Major talking points ahead of the Spanish GP
Friday, 20 May 2022
Significant upgrades and a record-breaking weekend await.
The Formula 1® season moves to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen continue their title fight.
We’ve collated some of the major talking points ahead of this weekend.
Ferrari Upgrades
Ferrari will be bringing their first significant upgrade to the F1-75 this weekend. Red Bull has been drip-feeding upgrades over the early part of the season, whereas this will be the first update for the Ferrari.
Although each team has adopted different development deployment schedules, Verstappen is confident in the RB18.
“There’s plenty left in the tank!” said Verstappen.
“There’s always things we can do better, and I think at the moment, the main one for us is reliability, so we’ll just try to get on top of that first.
“I think we just have a team working really well on track, but also back at the factory, it’s very efficient, and I think that, of course, with the cost cap is very important. But I think we’re definitely one of the best on the grid with that.”
Rookies take to the track
Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries and Red Bull junior Juri Vips will make their Formula 1® debut this weekend.
De Vries, the reigning Formula E world champion, will sit in for Alex Albon in the William’s FW44 during Free Practice 1 (FP1).
Vips, a 21-year-old Estonian, has been a part of the Red Bull junior program since 2018 and took part in the post-season test last year in Abu Dhabi. He will step into the cockpit of the RB18 during FP1 for Sergio Perez.
F1® teams must abide by a new rule introduced, mandating them to use two young drivers in sessions throughout the season.
Record-breaking Aussie
Daniel Ricciardo is a veteran of the Formula 1® grid and will make history this weekend.
The 2022 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona will be the Australian’s 216th F1® race, which will surpass Mark Webber, who is currently on equal race starts as the 32-year-old.
The two Australians have similar records, with Webber winning nine races during his career, with Ricciardo currently on eight.
Aston Martin Upgrade
It’s fair to say that the Aston Martin team hasn’t been performing at the level that Lawrence Stroll would like.
However, that may change this weekend as the team has revealed significant changes to the AMR22.
According to The Race, the car has a new floor and sidepod designed to help with its porpoising problems.
The team will be hoping to be more competitive within the midfield.
The Spanish Grand Prix 2022 starts tonight here in Australia.
#F1 returns to Barcelona this weekend 👌
— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) May 19, 2022
Catch all of the #SpanishGP action from tonight 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/sMuh37Ktpe
