Mercedes beats Ferrari: tire advantage for the Silver Arrows?

D he first two knockout rounds in the qualification for the GP Spain ran as always. Ferrari dominated the wild chase for the fastest time. But then the Mercedes drivers suddenly conjured up two lap times on the track, which Ferrari gritted its teeth on. The redesigned Red Bull even more. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas drove their fastest training laps on supersoft tires. Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Max Verstappen chose the soft tire. Difference: 0.132 seconds. All right, you will say. Super soft versus soft, Ferrari and Red Bull couldn't stand a chance.

ilton was one of his most important. Because the tire situation in the race gives little leeway for tactical games. Nine drivers from the top ten start with the soft tires and will finish the second stint on medium rubbers. Movement only comes into play in the event of an unexpected safety car.

Vettel is nevertheless confident: “Third place on the grid is not so bad on the long run into the first corner. If nothing works at the start, the tires may later play a decisive role. It's a demanding race for the tires. ”

Memories of last year come back to life. Vettel used the 740-meter-long sprint to pull past Hamilton from second place. Then again, Mercedes turned things around with an anti-cyclical tire choice. Overtaking is no longer impossible in Barcelona since there is a longer DRS zone. In 2017, 18 overtaking maneuvers were counted. Including the decisive factor for victory.