Can Merced🦋es avoid a repeat of its tyre struggles a✃t this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, or will Max Verstappen once again take advantage to thrust himself into Formula 1 title contention?

Both Lewis Hamilton and polesitter Valtteri Bottas were hampered by tyre wear and blistering problems throughout the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, which paved the way for Verstap🦋pen to score a sensational surprise victꦗory for Red Bull.

The reigning world championship-w🍷inning squad has turned its attention to resolving its tyre issues in the short turnaround between races at Silverstone and Barcelona in a bid to overcome the problem.

Temperatures are forecast to hit highs of around 30 degr🦹ees Celsius at the Spanish Grand Prix’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya venue this weekend, which like Silverstone, 🎉is renowned for being another demanding circuit on tyres.

After discovering it is at the “very worst end” of the blistering p༺roblem, Mercedes chief race engineer Andrew Sholvin admitted his team is in a race against time to try and get on top🎶 of the issue.

“There’s a🐭n element of urgency here becaus🗹e we’re flying out [to Spain] on Tuesday, running on Friday,” he said. “It’s forecast to be 30C, the track will be a bit like this, it’s a high-energy circuit.

“So we’re well aware that if we don’t get on top of it we’ve got another Sunday looking sill🐈y.”

World championship leader Hamilton is bracing himself fo𝓡r another difficult challenge in Barcelona, with the Briton predicting a repeat ღof the tyre blistering problems that hampered Mercedes at Silverstone.

“I expect that track, we will probably have similar problems𝓀 to what we had here, especially if it’s hot conditionsꦡ,” Hamilton explained.

“Maybe i🔯t won’t be as bad as today but it’s still going to be a challenge. It’s (the tyre selection🎶) going to be the same as last week? So still going to be a serious challenge for us.”

Barcelona was the scene of a t🧸yre meltdown for Mercedes in 2013, when Hamilton and th🉐en-teammate Nico Rosberg dramatically fell from the front-row in the race amid sweltering conditions. 

Is Verstappen a real title contender?

Following his brilliant win in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Verstappen has lifted himself ahead of Bottas and up to second place in the championship standinꦏg꧃s, 30 points behind Hamilton.

Despite retiring from the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, a remarkable run of consistency has kept Verstappen within touching distance of Hamilton with his victory at Silv🌞erstone marking his fourth straight podium finish.

Ahead of last weekend’s race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had stressed the need for caution in thinking his side were going to be runaway winners t🍨his season, and he now fully believes that Verstappen is a genuine threat in the title race.

Speaking about Merce♛des’ first defeat of the season, Wolff said: “I kind of enjoy the situation because everyone was saying, 'OK, this is going to be a walk in the park for Mercedes,' and here we go.

"That wasn't at all a walk in the park. We were certainly not the quickest car, maybe not even the second quickest car. We have seen in the past that the hot conditions somehow d🎃on't suit our car but it's much more complex than that.

"I'm really curious to see and interested to see ho♊w we're going to do in Barcelona. We have a handful of days to understand, and there is nothing better than🍸 a great challenge.

"We embrace the challenge, we love the fight, and they're a strong competitor and Max is a very go🤪od driver.

"If you consider they had a full DNF at the ൩beginning of the season, that gap is not large. It would only be five points behind and not 30.

"There are maybe 10 more races to go. DNFs can quickly make the points swing, and yeah, it could be much more interesting than many people were afraid𓂃 of t🍬wo weeks ago.”

But Verstappen is refusing to get carried away aftꦗer becoming the first non-Mercedes victor this season and feels the gap to Hamilton will still be difficult to overhaul.

“I think that to🔯 fully closeꦡ that gap will be very hard,” he conceded.

“When we go back to conservative tyres everywhere – because basically most of the tracks we go to we are jus✨t doing a one stop – I think it will be a bit harder for us because then nobody really has blistering that severe, and you don’t need to manage as much as we did [at Silverstone]. We will see.”

Tensions ramp up off-track

The☂ controversy surrounding the FIA’s decision to dock Racing Point 15 constructors’ ꦐchampionship points and hand the team a €400,000 fine in the brake duct ‘copying’ saga shows little sign of let-up heading to Spain.

Ferrari and Renault have opted to lodge an official appeal against the verdict, while McLaren and William👍s have opted against appealing.

Racing Point themselves wish to appeal, believing that the penalty handed to them was too extrem🐓e. It came after team owner Lawrence Stroll made a rare public statement saying he is “appalled” by the situation.

♈Meanwhile, fo🅠llowing Mercedes’ reluctance to sign the new Concorde Agreement, F1 has pushed back the deadline to sign from August 12 to August 18.

The new agreement will formally define the direction of the future of the sport, committing teams to F1 for 2021-2025. Ferrari, McLaren and Williams have already🧔 stated they a💧re willing to sign the terms, but objections raised by Mercedes have resulted in a delay.

When is the Spanish GP on TV?

Friday August 14

Free Practice 1: 10:00am-11:30am BST (11:00am-12:30pm local)
Free Practice 2: 2.00pm-3.30pm BST ൲(3.00pm-4.30p🧜m local)

Saturday August 15

Free Practice 3: 11:00am-12:00pm BST (12:00pm-1.00pm local)
Qualifying: 2:00pm-3:00pm BST 🐟(3:00pm-4:00pm locꦆal)

Sunday August 16

Race: 2.10pm BST (3:10pm local)

Spanish GP Pirelli tyre allocation

For the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona, Pirelli is bringing the C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft) compounds, the same selections as used during the Briti✨sh Grand Prix weekend.

For at least the first eight races of 2020, each driver will have an allocation of eight sets of the red-walled Softs, three sets of the yellow-♊walled Mediums, and two sets of the white-walled Ha൩rds.

Recent Spanish GP Winners:

2019: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2018: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2016: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2015: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2014: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2013: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2012: Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
2011: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010: Mark Webber (Red Bull)