The 2022 season of the Formula 1 World Championship continues to land in our country. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya opens its doors to host a new edition of the Spanish GP. With Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso as local heroes, the championship reaches a stage that all the drivers and teams know perfectly, perhaps better than any other. After the Miami GP dispute, Charles Leclerc is the leader of the championship with 104 points, nineteen more than Max Verstappenwinner in the American city.
Looking at the script of the previous five tests, with constant duels between Charles and Marc, both parties as great favorites to win the Spanish GP. At the end, the Ferrari driver and the Red Bull driver shared the wins so far this season with Leclerc taking victory in Bahrain and Australia, while Verstappen has won in Saudi Arabia, Imola and Miami. Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz himself are called to be an alternative to their teammates.
A bunch of ‘new’ faces
The dispute of the first free practice session will allow to see some ‘new’ helmets on the trackbeyond the aesthetic changes made by most of the drivers on the grid in this element. Nyck de Vries, reigning Formula E champion who has just won one of the two Berlin ePrix races, will take the wheel of Alex Albon’s Williams. For its part, Robert Kubica will have the opportunity to get on the car of the Chinese Guanyu Zhoufor which he will compete in FP1 with the Alfa Romeo.
With everything, the main novelty is the presence of Juri Vips in Sergio Pérez’s car. It will not be the Estonian driver’s debut at the controls of a Formula 1, since he participated in the post-season tests last year, although it will be his debut in a new generation single-seater. Vips entered the Red Bull Junior Team in 2018 and has been a reserve and simulator driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri since 2020. Now he will have the opportunity to compete in the first free practice sessions of a Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso compete at home
Naturally, all eyes are on the two home riders. Carlos Sainz has set himself the ambitious goal of winning at home, in front of his fans. Without a doubt, it would be the perfect ending to the Spanish GP to have Sainz on top of the podium, since achieving the first win in Formula 1 in your country must be something unforgettable. For its part, Fernando Alonso prefers to talk on the track and will look for a good result that it does justify the performance it is offering on top of the Alpine.
Experience all the excitement of the Spanish GP at Motor.es, starting with free practice on the weekend. Although it is true that the three sessions prior to qualifying have a slightly different schedule than we had until now, the drivers and teams are going to take advantage of every minute on the track to try out the novelties they have brought to Barcelona. Don’t miss out on the free practice sessions of the Spanish GP with our live commentary.