Spanish Grand Prix: Will Ferrari knock Mercedes off their perch?

The dust is still settling after another eventful race in Baku, but already attention has turned to the Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix. If Mercedes have any remaining fingertips on their title as the best team in Formula 1, will they finally relinquish it to Ferrari this weekend?

CIRCUIT DEBRIEF

• Front limited circuit, due to number of long, high speed corners.
• A new track surface means tyre wear should be less than in previous years.
• Warmer conditions than in testing means performance of each compound may change.
• The circuit calls for a well-balanced car, with plenty of downforce.

WHO'S IN CONTENTION FOR THE WIN?

This race marks the beginning of the European leg of the season and is the first in a busy run of eight grands prix in just 12 weeks.

Ferrari are the team to beat after a strong start to the season. This is the first time in 10 years they have been in the lead of the championship after four rounds, and they were constructors' champions at the end of 2008. A positive omen for the year ahead?

Both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have won at this circuit in the past and, judging by Ferrari's early season form, they can expect to be in the hunt for silverware on Sunday also.

The Circuit de Catalunya is a track that the teams know well due to the amount of testing mileage they've all done here, so there'll be no excuses for not getting setup right this weekend.

To go well here, the drivers need a well-balanced car with plenty of downforce due to the number of long, high-speed corners. It should, on paper, be another strong track for Ferrari and cars that are quick here tend to be quick at most circuits so a win could be very telling.

Mercedes has a strong recent record in Spain having won in 2014, 2015, and 2017. They would have probably won also in 2016 had the feuding pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg not taken each other out on lap one.

In pre-season testing, Mercedes looked very strong here despite not setting a headline time, but it's worth noting that they did very little running on the two fastest compounds that will be in use this weekend.

As temperatures climb way above those that welcomed F1 with snow at the end of February, it will be interesting to see how their performance compares to Ferrari on the soft and supersoft tyre.

WILL THE RED BULLS KEEP THEIR NOSES CLEAN?

You might say that Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo's collision in Baku had been coming, but if Red Bull are going to challenge Ferrari and Mercedes this season, the team must make absolutely certain there is no repeat performance.

Following Verstappen's difficult start to the year, a clash with his team-mate was the last thing he would have wanted, but fortunately for him, both his team and the FIA ruled that Ricciardo was just as much to blame for the incident and they escaped without penalty.

Nevertheless, the incident cost Red Bull a significant amount of points, and they are already losing ground in the championship thanks to a second non-score in just four races.

Red Bull have said they will continue to allow their drivers to race after the pair apologised for their part in the collision, but will the team regret that decision? After all, Ricciardo is desperate to secure big results to strengthen his hand in upcoming contract negotiations, and Verstappen appears to have only one mode - flat out.

According to Dr Helmut Marko, the situation is different to when their former champion Vettel was partnered with Mark Webber, but added that Red Bull's race engineers will "intervene" if tensions begin to flare on track again.

AN IMPORTANT WEEKEND FOR MCLAREN

McLaren have been arguably the most improved team of 2018, but it's still not been enough to propel them back onto the podium. Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne are yet to reach Q3 in any of the four races this year, and the team have admitted they have fallen short of pre-season performance objectives.

According to team boss Eric Boullier, that could all be about to change as they introduce a major upgrade for this weekend's race, including an eye-catching and achingly complex nose cone.

Traditionally, the first European race of the season is when most teams introduce their first significant upgrades, largely due the circuit's close proximity to their European bases, but also because the teams have so much data on this track, it's easier to judge how upgrades correlate with on-track performance.

McLaren's planned upgrade is expected to be the most significant on the grid, and Boullier says this weekend's race will be the first real indication of where they sit in the pecking order this season.

Alonso seems a little more cautious about the expected uplift in performance however, saying: "In Barcelona there is a new aero package coming, but I think 95 per cent of the paddock is bringing a new aero package to Barcelona."