Upgrade Overload! Spanish GP Promises Exciting New F1 Pecking Order Including Mercedes Entry to Red Bull-Ferrari Fight

The 2022 Spanish Grand Prix is right around the corner and the hype has already begun to sky-rocket to rather unexpected heights. It isn’t like Circuit de Catalunya has a history of delivering brilliant F1 races, thanks to the high-speed flowing nature of the circuit that has always played spoilsport in spurring on-track action.

Hence, one might wonder what is triggering this unusually overwhelming buildup to the race weekend this time around?

Well, unlike the past, this year’s Spanish GP has something quite special waiting for the fans.

The usual F1 trend continues in 2022

So far, we’ve traveled past five incredible race weekends, with battles persistently taking place right from the top-field to the dead-bottom-field. However, the latest F1 race in Miami hinted that the teams were finally beginning to settle into their respective spots on the grid after weeks of scrambled fights.

Meaning? Red Bull, after getting rid of the reliability issues, is dominating the entire grid while Ferrari is clearly proving to be only the second-fastest despite leading the championship.

Mercedes, after the troubled start, were expected to show some sort of improvement, heading into the race weekend in Imola. But, quite unfortunately, it looks like the defending champions are officially a mid-field team amidst zero promising signs until Miami. Their former partners, McLaren, too looked to have dragged themselves down to the bottom field during the initial couple of race weekends. But, unlike Mercedes, the Papaya outfit somehow managed to re-surge into the mid-field fight.

And this is usually the storyline of every Formula One season. Hence, by the time F1 usually lands in Barcelona, the teams would have settled in quite well, leading to a rather straightforward Spanish Grand Prix. However, interestingly, in this year’s case, the 2022 Spanish GP has a silver-lining etched on it.

Why the 2022 Spanish GP could be bigger than the previous outings

The upcoming race in Spain is certainly capable of delivering one too many surprises for the fans. How you might ask? Well, the teams usually look to bring tiny upgrades into each of the initial five race weekends. But, now that the budget cap is firmly standing its ground, the teams are instead forced to dump them all into one major upgrade.

Hence, the 2022 Spanish GP will likely act as a refresh button for the already exhilarating season.

Golden opportunity for Ferrari to reclaim F1 dominance

Ferrari had a brilliant start to the season, with 1-2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, since then, it has been Red Bull under the spotlight, with Max Verstappen claiming two back-to-back race victories in Imola and Miami.

It is safe to say that the Maranello outfit is losing its grip on the untamable Bulls and has now invested its entire hopes in one major upgrade due to show up at the Spanish GP. The update is likely to cherish a massive spike in power, consequently upping its straight-line speed and the lap times.

Read More: About the Game-Changing Updates Ferrari & Red Bull Have in Store for Spanish GP Amidst Flaring Title Fight

According to reports, the F1-75 will be 0.3s to 0.4s quicker, which should easily supersede Red Bull’s pace advantage.

Mercedes back at the top?

Over-optimism, but there’s no pain in bringing about such predictions to the table. Mercedes has certainly proved to house a world-class group of engineers in Brackley who are capable of pulling the team out of slumps irrespective of their severities.

Now, similar to Red Bull and Ferrari, the Silver Arrows, too, have a string of updates lined up, including a completely revamped floor for the Spanish GP. So, watch out! The only weakness of Mercedes has been porpoising. And now, with the strange appearance of a new floor, it is quite obvious that the Toto Wolff-led outfit may have finally gotten rid of the pace-hindering factor.

McLaren & Aston Martin – the new F1 underdogs?

Let’s start with the former. After an impressive 2021 outing, the start to 2022 was absolutely embarrassing. Neither Lando Norris nor Daniel Ricciardo excelled, with the team struggling to unlock the pace required to join the mid-field battle. However, since Australia, McLaren has orchestrated a dramatic turnaround.

What’s more, on top of the ever-rising performance, McLaren is looking to hit the jackpot with a mega update for Barcelona. According to reports, McLaren’s forthcoming upgrade could up its pace by almost half a second. And this is most certainly good enough to claim P3 in the standings. But, there is no denying that Ferrari and Red Bull too will also be wary of Orange F1 cars chasing them in the rear-view mirrors over the weekend.

Now, let’s head to the other team – Aston Martin. How did we not see this coming? After the Pink Mercedes saga in 2020, Lawrence Stroll’s F1 outfit is back in the headlines, this time as ‘Green Red Bull’. Ever since Aston Martin unveiled its B-spec car for the Spanish GP, the entire F1 community has been on its toes.

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Laughter and mockery all around. But, truth be told, this is indeed a smart play from the British outfit. A replica of Red Bull’s RB-18, possibly with the help of former Red Bull aerodynamicist head, Dan Fallows, and Aston Martin could well be back in the top 6.

More red-heads more luck for Williams?

Alex Albon dyed his hair red, which led to the Thai-Briton clinching his first points for Williams in Australia. Then followed Imola, where Albon failed to repeat his Melbourne success, which led to the 26-year-old wondering if ‘red-head’ was his lucky charm after all.

Hence, Albon returned to Miami with red hair yet again. And coincidentally, it was another points finish, only this time he managed to claim P9, a position higher than Australian GP.

Now, the entire Williams is behind Albon with engineers open to coloring their hair red. What’s more hilarious is that one such customer ended up being his own team boss, Jost Capito. So, a much bigger result on cards for Williams in Barcelona? Maybe!

Overall, too many factors to look forward to for the upcoming race weekend. Hence, massive updates coupled with the nature of the 2022 cars; Will F1 witness Circuit de Catalunya overture one of the most entertaining Spanish Grand Prix of all time?