Welcome back to Europe! After the last round of hype-induced spectacle of Miami, we are back to our regular fandom in Spain. I am sure many of the European and long-time fans are happy to refocus the cameras back to the driving rather than the celebrities and faux-marina.
So here are the 3 things I see coming into Spain:
While Miami is behind us, the social media effect still lingers, quite noticeably. There is a huge spike in media postings and “passion” [Column V] following the Miami GP. The numbers are the highest I’ve seen this year and it is across the board with all drivers except Zhou Guanyu. For some reason, the Chinese driver got no love from the American GP, is this because of geopolitics? Or is it a coincidence? I will certainly be watching the numbers at the Austin GP!
This is a race of upgrades! With 5 races under their belts, the teams are bringing on some major upgrades this round. I am expecting the field to tighten a bit more, but at the same time, I expect the veteran, more experienced, drivers to thrive over the newbies [row 16 and below].
Ricciardo and Vettel are who I am keeping my eyes on in this race. While everyone will talk about the predicable battle upfront with Red Bull, Ferrari, and possible Mercedes, blah blah blah, I am more interested in the unexpected surprises. The McLaren brought in at least 10 upgrades this race and Ricciardo seems to be getting happier as the year goes on. Looking at the past 5 rounds, he seems to be finishing 50/50 above where he started, this is much higher than what I expected before this season started. In terms of Vettel, yes he is going through an existential crisis about being an F1 driver, but with the new RB-inspired upgrades on his car, there is a chance he could get his groove back this race. He’s got the track experience, he just needs to get his passion back (I know it’s a huge ask…).
Hope you enjoy this edition of pre-race musing, and hoping that Alonso won’t put his foot in his mouth at his home race… Wait… too late.
Meme of the Grid:
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