Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has declared Max Verstappen as the favourite for victory in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Once again it was the German manufacturer who dominated qualifying on Saturday and locked out the front row, with Lewis Hamilton on pole just 0.059s faster than teammate Valtteri Bottas.
However, the high temperatures are expecting to force every team into the two-stop strategy in the race, and the expected high tyre wear does have Mercedes worried after their issues last weekend.
“The only similarity between Silverstone and Barcelona this week is the ambient and the track temperatures,” Wolff said.
“The track itself is very different, so we don’t expect the same blistering issue like in Silverstone, but nevertheless, [there will be] more degradation and more overheating.
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“I believe that Red Bull masters those conditions very well,” the Austrian claimed. “Nevertheless, I think the work that has been done during the week and from yesterday to today was good.
“We have improved and that is most important. I hope we can give him a run for his money.
“Definitely Max needs to be seen as the favourite, based on yesterday’s long-runs.”
One key difference to last weekend however, is all the top three drivers start on the soft compound, unlike the hard tyres Max ran in the first stint at Silverstone.
“I think the soft tyre is good enough to start the race on,” he said, explaining that decision.
“Normally the softest compound is a bit more tricky, as it falls apart quite quickly.
“I think it’s alright at the track here.”
One potentially unique factor Red Bull has in their armoury for the race is the presence of Alex Albon, who starts in sixth.
Providing the Thai driver can overhaul the two Racing Point cars ahead of him early on, team boss Christian Horner does see a role for him to play.
“We can be pleased with today’s qualifying efforts from both Max and Alex as track position is key here in Barcelona,” the Briton noted.
“Max has consistently extracted everything from his RB16 on Saturdays and lines up third on the grid, his best-ever start position at this track.
“Alex meanwhile continues to show signs of progress as he begins to get more comfortable with the car over one lap and starting sixth on the grid gives us plenty of options in the race tomorrow.
“We will take the momentum from last week’s win and try to use it to our advantage tomorrow as we look to keep the pressure on Mercedes and have a good fight with both cars.”