Motorsport - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZIN 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

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Imperious, impervious and seemingly invincible
– Mercedes’ reigned supreme in Spain with a remarkable fifth consecutive one-two finish that also saw Lewis Hamilton regain control of the Drivers’ Championship standings.
With just five races gone the battle for the titles is far from over, but as Formula 1 Managing Director, Motorsports, Ross Brawn explains, the latest maximum points haul for the Silver Arrows must be considered a serious down payment on this season’s silverware.

In his analysis of the race weekend in Barcelona and beyond, Ross also examines missed development opportunities for Ferrari, lauds a standout record for Carlos Sainz on home soil, and looks to the future of F1 with the announcement that for the first time in 35 years grand prix racing will return to the Netherlands in 2020 with an all-new Dutch Grand Prix.


Spain GP - Mercedes Stat-Attack:
The F1 race in Spain, Barcelona was the fifth of the season as well as the curtain-raiser for the European leg of the 2019 Formula 1.

It was a memorable weekend for Mercedes. Dieter Zetsche, who was attending for the final time in his capacity as CEO, stepped out on the podium to accept the winner's trophy in the constructor's championship.
* Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas had made it five one-two wins out of five in the current campaign.
* It was also the fifth Mercedes victory on Spanish soil in the past six years.
* Lewis stood on the top spot of the podium for the seventy-sixth time in his career, for the third time this season and for the third consecutive time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
* The five-time world champion now has a tally of four Grand Prix victories in Barcelona.

In the process, he also clocked the fastest race lap in Spain for the fifth time, equalling his previous record for the Italian Grand Prix.

In qualifying on Saturday, Valtteri had already completed a pole hat-trick, booking himself P1 on the grid for the third race in succession.
It was the team's seventh consecutive pole in the Spanish Grand Prix.


Mercedes’ updates appear to have been a significant step forward but it seems one can’t say the same of SCUDERIA FERRARI. Listening to the comments of its drivers and of Team Principal Mattia Binotto, the updates introduced in Barcelona produced the expected results, but not with the same impact as those of their arch-rivals.

In such a competitive sport it’s not enough to simply progress, you have to do so at a pace that outguns rivals who are often already one step ahead and pushing on with further upgrades.
You are aiming at a moving target, the bar is raised every day and it requires ever more effort to catch up.
In Maranello they are working very hard, even bringing forward developments originally scheduled for later in the campaign, but still they come to the track and realise that not only have they not closed the gap, it’s grown.


Aston Martin RedBull Racing: Max Verstappen’s third place on Sunday represents his 24th podium finish in 86 grand prix starts. That’s an impressive 27.9% strike rate. This year’s result marked the Dutchman’s third visit to the podium in Barcelona. He won on his debut with Red Bull Racing in 2016 and finished third last year.

España - Spanish F1 driver: Fernando Alonso’s departure from Formula 1 at the end of last season left Carlos Sainz as the only man on the grid flying the Spanish flag, and it was a pleasure to see him show real grit and quality to take eighth place in front of his home crowd on Sunday !
Eighth might sound like a poor return for his efforts but the unfortunate fact is that unless something unexpected happens, the top six places are generally out of reach, as they are monopolised by Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
However,  the intense passion shown by the drivers and teams behind the top three as they battle for bragging rights in the midfield is amazing. Carlos produced a great example of that, scoring Points for his Team, much to the delight of the crowd at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
After a somewhat tricky start to the season, Carlos has reeled off two consecutive points finishes that have seen McLaren establish a five-point lead over Racing Point in the fight for fourth place, which is the most they and the other midfield runners can aspire to.
It might be a spectacular fight, but  the battle for the lower places does not generate much enthusiasm from the fans. That’s why the Event organisation has to ensure that in the future Formula 1 can have as many teams as possible fighting for victories !
- They are working on it -



Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix 2019 - Top 15 - Race Results -

1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 66 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 4.074s
3. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 7.679s
4. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 9.167s
5. Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari + 13.361s
6. Pierre Gasly FRA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 19.576s
7. Kevin Magnussen DEN Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 28.159s
8. Carlos Sainz ESP McLaren F1 Team + 32.342s
9. Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 33.056s
10. Romain Grosjean FRA Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 34.641s
11. Alexander Albon THA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 35.445s
12. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team + 36.758s
13. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team + 39.241s
14. Kimi Raikkonen ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 41.803s
15. Sergio Perez MEX SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 46.877s

Foto: Copyright Mercedes AMG Petronas, all rights reserved