Mercedes dominates in Spain: trend reversal or flash in the pan?

M ercedes drove to Barcelona with great expectations. Two months earlier, the winter test drives had dominated here in the same place. The defeats at the beginning of the season in Australia, Bahrain and China were all the more surprising. Luck had to help even with the first Hamilton victory in Azerbaijan.

But in Barcelona the world looked bright again in the camp of the world championship team. Under the eyes of CEO Dieter Zetsche, the competition was given a big splash. Lewis Hamilton drove easily from pole position to his second win of the season. Although the world champion's engine power was reduced early for safety reasons, in the end he clearly won with a 20-second lead.

ut fits. In addition, the cool temperatures helped us. The season has shown that performance can vary depending on the track and conditions. ”

At Ferrari, at least part of the blame for the crushing defeat was on the changed tires that Pirelli brought to Barcelona. Wolff couldn't understand that. “During the winter test drives we still had the normal tires and we were even further ahead of the others.”

But with Monaco, Mercedes’s Achilles heel is now waiting. Ferrari celebrated a double victory in the principality 12 months ago. “We weren't that good on a certain type of track last year, Monaco, Singapore, Budapest. I don't know how far that is in the car's DNA. We know what went wrong last year. It will definitely be a big challenge. I'm half in Monaco with my thoughts. That wasn't a nice experience on the Sunday after the race. “