Delighted Hamilton says Mercedes upgrade has brought rivals within range.
Lewis Hamilton is hopeful Mercedes can get within range of Ferrari and Red Bull after their new aerodynamic package gave promising results in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.
2022 Spanish Grand Prix
Written by Keith Collantine
Posted on 20th May 2022, 17:52

Mercedes have been as much as a second per lap slower than Ferrari and Red Bull over the opening races of the season. However, they ended Friday practice at the Circuit de Catalunya second and third on the times sheets.

Hamilton said the first day of running with the updated car had been “positive” for the team. “I’m super-happy with the progress so a big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for not giving up and for continuing to push. We’re not the quickest yet but I think we’re on our way.”

George Russell set the second-quickest time of all, a tenth of a second off pace-setter Charles Leclerc. Hamilton lapped within a tenth of a second of his team mate.

‘W13 Positive’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/05/20/...-within-range/


Everything that happened in second Spanish GP F1 practice
20th May 2022, 17:07
By Valentin Khorounzhiy
The Race

Ferrari’s Formula 1 championship leader Charles Leclerc completed a clean sweep of Spanish Grand Prix Friday practice sessions, as Mercedes produced another strong FP2 showing.
Key moments:
– Leclerc quickest but chewing through tyres
– Mercedes duo in top three
– Alonso stars in sixth for Alpine
– Short sessions for Bottas and Norris

‘Spanish GP F1 practice Review’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/every...p-f1-practice/


Why Ferrari’s pace may flatter to deceive, and teams face a tricky tyre decision
2022 Spanish Grand Prix Friday practice analysis
Posted on 21st May 2022, 0:27 |
Written by Will Wood

The 2022 edition of this race promises to be the most volatile race weekend in Barcelona for some time due to a myriad of factors that revealed themselves after the first day of running on Friday.

Despite being slower than both Ferraris in both Friday sessions, Verstappen seemed happy with his day’s work and how the Red Bull appeared to perform over the 55 laps he completed around the Barcelona circuit over the course of the day. Especially given that he had the fastest average lap time on the long runs at the end of second practice out of the Red Bulls, Ferraris and Mercedes.

Red Bull’s optimism explains why Leclerc seemed more cautious than might have been expected, given that he was the fastest in both sessions. “Our qualifying runs don’t look bad, but we have some work to do, in particular on our race pace and on tyre management,” Leclerc explained after Friday’s running.

‘Tyre Management’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/05/20/...tyre-decision/


5 things we learned from Friday practice at the Spanish Grand Prix
20 May 2022
F1 Correspondent & Presenter
Lawrence Barretto

Chants of ‘Fernando’ and ‘Carlos’ rang out at a bustling Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday, as an impressive crowd – keen for success from one of their own in Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz – watched the teams gather data on their 2022 machines, many of which were heavily updated, ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. Here are five things we learned from the two 60-minute practice sessions…

Mercedes appear to have turned a corner
Red Bull leading the way in race trim
Ferrari hold the edge on low fuel
Alpine and McLaren fighting for best of the rest
New Aston Martin shows potential

‘Five Observations’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...AfEVk9Cyk.html


Spanish GP: Leclerc quickest, Mercedes in the mix in Practice 2
20 May 2022, 17:25
Ben Issatt

The Ferrari driver made a two-tenth improvement on his best time in the first session as he posted a 1m19.670s on soft tyres.

Right behind, the two Mercedes' once again showed signs of their potential with George Russell second and Lewis Hamilton third.

Carlos Sainz was fourth in the second Ferrari ahead of Max Verstappen as the top five was separated by just a third of a second.

‘In the Mix’;

https://www.insideracing.com/index.p...-in-practice-2


Red Bull plan internal investigation over whether information leaked to Aston Martin
2022 Spanish Grand Prix
Posted on 20th May 2022, 18:52
Written by Keith Collantine

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is planning an internal investigation to discover whether Aston Martin received information on the design of their RB18.

Aston Martin turned up at the sixth round of the championship with an upgraded car bearing several striking similarities to the Red Bull. Horner suggested Aston Martin had copied the RB18, but the FIA confirmed the team had shown they had designed the new parts.

“They’ve followed a timeline and they’re accepting of what Aston Martin have presented here,” Horner told Sky. “Of course if any evidence of foul play came to light, it becomes a different issue.”

‘Internal Investigation’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/05/20/...-aston-martin/