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The Spanish GP will be the sixth race of the 2022 F1 season. This will be the first of a series of races in Europe and will give the teams their first opportunity to put upgrades on their cars and improve their standing in the pecking order.
Multiple teams have already confirmed that they will be bringing a set of upgrades to the race. How those upgrades work and the kind of impact they have on the race, however, is something that still needs to be seen.
Heading into the Spanish GP weekend, Charles Leclerc leads the championship against Max Verstappen by 19 points. With the F1 circus heading back to Europe, let's take a look at some of the key questions that need to be answered before the race.
#1 Will Mercedes make a comeback?
One of the biggest questions faced by the F1 world is the fate of Mercedes. The eight-time consecutive champion has not had the best of starts to the season. The Mercedes challenger is not in the same league as the frontrunners. Consequently, all eyes are set on the team to see if the upgrade that the team is supposed to bring to the Spanish GP can bring it back into title contention.
#2 Will new regulations result in a better Spanish GP?
The Spanish GP is notorious for producing a rather dull race. This is primarily due to the track characteristics that don't allow for too many overtaking opportunities, coupled with the previous generation of cars, that could not follow each other.
One of the biggest concerns was the slow, tight, and twisty S3 sections that would make it impossible for the cars to get a run on the leading car. With the new generation of cars being able to follow the lead car more closely, however, it remains to be seen if it can provide a better overtaking opportunity down the main straight.
#3 How good will the Aston Martin B-Spec car be?
Aston Martin is making a lot of noise about the B-Spec car that is going to be introduced in Barcelona. The team is bringing in an extensive upgrade that would look visibly different than the older car.
Lance Stroll will be the one to use the B-Spec car this weekend with the team facing a time and resource crunch in getting one ready for both the drivers. Aston Martin has been one of the teams that has suffered from an underperforming piece of machinery. So it will be interesting to see where Stroll ends up in the pecking order compared to Sebastian Vettel this weekend.
#4 How effective will the Ferrari upgrades be?
Ferrari has not brought anything major to the car in the first five races of the season. This has seen its early-season advantage against Red Bull slowly but steadily dwindle as the Austrian team has been bringing bits and pieces at almost every race.
At the Spanish GP, Ferrari will be bringing its first major upgrade with changes focussed both on improving aero as well reducing the porpoising effect. Will this change help Ferrari gain the initiative against Red Bull? We'll have to wait and watch the Spanish GP to see how it all pans out.
#5 What to make of Ferrari's dossier to FIA?
The friendly battle between Red Bull and Ferrari seems to be coming to an end as things get more and more intense after every race. Mattia Binotto had his doubts over how Red Bull was able to bring this many parts to a race despite the budget cap being in place. Subsequently, Ferrari will be sending a dossier of expenses to the FIA estimating the expenses of every team on the grid.
The message is clear: Ferrari feels Red Bull is not complying with the cost cap. With the dossier going to the FIA, it remains to be seen if there is going to be a follow-up on this or not.
