Montmeló.- The Dutch pilot Max Verstappen He returns to the Montmeló Circuit (Barcelona), where he achieved his first victory in the Formula 1to try to take this weekend his fourth consecutive victory in the Grand Prix of Spain, in which a new technical regulation comes into force.
The four -time world champion triumphed in his debut with Red Bull as a teenager in the Catalonia circuit in the 2016 Grand Prix and trusts that another victory now gives him impulse in the race for the world title.
The 27 -year -old Dutch is 25 points from the championship leader, the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), already 22 of the British Lando Norrisalso from McLaren.
Both believe that they could be harmed by the introduction of a new regulation on the front wingers.
“It is a significant change,” said Red Bull Chief, Christian Horner, about the much more rigid front wing requirement.
“There will be some effect and, of course, the teams have anticipated this, so it may well be neutral or can affect the degradation of the tires. It does not make life easier!”, He continued.
The McLaren aerodynamic car, designed to allow its pilots to manage the wear of the wheels and achieve good times, can be the most affected by the hardening of the rule.
“But we don’t know how it will affect them,” Horner added.
Formula 1 announced the modification of the standard in January.
“A revolutionary change”
The change left teams with time to prepare and can have an effect on the performance and outcome of the season.
“With 16 races still, much remains to go,” said Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff.
“The team is pressing to improve the performance and technical directive of the updated front wing of this weekend will provide another level of intrigue,” he added.
After a weekend without points in Montecarlo, Wolff expects an improvement from his pilots ‘Silver arrows’, the British George Russell and the Italian Kimi Antonelli.
Fred Vasseur of Ferrari also spoke: “This can be a revolutionary change for all because we do not know its impact on each team.”
McLaren has won six of the eight races this year and has 172 points ahead of Mercedes in the fight for the title of teams, but he knows that the Spanish track, where there are as many slow and fast curves, can be a challenge for his car.
But after good results in all races this season, except in the high speed circuits of Suzuka and Icola where Verstappen won for Red Bull, it will be under scrutiny and pressure.
As Ferrari will be after an inconsistent season and to some extent disappointing, while the seven -time champion, the Englishman Lewis Hamilton, continues to look for his first victory with the team in a place where he has won six times, a record he shares with the German Michael Schumacher.
For his part, the Spanish Fernando Alonso de Aston Martin will begin his career number 410 at age 43, while Carlos Sainz Jr., 30, of Williams, will be ready for his career number 215.
Both have helped grow the number of fans of this discipline in Spain. Even Sainz, a native of Madrid, is ambassador to a future race near the Spanish capital from 2027, while Alonso plays a similar role for the Catalan circuit, whose contract ends next year, a conflict that allows reflecting the most classic and enduring sports rivalry of Spain.
