Race 9 - 2025 Spanish GP [Circuit de Catalunya - Barcelona]

[Nitrodaze]

We head to the last race of the European triple header in Barcelona, Spain, at the Circuit de Catalunya. This weekend, the weather for the race is hazy sunshine with temperatures of 30 to 32 degrees Celsius. Home race for Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz. Being a formal test track for preseason testing, any car that performs well here is likely to perform very well at most tracks on the calendar.

The Flexiwing regulation comes into effect at this race, and we shall see if it will have any impact on the current pecking order. Toto Woolf is quoted as saying that he thinks Ferrari may benefit the most from the regulation. McLaren is confident that it would be unaffected by the regulation.

General talk in the fanzone is of the publication of the Bild magazine stating that Ferrari is chatting with Christian Horner for a move to Ferrari. Bild as a source is not very trustworthy, hence many are taking these rumours with a pinch of salt. Horner and Hamilton working together would be very interesting, considering the Abu Dhabi scenario.

Lando Norris bounced back with a win at Monaco. But the main headline of the Monaco weekend was his qualifying lap to snatch pole from LeClerc. After the failed two-stop race of Monaco, Barcelona offers a normal race weekend with a fast-flowing track with lots of places for overtakes.

The inter-teammate battle of the McLaren drivers intensifies as Norris closes up to Piastri with merely three points separating them. Piastri leads the driver's championship with 161 points to Norris at 158. Verstappen is 22 points behind Norris but very much still in contention. Russell is 59 points behind Norris and increasingly falling out of contention for the driver's title.

In the constructors' championship, McLaren has more than double the points of its nearest rival, Mercedes, with 319 to 147 points. Redbull is merely four points behind Mercedes. With Ferrari only one sole point behind Redbull. The fight for second place in the constructors intensifies. Ferrari is notably the biggest mover as they recovered considerable lost ground in the last three races.

The question on everyone's mind is whether McLaren has done enough to absorb any setback if they suffer from the Flexiwing regulations. The driver's championship would immediately be under threat. But it would take some doing for the competition to claw back the considerable points of McLaren in the constructor's championship.

At the end of the Spanish GP, we shall have an inkling of what the rest of the season will look like. An unscathed McLaren would imply that the driver's title would be fought between both McLaren drivers and Verstappen. The constructor would most likely be insurmountable by mid-season or soon after. An affected McLaren may imply that the driver's championship is wide open and extends contention to as far into the drivers' standings, as Hamilton in sixth.

This could be a pivotal weekend of racing. With such high temperatures this weekend, Mercedes may suffer as a result. With fewer very slow corners, it may play to the strengths of Ferrari. Verstappen may spring another surprise win to really open up the championship.