Who can pull an upset at the Spanish Grand Prix?
Since 2007, nine different drivers won the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix. Will the tradition continue or will the Mercedes’ superiority put a stop to it?
Odds are in favour of Rosberg
Let’s be honest – Mercedes is an absolute favorite. With Nico Rosberg being in excellent form with a hot streak of seven consecutive wins and Lewis Hamilton being so desperate to bounce back and keep himself in the battle for the title, we can assume that Mercedes is quite keen to win. But, is there something more to it?
Pastor Maldonado scored his sole GP win in Spain
This year’s Ferrari looks extremely unconvincing. It should be noted that Sebastian Vettel was extremely unlucky so far, and Kimi Raikkonen, despite giving his best and pulling a maximum out of the car, he wasn’t anywhere near a victory in the four opening rounds. Anyway, both of them already have wins in Spain in their books – so the tradition is against them too.
So, if we are convinced that Mercedes is a clear favorite at the Catalunya Circuit, and considering that fact that the teams like Manor or Sauber are total outsiders, the only thing that can stop the Mercedes team from winning at Catalunya Circuit is the tradition. In the last nine Spanish GPs, only Pastor Maldonado’s victory in 2012 was a real surprise, as the Venezuelan driver was the one-win wonder.
At Catalunya, it’s all about the qualifying
A very substantial thing to know before the Spanish Grand Prix is the importance of qualifying. Seven of nine previous winners started from pole position at Catalunya Circuit which doesn’t have too many suitable places for overtaking. In fact, it has one place.
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
Can Ricciardo be the one to continue tradition?
If we must pick one name who can make a surprise, that should be Daniel Ricciardo, but he will need a lot of luck to win this race. Red Bull Racing is looking better than it was expected, so the Australian maybe the one to grab a surprise victory. And for that he would have to be in absolute favor of the Lady Luck.
List of the Spanish Grand Prix winners 2007 – 2015
2007: Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
2008: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2009: Jenson Button (Brawn GP)
2010: Mark Webber (Red Bull)
2011: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2012: Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
2013: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2014: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
