | 1:20.768 | 24 |
| 06 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W13 | 1:20.811 | 27 |
| 07 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL36 | 1:21.279 | 24 |
| 08 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri RBPT AT03 | 1:21.422 | 23 |
| 09 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren Mercedes MCL36 | 1:21.737 | 23 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri RBPT AT03 | 1:21.814 | 28 |
| 11 | Stephen Ocon | Alpine Renault A522 | 1:21.891 | 26 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR22 | 1:21.920 | 23 |
| 13 | Robert Kubica | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C42 | 1:21.975 | 20 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-22 | 1:22.089 | 16 |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher | Haas Ferrari VF-22 | 1:22.146 | 21 |
| 16 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR22 | 1:22.164 | 20 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C42 | 1:22.614 | 25 |
| 18 | Nyck De Vries | Williams Mercedes FW44 | 1:22.920 | 28 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes FW44 | 1:23.011 | 27 |
| 20 | Juri Vips | Red Bull RBPT RB18 | 1:24.138 | 23 |