Four wins from four races this campaign in a run of seven straight victories has given Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg total command of the Formula One season heading into Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix but teammate Lewis Hamilton is not about to throw in the towel as yet.
Hamilton has been plagued by ill-fortune this term but, despite trailing leader Rosberg by 43 points in the standings, is staying positive heading to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
“Every weekend, we’ve got the car into a great place setup-wise. I just haven’t been fully able to exploit it,” he said. “So the glass is half-full for me. It will be a big challenge but there’s a long way to go with 17 races left and, if the last four are anything to go by, there’s a lot more still to come from us.”
Rosberg, for his part, is aware that Hamilton remains a big threat to his hopes of a maiden world title after the Briton beat him to claim the last two championships.
“It’s not something I could have expected--winning the first four races of the year,” said the German. “It’s been a great start but I’m just enjoying the moment and the form I’m in, doing my best to keep it going and hoping I can carry it through to the end of the season. Sport is all about ups and downs and being mentally prepared to bounce back stronger when they come.”
Should Rosberg survive the European opener with his lead largely intact, he will be in a strong position heading to the classic Monaco race in two weeks having won the last three years in the principality.
Kimi Raikkonen is making the challenge in third for Ferrari while four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel struggles in fifth. Vettel’s challenge has been hampered by clashes with Russian Daniil Kvyat in each of the last two races but he still believes Ferrari can finally compete with Mercedes again after a spell in the wilderness.
“Barcelona is a very good indication of where you are with the car,” he said. “We can see a good reference where we stand, therefore it is incredibly important to get all the details right because you know that track so well. It is very important to get everything together to be able to perform high.”
The recent controversial incidents may have played a part in the decision of Red Bull to demote Kvyat to the junior Toro Rosso team and promote 18-year-old Max Verstappen to partner Daniel Ricciardo in the senior outfit.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing and I can’t wait to jump in the car in Barcelona,” the teenager said. “I have a lot of work to do ahead of the race, lots of data to study but luckily it’s a track I know well because we have driven there so much.”
As pre-season testing takes place in Barcelona, the drivers are all very familiar with the circuit and make use of data gleaned from dozens, if not hundreds of previous laps, but nothing will be taken for granted.
“The Circuit de Barcelona is a track we know well having completed eight days of pre-season testing at the venue,” Pat Symonds, chief technical officer of Williams, said.
“It is, however, a circuit that is very reactive to climatic conditions, even over the course of a day, therefore the car characteristics we saw in the temperatures of February and March, may not necessarily be indicative of what we will see in May,” he warned.

Frustrated Kvyat shrugs off Toro Rosso demotion
Russian Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat has attempted to shrug off his demotion from Red Bull to junior team Toro Rosso ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona this Sunday. “Obviously the decision was a bit of a shock but this is where it is at the moment,” a frustrated Kvyat said yesterday.
Kvyat was promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull in 2015 to replace the departing former world champion Sebastian Vettel but has struggled after a promising debut season. The 22-year-old Kvyat was involved in controversial incidents with Vettel in the last two races, ending his home race in Sochi last time out after a pair of first-lap collisions. “Toro Rosso has given me a very warm welcome,” Kvyat said. “The goals are clear for the team and myself.”
Kvyat’s place with Red Bull has gone to 18-year-old Max Verstappen who said “racing for a top team was always the plan. I’m definitely going to enjoy it”.
Carlos Sainz, Kvyat’s new teammate with Toro Rosso, was laidback about the switch but backed the decision of his bosses.
“There’ve been many changes in the team but I don’t get to analyse them, that’s not my job,” he said. “I fully trust Toro Rosso and Red Bull.”
With Kvyat and Verstappen attending the same tense news conference, senior drivers took the chance to lighten the mood. “They switched drivers? You knew that?” McLaren’s Fernando Alonso asked Mercedes’ world champion Lewis Hamilton when asked for an opinion on the change. “I had no idea!” Hamilton joked back.