Much of the build-up to the Spanish Grand Prix focussed on the notion that, after a sequence of outliers, a visit to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya represented a return to a ‘normal’ sort of track. If so, it’s an odd sort of ‘normal’. Recent tweaks have made it one of the fastest circuits on the calendar, overtaking can be difficult, and tyre performance here doesn’t really follow the established pattern.
What it means is that we have a strategic race where anything goes: multiple stops, wide pit windows and, if qualifying is to be trusted, the closest field we’ve seen in years. Buckle-up, this one’s going to be exciting…

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