Since the first five Grands Prix of the season, the battle for victory has come down to only two teams: Red Bull and Team Ferrari. Catalonia this weekend may have witnessed the rebirth of a team accustomed to dominating its competitors since the hybrid era. With the changes made to the W13, Mercedes was finally back at the forefront. The porpoise gummed, George Russell signed a new podium, his second of the season and Lewis Hamilton, despite his clash with Kévin Magnussen, obtained 5th place in the Spanish Grand Prix.
It's still not a victory that has eluded Mercedes since the start of the Championship, but in Barcelona, the German team was competitive for the first time this season. “ I saw a car more than 30 seconds behind the entire field finish near the podium. Can we fight for the championship? We bet we can. We have reason to believe we can do it, even if we are not favored by the bookmakers and we will push hard to come back ", Explain Toto wolff, Mercedes-AMG executive director F1 team.
What a duel between Russell and Verstappen 😍
The Dutchman comes back strongly on the Mercedes driver, but the Briton uncrosses in turn 1 👏#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1
▶ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/iwiqZyIojS
— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) May 22, 2022
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, has been hammering it since the first Grand Prix of the season, we must not bury Mercedes. “ They have surely taken a big step forward. It's only a matter of time before they invite themselves into battle » specifies the Briton. True to himself and in continuity with the adventures of the 2021 season, the former driver still reminded his German counterpart that the two Austrian single-seaters finished more than 30 and 50 seconds behind the Silver Arrows.
Christian Horner knows that nothing is won in advance
In this three-candidate battle, Scuderia Ferrari remains the team that has experienced the most difficulties in Catalonia after the setbacks of Carlos Sainz and the abandonment of Charles Leclerc. Matia Binotto, the main team prefers to be optimistic after this weekend. “ This weekend was generally positive in the way we made improvements, the car was fast. We had a fantastic pole on Saturday and the race pace today was excellent », Underlines the Italian to Sky Sports.
After 6 Grands Prix, it is Red Bull who leads the peloton but the Austrian team knows that a championship is decided until the last laps and that nothing is won in advance. “ We don't underestimate any of our rivals and I think Ferrari had a horrible day today, but their pace was still very, very strong this weekend. So I think it's going to be tighter and tighter » enthuses Christian Horner. With 26 and 75 points ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes, Red Bull heads into Monaco with the double hat of leader in the Manufacturers' and Drivers' standings.
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