Red Bull’s dominance faces a potential upset at the Spanish Grand Prix, with none other than Mercedes being tipped as the possible surprise package.
Red Bull has had a strong start to the season with four wins in five races, but recent performances have seen Max Verstappen secure only two wins in the last four, the other two victories going to McLaren and Ferrari. Damon Hill, the 1996 champion, believes Mercedes could break through Red Bull’s dominance in Spain.
Discussing the upcoming race on the F1 Nation podcast, Hill stated, “I’m going to say that this is going to be a return of Red Bull’s dominance. I think that Max and even Checo could be up there. I think their car is going to be better suited. But it’s going to be close. And I don’t think it’s going to be a total walkover.”
Hill suggested that tactical opportunities could present themselves for teams like McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes. “I’m not totally as confident of that prediction [Verstappen winning] as I might have been in the past. Let’s leave it at that. There’s a chance… I don’t know what Ferrari are going to do. I mean it could even be that Mercedes actually have really broken through a little glass ceiling that they had there, so it could be that they could spring a surprise.”
However, Mercedes’ technical director James Allison isn’t as optimistic. He noted that while their car has improved, the track conditions and expected hot weather might not play to the strengths of the W15. “The changes we have made are making this car a better car, and that will be true at every circuit we go to. The characteristics of Montreal make it look a little quicker than we have a natural right to command at the coming races. In Barcelona, I think it more likely that we will be competitive, but not right at the front. Because the next tracks are a little bit of a sterner test of a car. Hot asphalt, wider cornering speeds.”
Allison added that Mercedes’ challenge is to continue upgrading the car at a pace that their competitors cannot keep up with. “Our challenge is just to keep those upgrades arriving at a pace that the others cannot keep up with. In doing that, just bullying our car to the front by virtue of the effort made by everybody here over the coming weeks and months to get the car so that it can have its Montreal weekend or better at any track that we face in the future.”
With Red Bull looking to reassert its dominance and Mercedes hoping to break through, the Spanish Grand Prix promises to be an exciting race. While Hill remains cautiously optimistic about a potential surprise upset, Allison’s pragmatic view keeps expectations in check. The stage is set for a thrilling showdown.
