FORMULA 1

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Robert Kubica: Williams has understanding of car differences

Robert Kubica says Williams now has an understanding of the car differences that he believes have plagued the respective FW42s in Formula 1 this season.

Kubica explained in Bahrain that there are aerodynamic differences between his and George Russell’s car, partly providing justification for the Pole trailing his team-mate so far in 2019.

Kubica previously commented that fitting the cars with the same set-up was producing different aerodynamic results, and is hopeful that the situation can be fixed in Spain this weekend.

“The last couple of races, the last one especially, was very special for us with the FP1 incident for George then my qualifying mistake,” said Kubica when asked by Motorsport Week as to whether the team understood the differences.

“But one of the areas I am looking forward [to] is I hope we fixed one of the areas which I think we finally understood and got on top of it.

“So hopefully this will be fixed and it will give me better comfort and consistency in the car but we will see. There is hope it will be fixed, it is not a small issue but an issue which was not correct.”

When asked by Motorsport Week as to the specific areas of the car Kubica wants improving, he replied: “It is a difficult question, there was an issue in the car that was appearing and not appearing depending on the corner and depending on the lap.

“I will have to tell you: ‘China Lap 1 this corner, China Lap 5 another corner’. I think everyone in the paddock is looking for performance and to have better driveability and a better understanding of the package, the tyres, of everything.

“Once you have a variation that shouldn’t be there it isn’t helping.

“In some areas, it was affecting me more and on some tracks more and less. I am looking forward to seeing if we were able to fix it, see how the feeling is and then we will see.”

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Kevin Magnussen: Understanding tyres more important than pace in Spain

Kevin Magnussen says he wants Haas to understand its current tyre weakness as opposed to merely putting in a strong display at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Haas performed strongly at Barcelona pre-season and followed it up with an eye-catching display in Australia, enabling Magnussen to spearhead the midfield battle.

But since then its race pace has deteriorated and it has not scored a point since Magnussen’s sixth-place in Australia.

Haas has pinpointed its problems to its use of Pirelli’s notoriously sensitive rubber, with team boss Guenther Steiner expanding on the issue in the wake of his team’s disappointing Baku display.

Magnussen, though, says Haas can only be happy if it can rectify the VF-19’s weakness in order to avoid the issue recurring long-term.

“It will be good to come back and kind of reset and do a direct comparison to winter testing,” he said.

“It seemed to be working well in winter testing in both low and high fuel running so it will be interesting to see.

“I can’t say we understand the full picture yet.

“We might find which is working, I don’t know, and in a way, I hope don’t just find ourselves working and in the window because we really want to understand.

“What I really want is to understand the problem and find some answers so that we can build on that at other races. But we will see what happens.”

Magnussen added: “I would say in low fuel in qualifying we are certainly up there [in the midfield], it’s not that we are lacking downforce… It can only be a tyre problem when you are that fast in qualifying and then not have the pace in the races.

“Only Williams has been slower than us in the last couple of races and at all the races we have been reasonably good in qualifying, and the only thing that can play such a big part in that is tyres.”

Haas currently holds eighth position in the Constructors’ Championship.

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Tech verdict: F1 expert Giorgio Piola on Spanish GP updates

Thursday at Barcelona offered the first glimpse of the major update packages Formula 1 teams have brought for the Spanish Grand Prix, the first race of the European season.
Legendary technical illustrator Giorgio Piola spent the day taking photographs and gathering details about the upgrades, before he joined Edd Straw to discuss his findings.

They go in-depth on title rivals Mercedes and Ferrari's changes to their cars, as well as looking at what to expect from Red Bull and which midfield teams are likely to have the most interesting developments.

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Three things to look out for in the Spanish Grand Prix

 

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What time is the Spanish Grand Prix on?

The Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio de Espana 2019 runs from May 10-12. Check the map above to find out when Sunday's race starts where you are.

For more information on what time you can watch FP1 & FP2 on Friday and FP3 & Qualifying on Saturday in your location, visit our SPAIN RACE HUB which features a dynamic time converter.

What TV broadcaster is showing the Spanish Grand Prix?

For details of the broadcaster in your area, click here.

You can also watch the Spanish Grand Prix via F1 TV Pro (in selected countries only).

What's the weather forecast for the Spanish Grand Prix?

Drivers can expect fine and dry conditions for the season’s fifth round at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend, though with temperatures dipping after Friday. Here's how the three days are shaping up...

FRIDAY, MAY 10 - FP1 & FP2 WEATHER
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Maximum temperature expected: 24 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%

SATURDAY, MAY 11 - FP3 & QUALIFYING WEATHER
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Maximum temperature expected: 19 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%

SUNDAY, MAY 12 - RACE WEATHER
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Maximum temperature expected: 19 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

Merc showing they are in a class unto themselves.  Watching Hamilton in Q3 almost go off track twice and still post a P2 shows just how dominant Mercedes is.  Bottas  was blazing fast and untouchable.

It's nice to see Haas maybe starting to figure out their issues with tire temps and finally are showing some pace.  I think F1 and Pirelli really miscalculated the tires this year.  Too many teams have had an issue keeping heat in the tires thereby reducing grip which results in poorer lap times.  F1 ran the thinner tread at only 3 venues last year, and based on those races changed the tires for all 21 races in 2019.  I think they should have left the blanket temps alone for 2019.   I feel the change to thinner tread to combat tire blistering for all events in combination with reduced blanket temps has been counterproductive for the sport.

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SPANISH GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON LEADS MERCEDES STEAMROLLER

Lewis Hamilton took the lead into Turn 1 at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix and was never headed again as he won the Spanish Grand Prix, Round 5 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The five-time World Champion was simply untouchable in a largely uneventful race on a sunny afternoon in which Mercedes demolished their rivals again, with Valtteri Bottas, after duffing his start, chased his teammate home for a record-extending fifth one-two finish in Barcelona. It was Hamilton’s 76th F1 victory, while the Silver Arrows have so far dominated all five rounds held this season.

Not even a safety car period with 20 laps to go could derail Hamilton, who in fact benefitted from the incident that eliminated Lance Stroll (Williams ) and Lando Norris (McLaren). Prior to that the World the rear right tyre on the #44 Mercedes was delaminating and looked unlikely to last the distance. The safety car played into his hands, as he pitted for fresh rubber without losing the lead.

The Briton said afterwards, “I have to put it down to this incredible team. This is history in the making to have five one-twos – I’m proud of that and proud of everyone’s hard work.”

“It’s been a hard first four races, it’s a great car and we always get along and we’ve managed to settle our differences and get out well down to Turn One today. It was an interesting start – it was close, I saw the red car go around the back of both Valtteri and I, so I had no idea if they were further ahead, and I knew Valtteri would break super deep so I had to look out for that.”

“At the restart, we had just done a pit stop so I was trying to keep the tyres warm and to do a fast lap on the fresh tyres – I haven’t had a fast lap all year!” added Hamilton who added a point to the 25 he got for the win by setting the fastest and take a seven points lead over Bottas in second.

Bottas was impressive in qualifying, but on race day he simply has no answer as he was out-dragged into Turn 1, with the inside covered by his teammate he had no option to go wide and tuck behind the wing of the sister car. He remained there for the rest of the afternoon to notch up the team’s 49th one-two finish.

The Finn said afterwards, “It was pretty tight but I lost it at the start, there was strange behaviour on the clutch, it was releasing, biting, releasing, biting and I’ve not felt that before. As a team it’s incredible, the fifth one-two in a run is really good. I got some points and that’s important, every point will count, but I have to find out what happened at the start.”

Fittingly Mercedes chief Dieter Zetsche – the instigator of and huge supporter of the Mercedes F1 programme – was sent up top the podium to collect the constructors’ trophy. He will step down in ten days time.

At the start, into Turn 1, Sebastian Vettel opted for the outside line but ended up in no man’s land, flat-spotted his tyres and on the exit found himself behind Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso. The Dutchman hung on to score a well-deserved podium and take the Driver of the Day award for his efforts on a positive day for Honda power.

Verstappen summed up, “It was a hectic first corner so I backed out of it and it gave me a good position for the first three corners, but the Mercedes is too quick. I’m happy to on the podium.

While Mercedes ‘monstered” the weekend yet again, yet again Ferrari fumbled around in their wake. Clearly, the fake “superior pace” they showed after testing in Barcelona ten weeks ago was a mirage, because on race day (when it mattered) neither Sebastian Vettel nor Charles Leclerc had the firepower to trouble the pacesetters, they also tripped up amongst themselves as the hierarchy of their drivers continues to be an issue.

By lap 18 (long before the safety car) Vettel was over 20 seconds down on Hamilton in the lead, at that rate he would have crossed the line a minute behind the winner! Ferrari are in big trouble.

As mentioned Vettel changed the shape of his tyres when braking and venturing into the aforementioned no man’s land, before bundling back onto the racing line and into the path of Leclerc who backed off to avoid contact. Thereafter he filled his teammate’s mirrors until he got the call to go past. Vettel obliged, but what might have been a two-second gap to Verstappen stretched to nearly six by the time the #16 Ferrari was liberated.

Then, they decided to put Leclerc on to hard tyres, apparently a tactic none of the frontrunners thought of, but any good that might have been with the ploy was scuppered by the safety car. A confusing afternoon for the Reds which cost them third place as Vettel had to settle for fourth and Leclerc following him home in fifth.

Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly was sixth as the top three teams hogged the top six places on the results sheet for the first time this season. The Frenchman currently remains unable to match his teammate in any situation.

The normally explosive battle for the Best of the Rest also provided scant entertainment on a dull afternoon in which each driver appeared to be doing his own thing on track, as very little real racing actually happened during that first long and tedious stanza.

However, after the safety car things did get interesting. Having trailed his teammate Romain Grosjean throughout the race Kevin Magnussen saw a chance after the restart to get by his teammate, the pair touched but the Dane got off the better to finish seventh while the Frenchman, who had a ragged final spell, found himself down in tenth.

Taking advantage of the Haas shenanigans was Carlos Sainz who drove a gritty race on home soil to finish best of the Renault brigade.

Daniel Kvyat made it three Honda-powered cars in the top ten with ninth place, the Russian delivering another mature performance in a race of many potential incidents. His teammate Alex Albon was 11th. The pair might have been further up the order had they been ready when their cars arrived nose to tail for a tyre change during the safety car period.

Out of contention all weekend with their updated package, Renault are in a crisis no matter the denials from within the French team. Before the safety car came out (allowing lapped drivers to unlap themselves) both Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo had been lapped, as they have been in all the races they have finished this year.

Barcelona sorely exposed how much Renault have gone backwards, not only relative to McLaren with the same PUs but also relative to the podium which was their aim for this year. Their drivers laboured home, out of contention, with Ricciardo finishing 12th and Hulkenberg behind him.

Also out of the picture all weekend were Alfa Romeo who disappointed after an early season that showed some promise. Veteran Kimi Raikkonen finished 14th and rookie Antonio Giovinazzi 16th.

Splitting the pair on the results sheets was Sergio Perez in the Racing Point. The Silverstone based outfit endured a weekend to forget as it is clear the new money pumped in by Lawrence Stroll has yet to pay dividends. Ironically, if not cruelly, they were performing way better when staff were not being paid.

Compounding the misery for the Pinks was Stroll junior’s DNF in the kitty litter.

As for Williams… no prizes for guessing where they were. Out of touch and increasingly insignificant.

FIA Blow-By-Blow Report

When the lights went out at the start, it was Hamilton who made the best start and on the long run down to Turn 1 he tucked in on the inside of pole sitter Bottas, who later complained of clutch problems on his getaway.

Vettel had also made a good start and he tried to pass both Mercedes around the outside into the first turn. It was a risky, late-braking move and attempting to keep control Vettel locked up briefly.

As Vettel got a poor exit from the corner, Verstappen pounced, passing the Ferrari in Turn 3 to take third place behind new leader Hamilton and Bottas.

Behind the front four Gasly in the second Red Bull was battling hard with the second Ferrari of Leclerc and also coming under pressure from Grosjean. Gasly managed to defend well, though, and he kept P6 as the field crossed the line to start lap two.

Vettel, hampered by a flat spot sustained in his first-lap lock up and Leclerc quickly closed the gap to his team-mate. Vettel sensibly moved aside at the start of lap 12 and let his team-mate through.

At the end of lap 19, Vettel finally opted to shed his damaged tyres and pitted for a set of new medium tyres. Verstappen was next in and at the end of lap 20 he pitted for soft tyres.

Vettel quickly began to close up on Leclerc, who had pitted for hard tyres. The German was clearly quicker on his medium tyres than his young team-mate racing on hard tyres and soon after the halfway point Leclerc returned Vettel’s earlier favour by backing off into Turn 4 to let the German through to fourth place.

Vettel then attempted to close the gap to Verstappen and though the Ferrari driver cut the deficit by a few seconds, on lap 40 he again made his way to the pit lane. He took on a set of mediums at the end of the lap and was soon back up to fifth.

Verstappen was next to make his second stop and at the end of lap 43 he took on medium tyres. He emerged behind Leclerc and quickly began to close up behind the Ferrari driver as ahead Bottas pitted for soft tyres.

On lap 45, though, the Safety Car was brought into play when McLaren’s Lando Norris and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll collided, with both being forced to stop.

Both Hamilton and Leclerc elected to pit while the race was neutralised, with the Ferrari driver taking on medium tyres and the Mercedes driver fitting softs. Behind the Safety Car the order was Hamilton followed by Bottas, Max, the Ferraris of Vettel and Leclerc, while Gasly still held sixth.

When the SC left the track Hamilton set a blistering pace on the restart to set the fastest lap of the race and to keep Bottas at bay. Verstappen also gradually eked out a gap to Vettel.

Fifteen laps later Hamilton crossed the line to take the 76thwin of his career with Bottas then taking the flag to continue Mercedes’s perfect start to the season.

Verstappen too his 24thcareer podium with third-placed ahead of Vettel and Leclerc while Gasly finished as he started, in sixth place. Magnussen was seventh for Haas ahead of home hero Sainz.

Kvyat took two points for Toro Rosso with ninth-place but despite putting enormous pressure on Grosjean in the closing laps, Alex Albon couldn’t make it two Toros in the points and Haas driver managed to cling on to tenth place at the flag.

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FROM LUCA’S DESK: YET ANOTHER SHOW OF STRENGTH FROM MERCEDES

Formula 1 Media chief Luca Colajanni gives an insider’s view on the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday, where Mercedes hammered home their advantage, Lewis Hamilton topped the drivers’ standings while Ferrari faltered and Red Bull powered by Honda continued to improve.

Yet another show of strength from Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, which took its fifth consecutive one-two finish of the season today. The winner of the Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio DE EspañA 2019 was Lewis Hamilton, for whom this was win number four at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, his third in a row.

The reigning world champion also took the extra point for setting the fastest race lap and with 26 points, he is back in the lead of the championship, seven points ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas (112 to 105.)

Scoring his second third-place finish of the year was Max Verstappen, who finished ahead of fourth-placed Sebastian Vettel with Charles Leclerc fifth. It’s the second time this season that Ferrari failed to get a car into the top three, after the opening round in Melbourne.

Ensuring the top three teams were the dominant force, Pierre Gasly was sixth in the second Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.

As was the case at the previous race in Baku a fortnight ago, once again the key moment was the start.

Hamilton got away from second spot on the grid better than Bottas from pole, got alongside the Finn and then overtook him going into the first corner. At the same time, Vettel tried to go round the outside, but he locked up the front right wheel and went slightly wide off track.

The German then moved across in front of his team-mate Leclerc, pushing towards the inside at the exit of the following turn, but left room on the outside of Turn 3, where there is usually more grip, which allowed Verstappen to snatch third place.

From then on, the top three places hardly changed, apart from during the usual run of pit stops. However, behind this trio the picture was less clear as to which Ferrari had the upper hand. During the first stint, it seemed clear that Leclerc was slightly quicker than his team-mate, who was hampered by a flat-spotted tyre as a result of his duel with Bottas.

Vettel let his team-mate by and then pitted earlier than planned on lap 19, to fit the Medium tyre, while Leclerc went for a longer stint to lap 25, before fitting Hards.

In the meantime, Verstappen came in on lap 20 to fit another set of Softs, with the two Mercedes drivers, having easily pulled out a good lead on the field were able to stop at the right moment, by which time Hamilton had carved out a bit of a gap to Bottas, on lap 26 for the Finn and the following lap for the Englishman, both fitting Mediums.

Once the situation had settled down, only something unexpected could shuffle the pack and it came on lap 45, after Lando Norris (McLaren F1 Racing) and Lance Stroll (SportPesa Racing Point F1 team) collided between Turns 1 and 2 leaving both cars beached off the track which required the appearance of the Safety Car.

That closed up the field, but at the restart, the Mercedes duo still had the upper hand and easily pulled away, with Hamilton and Bottas enjoying themselves, trading times in a duel for setting the fastest lap.

Therefore for the second time this season, the Silver Arrows came away with the maximum possible number of points (44) creating a real void between themselves and their closest pursuers in the Constructors’ Championship, having a 96 point lead over Scuderia Ferrari.

In the Drivers’ table, third-placed Max Verstappen trails the leader by 46 points. If the first race on European soil this year was meant to produce a clear picture of the current pecking order, it is now clear that Mercedes, showing an impressive dominance especially on the technical front, has already placed a marker on both titles.

Behind the top three teams, there was yet another entertaining battle with some spectacular action, like the duel between the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team drivers, with Kevin Magnussen eventually getting the better of Romain Grosjean for seventh place.

The French Haas driver also tussled at length with local hero Carlos Sainz who took eighth place, much to the delight of the 87,511 spectators who turned up today. Over the whole weekend the crowd figure was 160,428, while Paddock Club ticket sales were up 8% on last year.

Grosjean did finish in the points, fending off Alexander Albon, to score for the first time this year, which is not an accurate reflection of the team’s potential. In ninth place was the Thai driver’s Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda team-mate, the Russian Daniil Kvyat.

In the FIA Formula 2 Championship Sprint Race, it was Dutch delight for Nyck De Vries who claimed a stylish first FIA Formula 2 win of the season in the Sprint Race, at Barcelona, Spain. The ART man took the lead inside 10 laps after a surging start, to finish ahead of UNI-Virtuosi’s Luca Ghiotto who won a late duel with third-placed Callum Ilott of Sauber Junior Team by Charouz.

Race 2 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship saw Jehan Daruvala make it back-to-back wins for Prema Racing in Spain, after an eventful FIA Formula 3 Race 2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, finishing on top after a dominant drive ahead of Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips and Niko Kari of Trident.

The result sees Shwartzman become the early leader in the Drivers’ Championship after Round 1 with 37 points. Lundgaard is second with 24, and Daruvala third by just one point with 23. Armstrong and Vips follow with 21 and 20 points respectively.

Prema Racing leap to an early lead in the Team’s Championship, taking 81 points from the first event of the season, 32 points ahead of ART Grand Prix in second with 49, with Hitech Grand Prix occupying third place with 20 points. France will host Round 2 of the FIA Formula 3 in June 21-23

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BINOTTO: COMPLIMENTS TO MERCEDES THEY’VE BEEN VERY STRONG

Ferrari had hoped to step up and take the fight to dominant Mercedes at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday but ended up with their weaknesses exposed and even further off the pace.

Team boss Mattia Binotto said the experience would ultimately make Ferrari stronger but the disappointment was evident.

Mercedes have now won the first five races one-two while Ferrari have taken just three third places and were off the podium entirely at the Circuit de Catalunya, behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

“Before we judge our performance, I think compliments to Mercedes,” Binotto told reporters, with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc alongside. “They have been really very strong so far in the season.

“On our side, we can work very hard and well and the season is still long. We will never give up. I think that is our approach.”

Binotto said there was much for Ferrari, who brought upgrades to the first round of the traditional European season, to learn, “We are disappointed for the race, disappointed for the performance in the weekend. Our hope was to deliver more.”

“We brought some upgrades, aero and engine, and were expecting somehow to be in the fight but it has not been the case. I think power-wise, straight line speed, we are good enough but certainly we have some weaknesses on the car that were highlighted this weekend. It’s up to us try to understand and assess and to improve in the future.”

Vettel, a four times world champion, finished fourth with Leclerc fifth. In Barcelona, it was clear that Ferrari are losing a lot of time in the corners, which does not bode well for the next round in tight and twisty Monaco, and are also finding the new Pirelli tyres tricky to manage.

Vettel damaged his on the opening lap and both drivers also lost time in the pits with a wheel nut cross-threading problem.

Binotto said the limitations seen on Sunday were also evident in the earlier races and was unable to offer a time frame for a solution.

“(The) more important (thing) for us is first to understand really how to address them and then I’m pretty sure we can do it quickly. We still believe development will be a key factor in the season,” added the Italian team chief.

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HONDA: SATISFYING TO GET A PODIUM WITH OUR NEW UPDATES

The Spanish Grand Prix yielded the second podium of our partnership with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and three of the four Honda-powered cars scored points in Barcelona.

Starting from fourth on the grid, Max pulled a brilliant move around the outside of Sebastian Vettel at Turn 3 on the opening lap to move up to third, and an aggressive two-stop strategy saw him switch to another set of new soft tyres early on before fitting mediums later in the race.

In the second stint, Max stayed close to Valtteri Bottas and had his sights set on fighting for second place until a late Safety Car – just after his second stop – allowed others to pit for fresh tyres and bunched up the pack. Defending from Vettel initially, Max chased Bottas to the flag to secure his second podium of the season.

Pierre also delivered a strong drive to ensure both Red Bulls finished in the top six. In contrast to Max, Pierre switched to medium tyres for the second stint and then softs during the Safety Car, allowing him to attack Charles Leclerc for fifth on the race restart.

Having failed to make a pass, an excellent bit of defending against Kevin Magnussen kept the Haas at bay and secured sixth place. Toro Rosso also scored points for the fourth time in five races, with Daniil picking up two points in ninth.

Starting from that same position, Daniil was having a strong race chasing down the two Haas cars – getting ahead of Magnussen – but lost out under the Safety Car and dropped to tenth before a good move on Romain Grosjean late in the race moved him back up.

Alex came agonisingly close to making it points for all four cars, having also been running in the top ten before the Safety Car. With so many drivers pitting during that period, Alex dropped out of the points and spent the final few laps attacking Grosjean for tenth but was unable to find a way through.

Toyoharu Tanabe, Technical Director, Honda F1: “It was satisfying to get our second podium finish of the season in the race where teams brought updates.”

“For a while it looked as though we might get all four of our cars into the points, but in the end, we just missed out on that, which was a shame, as Daniil and Alex had performed really well all weekend and the Toro Rosso car was again competitive in the midfield.”

“Now we must simply carry on working as hard as possible with the aim of getting even better results in the coming races, maintaining the momentum we had here.”

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FERRARI: WE ARE NOT LOSING HEART

Scuderia Ferrari leaves the Spanish Grand Prix with a fourth and fifth place finish, which definitely did not live up to expectations.

It is an even greater incentive to work flat out during the two days of testing at this same Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.

Start. Sebastian got an excellent start, to the extent that he managed to come round the outside of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at the first corner. But the German slightly locked his wheels, which saw him run wide, letting Max Verstappen slip past. On lap 11, with Vettel struggling having flat-spotted a tyre after the start, he switched positions with Leclerc. The German then pitted on lap 19, fitting the Medium tyres. Six laps later it was Leclerc’s turn to pit and he went for Hards.

Lap 35. On the harder tyres, Charles did not have the grip he would have liked and Sebastian soon caught up to him. Once again therefore, the positions were inverted, on lap 35. Five more laps and Vettel made his second stop, taking on another set of Mediums. He came out of pit lane behind Pierre Gasly, but he got by immediately, while Verstappen was also making a second stop, leaving Leclerc in third.

Safety Car. On lap 45, a collision between Lando Norris and Lance Stroll brought out the Safety Car, which meant the team had to change Charles’ strategy, as he would not have been able to fend off Verstappen on the hard tyres, so he was brought in for a set of Mediums, rejoining fifth. In the closing stages, Sebastian was unable to attack the Dutchman and finished fourth ahead of his team-mate.

Test. Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow and the other nine teams are staying on in Barcelona for two days of testing with both the SF90s. On Tuesday, Charles will be at the wheel for the team, while Sebastian will be working for Pirelli. On Wednesday, Charles will take over for the tyre supplier, while Antonio Fuoco will drive for the team test.

Sebastian Vettel: “Today we more or less maximized our result. It was obviously a disappointing race for us as we were hoping to be a lot faster. After the start, I had a go at the cars in front, but flat-spotted a tyre and compromised my own race.”

“You don’t win the race at the first corner, I know, but I thought at least we can mix things up with Mercedes and have a bit more of a fight with everybody. Charles and I tried not to interfere with each other and work together as much as we could.”

“It’s still very early in the season and we are taking it race by race, but I think we can only come back from where we are now as the whole team is working flat out.”

Charles Leclerc: “It was a challenging race. The first stint was quite positive on my side, but then it became more difficult. We wanted to go to the end of the race on the hard compound, but when the Safety Car came out, we realised we would struggle at the restart and so I pitted for a set of mediums.”

“I struggled with the balance on the second and third stints, and lost a bit of confidence with the car. We have a lot of work ahead of us and will push as hard as possible to close the gap to the front. We gathered a lot of data this weekend and will continue to do so at the test next week.”

Mattia Binotto, Team Principal: “This was yet another race that ended well below our expectations. It was a shame about the start, because Sebastian got off the line really well but then he locked up the wheels and lost some places.”

“The decision to split the strategies was taken as the race evolved. Swapping the driver positions round is never easy and we thought we’d done it at the right moment, when we were sure that the one behind had a better pace than the one in front.”

“The updates we brought here to Barcelona, both on the aero front and on the engine, worked well and we are more than pleased with them, but they proved to be insufficient. Now we have to analyse and think about what did not work.”

“And when it comes to that, as of today I don’t think we have a precise answer. We know we have a lot to do and that we must improve. That was made clear this weekend, but we are not losing heart.”

“The mood in the team is still good and there’s a strong desire to do better, so now we have to respond with our actions. Congratulations to Mercedes on what they have done so far.

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Hard tires...I can’t believe they put Leclerc on hard tires. Almost like they were slowing him down to keep him in touch with Seb. Last year I said it felt like Ferrari forgot how to win. Seems even more so this year.

If Mercedes went as far into the race as they did with soft tires, what could possibly make them think hards would be a winning strategy??

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RENAULT: NOT IN LINE WITH THE TARGETS WE HAVE SET OURSELVES

Renault F1 Team fell short of scoring points in the Emirates Spanish Grand Prix with Daniel Ricciardo twelfth and Nico Hülkenberg narrowly behind in thirteenth at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday.

Daniel gained one position by the end of lap one before maintaining position in the early running. The Australian couldn’t make further inroads from there until a late Safety Car closed the field up with Daniel pushing for the final points place, which came to no avail.

Having qualified sixteenth, Nico started the race from the Pit Lane due to a post-qualifying penalty and made the most of the opportunity by adding new engine parts to his car. A strong start allowed him good position in the midfield battle, but he too missed out on points after the late Safety Car.

Nico Hülkenberg: “It was always going to be tricky today starting from the Pit Lane. It wasn’t a great race as we didn’t score any points, but it was nice to have a normal race and grow the confidence back up. Especially after a tough weekend, that’s a positive.”

“I couldn’t quite fight for points in the end, we had 10-lap old Softs running against others who had pitted for fresh tyres after the Safety Car. I felt good and comfortable out there, which is promising heading into Monaco. I’m back in the R.S.19 on Tuesday, so we’ll be aiming for a productive day’s running.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “It was a frustrating race from my side this afternoon. In the first part, we had the pace on Sainz and at the end of that first stint I was able to take him. We then pitted and put the Hard tyres on and he got me back quite quickly. It was difficult to close the gap back, we had good pace in the final sector but couldn’t get the run on him out of the final corner.”

“We were certainly quicker than twelfth today and, in the end, it wasn’t a perfect Sunday. The midfield is so close and everything has to be executed to the maximum for a strong result. We’ll regroup and look forward to the next one.”

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: “Barcelona is always a good race weekend to assess the competitiveness of the car and the team after the first couple of fly away races that are not always representative. The midfield is very close and any deviation leads to spectacular variations.”

“But the result today is clear, even without the Safety Car, a few points could have been possible. We are not in line with the targets we have set ourselves.”

“The test next week comes at a good moment to assess particular areas of the car in depth and look at important development items as we define our short-term and medium-term action plan to recover from a poor season start that does not alter our determination and our long-term objectives.”

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1 hour ago, avaldes said:

Hard tires...I can’t believe they put Leclerc on hard tires. Almost like they were slowing him down to keep him in touch with Seb. Last year I said it felt like Ferrari forgot how to win. Seems even more so this year.

If Mercedes went as far into the race as they did with soft tires, what could possibly make them think hards would be a winning strategy??

Agree regarding Leclerc.

It almost seems they are intentionally trying to Dumb-down Charles so that Seb beats him, thus avoiding fans and media having a go at them for team orders IMHO.

Ferrari are a mess right now.

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN: WE’RE DEFINITELY CLOSER TO THE TOP MIDFIELD CARS

McLaren team and drivers report from the Spanish Grand Prix, Round 5 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Carlos Sainz: “Good result on home soil! Congratulations to everyone in the team for getting a points finish today because it was not an easy race for us. It was one of those well-fought points finishes. We struggled for half the race but executed a good strategy, great pit-stops and I managed to do some good overtaking at the right moment to take our chances and finish eighth.

“However, we need to analyse why the pace wasn’t there today and why I was struggling so much in the last sector. But for the rest, it was one of those races that, thanks to the crowd and thanks to the help of the whole team, we managed to get into the points. Thank you to all the fans for the great support the whole weekend.”

Lando Norris: “A disappointing race. I had a really good start but struggled around Turn Three, went wide and lost a lot of positions. That put me in a bad position for the whole race. It was unfortunate but I had good pace afterwards.

“Later I tried to get past Stroll. I was on the inside and I don’t know if he just didn’t see me as he turned in but there was contact and it put me out of the race. I didn’t want to just sit there and do nothing. In the end, the team result wasn’t bad with Carlos getting points.”

Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: “It was a great execution of the race today by the team because we have to acknowledge that Haas and Toro Rosso looked stronger than us in terms of pace. It was difficult for us in the race to move forwards in terms of positions, but thanks to great timing of the pit-stop when the Safety Car came out, we gained a position, and excellent strategy going onto Softs moved us into P8 in the end.

“Carlos did a great drive with good overtaking. Lando unfortunately had a difficult race when he lost positions in Turn Three after a good start, while the contact with Stroll, in my opinion, was a racing incident.

“Overall, in terms of performance, it was encouraging to see that we definitely got closer to the top cars in the midfield when we compare our pace this weekend with the pace we had on a track with similar characteristics like China. So, thanks also for the great work at the factory to bring the aero updates here.”

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HAAS: WE’VE CLEARED THE AIR BETWEEN THE DRIVERS

Rich Energy Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean delivered their first double-points result of the season with their finishes of seventh and 10th, respectively in the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship Sunday at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya.

It was the team’s eighth double-points finish since joining the Formula One ranks in 2016.

Both Haas F1 Team drivers started the 66-lap event around the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track on Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires as did most of the rest of the field, and they held their relative positions through to the opening round of pit stops that began on lap 19.

Magnussen was up to sixth when he pitted on lap 24 for a set of Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and resumed 14th. Grosjean pitted three laps later from fourth for his set of mediums and maintained his position in the top-10 as the remainder of the field executed their first stops.

By lap 33, Grosjean and Magnussen were back to their original grid positions of seventh and eighth, respectively, before Magnussen was passed on lap 35 by the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, dropping him momentarily to ninth.

Magnussen regained the eighth position when he beat Kvyat out of the pits during their second stop for soft tires as the safety car was deployed for an incident involving Racing Point driver Lance Stroll and McLaren driver Lando Norris on lap 46. Grosjean made his second stop on the very next lap, also taking on a set of softs.

When the race returned to green on lap 53, with Grosjean seventh and Magnussen eighth, the two Rich Energy Haas F1 Team drivers touched briefly as Magnussen slipped past his teammate to take seventh place through the first turn.

Magnussen held onto that position to the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Grosjean lost a spot on lap 60 to local hero, Spaniard Carlos Sainz, then another position a lap later to Kvyat.

The Frenchman successfully held off the challenges of Toro Rosso driver Alexander Albon over the closing laps to claim 10th – the final points-paying position.

Today’s results advanced the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team two positions to sixth in the constructors’ standings, two points behind fifth-place Racing Point and two points ahead of seventh-place Alfa Romeo.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton led every lap today from his No. 2 position on the grid to beat his pole-winning teammate Valtteri Bottas across the finish line by 4.074 seconds – the fifth consecutive 1-2 finish by Mercedes this season.

It was Hamilton’s 76th career victory, his third of the season and fourth at Barcelona. Rounding out the podium was third-place Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

The 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship resumes with the Monaco Grand Prix May 26 at Circuit de Monaco.

Romain Grosjean: “Yes, it’s been a good weekend, we’ve had good pace. Before the safety car we were running on our own, doing a good race – I was happy that. The restart was a bit more complicated, it wasn’t ideal for me as I lost a few positions in there. Overall, I’m happy with the way we’ve acted this weekend, happy we’ve shown that the car is fast. Now it’s onto the next one.”

Kevin Magnussen: “It was a good race in terms of pace, we had strong pace – especially towards the end. I didn’t have that many problems with tires. It’s been much better for us this time. We had a brilliant second pit stop from the team when the safety car came out to jump Kvyat. I had good temperature in my tires at the restart, I got past Romain, then attacked Gasly as well, but I couldn’t quite hold on to him. It was a good race for us.”

Genther Steiner, Haas Team Principal: “It’s ended as being a little bit of a controversial weekend, but we’ve sorted it out – cleared the air between the drivers. That’s the most important thing after their race. We maybe lost a couple of points, but we’re all happy to move forward from here, everything is fine. It’s been a good weekend points-wise, with getting two cars into the points.”

“Hopefully, we can learn a lot from the test here this week, so we can do the same in Monaco and Canada. At the moment it looks like they’ll be a little bit more difficult for us, because of the track layouts, but I think we can still score points. The whole team did a very good job here this weekend and we come away with double points – happy.”

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WILLIAMS: ANOTHER DIFFICULT RACE FOR US

Williams report from the Spanish Grand Prix, Round 5 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer: “Another difficult race for us but both drivers did well to avoid trouble and bring both cars home. The tyre compounds and conditions made numerous strategies viable with all three compounds being run at various times.”

“The pitstop crew completed some very good stops and they continue to do a sterling job in difficult circumstances. Our attention now turns to the test where we will continue to develop the FW42.”

George Russell: It was a standard Grand Prix for us. Our race pace was probably slower than the qualifying pace, so that is something for us to look at. It has been an intriguing weekend for us. We have brought some test items and got some decent information from those. I think we are going in the right direction.

Robert Kubica: “I started quite well but was squeezed a bit between both Racing Points, so I had to lift off in the middle of the straight and lost quite a lot of ground there. I then lost a position to George but regained it in turn four.”

“My first stint wasn’t looking too bad but, before he overtook me, I got called to change a few things on the steering wheel and I wasn’t expecting him to be so close. I wasn’t practically ready to defend and by the time I saw him in the mirror, it was too late.”

“We changed the strategy during the race and I think it was good the Safety Car came out as it actually split our second stint, otherwise it would have been very difficult for us to manage the tyres until the end.”

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WOLFF: LEWIS AND I HAVE DISCUSSED HIM DRIVING FOR FERRARI

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have discussed the possibility of the five times Formula 1 champion one day racing for Ferrari and such a move would be no drama, team boss Toto Wolff has said.

Hamilton, 34, has a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2020, by which time he could have equalled Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s unprecedented seven titles and broken other records.

“You have to simply acknowledge that probably it’s in every driver’s head to drive at Ferrari one day,” Wolff told reporters at the Spanish Grand Prix.

“It’s the most iconic, historic Formula 1 brand out there and I totally respect if a driver has the desire to drive at Ferrari.”

“Even within the team we have discussed it and with Lewis we have discussed it and we have agreed on the topic,” added the Austrian.

“We had the discussion when we negotiated the last contract and I think that you just have to be open-minded and understand that drivers will explore opportunities that exist and benchmark themselves.”

Wolff said there was no suggestion at present that the Briton wanted to move.

Hamilton has won four of his titles with the German manufacturer after his first, in 2008, with McLaren.

“I think we are providing him with a car that is capable of achieving his objectives. If we continue to have a car that is performing on that level I think there is no reason to go and we would really love him to stay,” said Wolff.

“And if one day ways part, it will be very positive and each of us will try to achieve success with a different setup. So no drama.”

Hamilton’s boyhood idol Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian triple champion who died 25 years ago, had expressed a desire to race for Ferrari but never felt they could offer a winning car.

Ferrari last won a drivers’ title in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen, and have been eclipsed this season by Mercedes, who have racked up one-two finishes in the first four races after winning both championships for the past five years.

Asked about any Mercedes interest in Ferrari’s four times champion Sebastian Vettel, Wolff said: “Why not Sebastian?”

“I think you need to consider there are probably six or seven drivers out there that have the skill and the intelligence to deserve to be in a race and championship-winning car,” he added.

“Two of them are with us and I hope it goes forever. There are a few others that we really enjoy watching perform. And Sebastian is definitely one of them.”

Wolff’s own future has been the subject of speculation, with sources linking him to a future role at Formula 1’s owners Liberty Media or the governing FIA.

The Austrian, who has been talked of as a possible replacement for Formula One chairman Chase Carey post-2020, acknowledged there was a lot of talk but said he was relishing his role at Mercedes.

“I am in a super situation…I’m a shareholder in the team, I love to be with the people, the relationship matters to me. I am in a happy place and motivated every single day I do this,” he said.

“I think with all the other discussions you are having, with drivers for example, you need to be 100% with your head in your role. This is what I am. I haven’t contemplated any change beyond 2020.”

MIKA: Why on earth change to a team just because of a "Prestigious pedigree title?" May as move to Williams then also?

[MIKA27]

Stewards clear Lando Norris, Lance Stroll over Spanish GP clash

Spanish Grand Prix stewards have opted to take no further action against either Lando Norris or Lance Stroll for the collision that brought out the Safety Car.

Norris and Stroll were battling outside of the points-paying positions when they came to blows through Turn 2.

Norris sustained terminal damage to his McLaren MCL34 while Stroll was left in the barriers and also retired from the race.

The stewards reviewed video evidence and heard from both drivers, along with a team representative, and deemed that neither driver was wholly to blame.

“Norris attempted to pass Stroll on the outside of Turn 1 but did not, in the view of the stewards, complete the overtake because Norris was not completely alongside Stroll.

“Norris believed that he had the right to be allowed ‘racing room’ into Turn 2 whereas Stroll stated that he was on the racing line into Turn 1 and had to take Turn 2 by remaining on the racing line.

“He stated he was not aware at that point of the location of Norris.

“The stewards believe that Norris could have backed out of the attempted overtake into Turn 2 and also that Stroll might have been more aware of the possibility that Norris could be on his inside.”

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Verstappen: No corner where Red Bull was beating Mercedes

Max Verstappen believes Red Bull’s car is “not really better in any corner than Mercedes” after his team’s Formula 1 rival’s fifth consecutive one-two in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen scored his second podium of the season at Barcelona after overhauling both Ferraris, but could not challenge the Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Despite Red Bull’s traditional chassis and aerodynamic prowess, Verstappen believes Mercedes’ 2019 car is simply better at the moment.

“We’re not really better in any corner than Mercedes,” he said. “It’s good, it’s not that it’s a bad car! But at the moment the Mercedes is just quicker than us everywhere.

“Medium-speed, high-speed is pretty similar but that depends a lot on the downforce levels you’re running every single weekend so it’s a bit difficult to say.

“On this track, they were very strong in the low-speed corners. And that is normally pretty good for Monaco [the next race] as well.”

Mercedes’ advantage at Barcelona was at its biggest in the slower final sector.

Verstappen said after qualifying that Mercedes has an edge with its understanding of its 2019 car, an assessment Red Bull team principal Christian Horner agrees with.

“Mercedes have done a very good job in extracting performance from the car in that part of the circuit,” he said. “I think that we are not at our optimum yet in terms of where we’d like to be with these new regulations and construction of tyres.

“This weekend was a step forward and hopefully more will follow.”

The Spanish GP was the second race this season in which Red Bull was able to defeat Ferrari in a straight fight.

Horner thinks the Red Bull was “certainly” the second-fastest car at Barcelona and that the team “got the absolute maximum” out of it.

“I think Max’s first lap was outstanding,” said Horner, whose driver swept past both Ferraris after the first corner. “We had an aggressive [two-stop] strategy but we had the pace obviously to beat the Ferraris.

“Considering where we were in the pre-season test eight, nine weeks ago, I think to have caught that gap, to have got that performance on the car, is really encouraging.

“Obviously now we have to try and focus on diminishing the gap further to Mercedes.”

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Vettel did Hamilton "a favour" with first-corner move

Sebastian Vettel thinks he did Lewis Hamilton "a favour" with his bid to go around the outside of Valtteri Bottas at the first corner of the Spanish Grand Prix.
With Mercedes in a class of its own at Barcelona, Vettel knew that the only chance he had to take the fight to the German car manufacturer was by trying to do something special at the start.

The German picked up a good slipstream off Bottas on the run away from the line and tried to go around the outside of both Mercedes drivers at Turn 1 – but in the end braked slightly too late and locked his right front tyre.

While the lock-up led to a flat spot that ruined his opening stint, Vettel thinks the risk of trying to do something sensational at Turn 1 was worth it.

And he has suggested that his move was a help for Hamilton because he distracted Bottas.

"I wanted to brake latest – which I think I did," said Vettel when asked by Motorsport.com about his first-corner effort. "Obviously Valtteri was also quite late and I could not really get in, and I couldn't see him so I knew he was there.

"I saw that he was also braking quite late and if I just turn in, which I think I could have managed, then he would have nowhere to go and I will go the other way. It didn't work.

"In the end, obviously I did Lewis a favour because I distracted Valtteri. It was clear that I couldn't win the race at the first corner but I saw there was something to try.

"I tried and it didn't work, but I was hoping I could maybe mix things up a little bit for my sake and your sake!"

Vettel's difficult first stint meant Vettel fell into the clutches of teammate Charles Leclerc before letting him through, although he is convinced he would have held on easily without his tyre problem.

"Obviously my race was a bit compromised the first stint," added Vettel. "We didn't have many laps where I could go the pace of the car.

"I think we would have been strong in the first stint with the soft tyre. I think Charles had a good stint but on my side I had a flat spot to manage, so lost quite a lot.

"But certainly once I was in free air I felt quite good and the pace was quite strong, also in comparison with Max.

"I think it is fair with the safety car anyway, it didn't matter, and it is fair what we saw after the safety car that we were more or less the same pace. So I think it would have been a very tight race if we had a normal race without the lock up in the first corner."

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Bottas: "Strange" clutch behaviour led to Spanish GP defeat

Valtteri Bottas blamed his Spanish Grand Prix defeat to Lewis Hamilton on some “strange behaviour” with his Mercedes Formula 1 car’s clutch costing him the lead at the start.
Bottas started on pole for the third race in a row but Hamilton pulled alongside him after a better getaway and gained track position on the inside into Turn 1.

Hamilton then raced into a commanding lead and kept Bottas comfortably behind after a late safety car restart as well, to move back ahead in the title battle.

Immediately after the race, Bottas said: “It was pretty tight but I lost it at the start.

“There was some strange behaviour on the clutch which was biting, releasing, biting releasing which I never felt before, so I lost it there.”

Asked what he would take away from the weekend, Bottas said the team’s result and strong points for the championship were positives but he was “just keen to find out why the start was so bad and why the incident happened”.

Hamilton’s performance marked an impressive turnaround from qualifying, in which he was comprehensively defeated by Bottas.

The five-time world champion described the start as “interesting”, after attacking Bottas on the inside just as the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel tried to pass both around the outside.

“I saw the red car go around the back of both of us so I had no idea if they were further ahead,” said Hamilton.

“I assumed they might be, I knew Valtteri would brake super deep, but it wasn’t a replay of Baku [when Hamilton failed to pass Bottas at the start] at least.”

Mercedes had already set a new record for one-two finishes at the start of a season in Azerbaijan.

However, the team’s crushing performance at Barcelona means it has now tied the all-time record for consecutive one-twos.

“I just have to put it down to this incredible team, this is history in the making,” said Hamilton.

“I am very, very proud to be a part of that, and proud of everyone’s hard work at the track and back at the factory.

“It has definitely been a bit of a hard first four races. It is a great car but we don’t always get along.

“I am grateful in the race we managed to settle our differences and get away well.”

[skalls]

Another race, more proof that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing at Ferrari.  It's too early to call manufacturers title but I wouldn't bet against Mercedes.  They are just firing on all cylinders and basically doing everything right.

Driver's is going to be interesting to see how long this back and forth goes.

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MERCEDES ASTOUND WITH AMAZING GESTURE FOR LITTLE HARRY

Mercedes are proving to be not only awesome on-track but the Formula 1 World Champions astounded all by delivering the Spanish Grand Prix winning car and Lewis Hamilton’s race-winner trophy to Harry Shaw.

In a gesture that has no precedent, Mercedes arrived at the youngster’s home surprising the neighbourhood to the delight of young Harry and plonked a Silver Arrows in the yard!

5-year-old Harry has Ewing’s sarcoma, a cancerous tumour that occurs in bones or soft tissues, such as cartilage or nerves.

On Sunday after winning the race in Barcelona, Hamilton revealed, “I just had a really nice message from a young kid who is suffering with an illness.”

“We had sent him a card and a cap and I saw that today before going into the race. I was chilled but I was looking for something for inspiration, something to grab onto, so I dedicated today’s race to him.

“You try to go out there and do something for someone and it doesn’t always turn out as well as it has, but nonetheless it has, so I hope he’s watching and I’ll be sending him a message shortly after this, that he’ll get, and we’re going to try to do something special for him.”

The team then went a step further with a touching gesture that deserves applause as they can do no wrong no matter what they touch. Mercedes made F1 proud today.

Harry’s father, James Shaw, told BBC, “I don’t know Lewis, but I think what we’ve seen is what a genuine, decent, lovely person he is. That was a heartfelt message he did and he won that Grand Prix for Harry and that means a lot.”

Harry’s mother, Charlotte Shaw added, “It’s brought smiles into his life at a time when there’s a limited amount of fun to be had, to be perfectly honest.”

She also revealed that Mercedes also delivered signed memorabilia and merchandise, “It just went from there, really. It’s just got bigger and bigger and better and better and the smiles have got broader and broader. It’s so special to see Harry enjoying himself.”

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DUTCH GRAND PRIX RETURN SET FOR ZANDVOORT IN 2020

Formula 1 is set to make the most of Max Verstappen’s superstar popularity by announcing on Tuesday the return of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort next season after an absence of 35 years.

The deal was openly discussed at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, and confirmed by multiple sources, with drivers and team bosses welcoming back an historic circuit.

“I don’t preview announcements. We’ll announce it when we announce it on Tuesday,” Formula One chairman Chase Carey told the BBC when asked to confirm the news.

Red Bull driver Verstappen, 21, is the most successful Dutch driver ever as well as Formula One’s youngest race winner and draws many thousands of orange-shirted fans to grands prix around Europe.

He is third overall in the championship after finishing third at the Circuit de Catalunya with plenty of supporters in attendance.

“I think a Dutch Grand Prix, with the popularity of Verstappen, is going to be immense. I think that’s positive for Formula One,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner told reporters.

Zandvoort last hosted a grand prix in 1985 after making its first appearance on the calendar in 1952.

The race deal is the second, after Vietnam, negotiated by U.S.-based Liberty Media since taking over the sport in 2017 and ousting former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

The French Grand Prix at the southern Le Castellet circuit returned in 2018 after a 10-year absence but that deal was done by Ecclestone. Vietnam is due to make its debut next year with a street race in Hanoi.

Zandvoort, on the North Sea coast, looks likely to have an early May slot when the 2020 calendar is published later in the year and could replace Spain as the start of the traditional European season.

“It´s a really narrow track. I´ve been there only once but it´s really challenging on the driving side. So, I think to put some F1 cars there will be pretty cool and exciting,” said Verstappen’s French teammate Pierre Gasly.

Williams driver George Russell said Zandvoort was a favourite.

“I just truly hope we don´t get rid of the gravel runoffs in the two high-speed corners because that´s what makes the circuit so daunting and so incredible to drive,” said the Briton, last year’s Formula Two champion.

The future of Spain’s race remains uncertain, with the Circuit de Catalunya out of contract at the end of this year.