Spanish GP 2023!

This year’s Spanish Grand Prix was nothing short of unexpected. It was on the 4th of June, it being a particularly spectacular weekend for the Mercedes, whereas quite a disappointing outcome for Ferrari and Mclaren. I wasn’t expecting myself to enjoy the race as much as I did and was pleased to see the numerous number of overtakes. Now let’s delve deeper into the weekend’s events...

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya underwent signficant upgrades since the last year. The chicane in the final sector at turns 14 and 15 have been removed completely and replaced with one long final corner, which makes it easier for drivers to maximise their speed on the main straight. As a result, this unlocks more overtaking possibilities between cars. Modern day F1 cars are getting more and more competitive and similar to one another. There are two DRS zones, near turn 14 and between turn 8 and 9, along with one speedtrap on the main straight. This circuit has always been quite a high speed track, involving a combination of high and low speed corners and it is one of the tracks where tyre management is crucial. 

The Spanish Grand Prix attracted the attention of many famous celebrities to see the drivers in action. Football stars like Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappé, Robert Lewandowski, Achraf Hakimi, Mason Mount, Joao Felix, Presnel Kimpembe and Ousmane Dembélé were only a few of those present to see the drivers perform. Notable personalities like Shakira and Rosalía also came to see the special weekend. 

The action kicked off on June 2nd, 2023. All the teams had been given a practice session where they were testing their upgrades they made over the week and experimenting different setups. Teams had been given an extra two sets of hards to test for their upcoming race in Silverstone. Verstappen, soaring through the practice gracefully, came out on P1. He was followed by Perez, Ocon and De Vries. Both Redbulls has been experiencing bouncing through the final corner yet still managed to grab top 2. The Mclarens and the Alpine of Esteban also faced porpoising issues. What came later on the following day was Practice 2 on the circuit. Verstappen winning pole yet again beating his FP1 time with 1:13:907. Alonso just seven hundredths behind him in P2. A pleasant suprise to see the Haas of Magnussen in P3. All drivers felt much better in their car the second practice. Russel had an unfortunate incident of rolling onto the gravel while doing his lap as the Mclaren of Piastri was blocking his path. His teammate, Hamilton managed to only score P11. The final Practice 3 began on the 3rd of June. Seargent had faced a nasty crash as he rolled into the gravel while exiting turn 14. For the third practice in a row, can you guess who came first? Verstappen yet again with a lap faster than his FP2: 1:13:664. Perez, obtained second, only 2 tenths behind the dutchmen. Hamilton managed to secure a P3, only 4 tenths behind, but was still unhappy with the state of the car. Stroll goes onto the gravel at turn 5 along with Gasly in the Alpine. Practice was finished and now it’s time for Qualifying!

Qualifying day was on June 3rd, 2023. Q1 began with Alonso slipping in the exit on turn 1 and driving into the gravel, yet managing to return on track. Tsunoda and De Vries (De Vries spins again at the same spot in Q1 later) both had trouble with the car as one went off track and the other spun on track. The Alfa Romeo of Bottas had also spun near the gravel, along with the Williams of Albon driving into the gravel at turn 5. Wow that’s a LOT of spins and it’s just Q1. Anyways, Hamilton manages to secure pole with a time of 1:12:937. Norris being P2 with 3 tenths behind followed by Russel. Leclerc faces a miserable qualifying and doesn’t make it to Q2, as he is within elimination zone (elimination zone are the drivers that are between 16th - 20th when Q1 ends). The drivers eliminated in Q1 are Bottas, Magnussen, Albon, Leclerc and Seargent. Q2 begins shortly after with Verstappen on pole this time. Perez stumbling into the gravel midway through Q2 but manages to return. He continued to struggle on track, securing himself only a P11, which was in the elimination zone (in Q2, the elimination zone is 11th to 15th). Russel in the elimination zone at 12th place desperately tried to attempt one more lap, but failed to notice Hamilton on a lap beside him and came into contact with him. The damage wasn’t severe but it caused Hamilton’s front wing to get damaged and Russel to be unable to perform his outlap. The cars eliminated were Perez, Russel, Zhou, De Vries and Tsunoda. Q3 then began with Verstappen with a stunning lap getting him on pole position yet again. Followed by Sainz. A lovely lap by Norris got him to secure P3 and Hamilton who was on a flying lap, made an error on the final corner which unfortunately cost him a chance in the front row, but still securing P4.

The Sunday of June 4th was Race day. The red lights shone brightly one by one...and “it’s lights out and away we go!” and its a brilliant start for Verstappen and Sainz as they both come close near turn 1 but Verstappen manages to stay ahead. Hamilton manages to overtake Norris who tries to have another go at it in the next turn, but comes too close to Hamilton’s car and comes into contact with it, causing the Mclaren to lose two places. Russel gets an impressive start as well, gaining 5 places through a slightly controversial off the track overtake which doesn’t get penalised by FIA. Stroll also manages to overtake Hamilton and suceeds with a suprisingly easy pass. Norris gets damage on his car, which required him to pit, dropping him from 6th to 20th before the first lap finished. In lap 11, Russel pulls a wonderful overtake on Ocon, obtaining P5. In lap 14, Zhou Tsunoda and Hulkenbürg have a fight on who obtains P14 and Tsunoda manages to stay ahead. 

Most cars have pitted already to their second set of tyres -- mediums, except for the Mercedes boys who manage to miraculously take care of their tyres for an extra 10 laps approx. giving them a very big advantage on track. They were going for a one pit strategy. On lap 28, Hamilton pits and puts on mediums. He battles Sainz, and with fresher tyres -- the outcome is inevitable. Hamilton easily overtakes Sainz, grabbing P2. Perez and Alonso were both stuck at P9 and P8 at lap 31, but their roles finally switched when Perez overtook him on the main straight. Perez manages to overtake Tsunoda less than two laps later, obtaining P7. He also catches up to Ocon, snatching P6. On lap 35, Russel performs a late lunge on Sainz and overtakes him, taking P3 in the process. Both Aston Martins weren’t performing very well, Alonso at P6 (far from his usual results this season) and his teammate who was four places behind. Perez who reached P3 begins to pit, giving time for Russel to obtain P3 instead. On lap 56 of the grand prix, Tsunoda and Zhou battle for P9 and they come close, causing Zhou to move to the side in defense. An angry Zhou believes he got pushed off track and when FIA reviewed it, Tsunoda got a 5-second penalty. I thought the penalty was absurd, especially since there was space between Tsunoda and Zhou so Zhou had the freedom to stay within track limits so it wasn’t Tsunoda’s fault that Zhou exceeded the limits. Besides, a 5 second penalty for such a minor inconvenience is way too harsh and on one of Tsunoda’s most impressive races this season, he was kicked out of points. L on the FIA’s side. 

The rest of the Grand Prix went rather smoothly with Max Verstappen getting P1, 24 seconds ahead ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in P2, 8 seconds behind him is his teammate, George Russel. Lewis Hamilton, securing his 193rd podium of his career, gets voted driver of the day as well for his phenomenal efforts. The double Mercedes podium pushed them up the constructors championship, overtaking Aston Martin in second.