The stealth favourite for the Spanish GP
Valtteri Bottas dominated first practice for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton set the pace in FP2, while Red Bull again seemed to have the legs on the rest over long runs. But deeper analysis suggest they won't necessarily be the teams to beat in the Spanish GP
Mercedes set the pace on the opening day of Spanish Grand Prix free practice, while Red Bull caught the eye with its long runs. So for those fond of a superficiality not compatible with the complexities of grand prix racing, that might be an open-and-shut case in terms of how the weekend will go.
But behind those headlines lie the details that suggest things will be very different come qualifying and the race, because sometimes you have to look at the subtle hints and glimpses of the story that is playing out.
Share Or Save This Story
How the Senna myth has been transformed
Archive: When the French GP almost produced F1's greatest shock
Autosport 70: How Scheckter instigated Silverstone's most famous F1 incident
Autosport 70: The lost F1 team that launched Newey
Why Haas's shocking 2019 should have F1 worried
How Kubica found the answer to his own incredible F1 challenge
The real step that ended McLaren's F1 nightmare
2019's Albon, Norris and Russell are 2001's Montoya, Raikkonen and Alonso
McLaren’s one-second-a-lap dominance is “alien” to Verstappen - Marko
Vinales on Aprilia MotoGP struggles: “It’s a mechanical issue, not a rider issue”
Why F2’s nearly man made the right choice walking away with title on the line
Two senior FIA figures to depart governing body
Can Alpine’s latest regime change shift its course?
What happened the last time Verstappen did community service
Why long Sainz courtship was only one factor in eventual Williams union
Jon Noble: The red herring reality of McLaren ‘mini-DRS’ saga
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
