MONTMELO, Spain — Mercedes scored its finest results of the season on the Spanish Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton ending a strong — however nonetheless distant — second to Max Verstappen and George Russell securing third after beginning twelfth on the grid. Given the efficiency benefit Purple Bull has had over the remainder of the sector all season, it was pretty much as good a consequence as Mercedes may hope for, particularly as Russell began the race one place behind Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez and completed one place forward.
Following a significant replace to Mercedes’ automotive on the earlier spherical in Monaco, there is a temptation to leap to the conclusion that the previous champions have made a big step ahead — actually in comparison with Ferrari and Aston Martin, which each had disappointing weekends, and even perhaps versus Purple Bull. However whereas the staff has undoubtedly made progress, it is nonetheless a good distance from the place it desires to be.
Firstly, the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya was all the time prone to be a contented looking floor for Mercedes. As a lot because the automotive advanced with its Monaco upgrades, it nonetheless has a few of the traits of the sooner model of the automotive, each good and dangerous. Chief amongst these in figuring out whether or not the automotive will probably be aggressive on any given Sunday are the traits of the circuit. Any monitor the place the rear tyres take a hammering has precipitated Mercedes points