The biggest news going into this weekend’s race is that Red Bull have swapped Verstappen with Kvyat, moving the Toro Rosso driver to Red Bull. Verstappen will be one to watch this weekend, as he settles into a new team. With a 43 point deficit to Rosberg, Hamilton also needs a brilliant weekend – a long way back due to reliability issues.
Mercedes
Going into the race, Rosberg has a 43 point lead in the championship and will be hoping to extend his lead this weekend. His teammate Hamilton has a big challenge for the rest of the season to catch up with Rosberg. After a run of reliability problems, he is hoping to have a trouble-free weekend and to take his first victory of the season.
Ferrari
After a poor start to the season, Ferrari have already dropped a long way behind Mercedes. President Marchionne has made it clear that he wants to see them winning very soon. However, they need to overcome their engine woes before this is possible.
Williams
Red Bull’s poor race in Russia has allowed Williams to catch up to within 6 points of them, taking 22 points out of their lead. Having qualified 4th in Barcelona for the last two years, Bottas has had strong races here previously. Williams are hoping for another high scoring race this weekend, to allow them to catch up with Red Bull for 3rd in the constructors.
Red Bull
With Kvyat being moved down to Toro Rosso, Verstappen now takes his place alongside Ricciardo in Red Bull. He is looking forward to the opportunity to drive for them for this season:
“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. 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.”
This controversial decision was made after Kvyat’s collision with Vettel in Russia, however this move is rumoured to have been suggested prior to the Russian Grand Prix.
The high-downforce Barcelona circuit should suit their car well, so a podium finish is certainly possible. It will be very interesting to see how Verstappen adapts to the new car and whether he can cope with the pressure.
Force India
After both drivers were hit early on in Russia, Force India yet again lost a lot of points which they were capable of getting. However, their car is much stronger than it was here last year, when they were only able to out-qualify the Manors and therefore started a long way back. This year they will be hoping for a top ten start and a trouble-free race this weekend. They also have a big upgrade planned for this weekend, so it will be interesting to see what difference it makes to the performance.
Toro Rosso
After being moved down to Toro Rosso, Kvyat has a lot to prove in order to prevent his Formula One career from being ruined. The car is much stronger than last time he raced for them, so he should be able to score points this weekend despite the change of teams. However, his teammate Sainz will be a threat to him and he will need to show that he deserves his place within the team or his drive for 2017 could be under threat.
Renault
Their car is clearly behind in terms of performance, with a need for more power and downforce. With the engine upgrades not ready until after this race, they could once again struggle to finish in a strong position in the race. However, they will be hoping to make big improvements in the post-race testing which should make them more competitive.
Sauber
With no points scored yet this season, Sauber are desperate for a strong race. Also missing the testing next week due to financial difficulties, a good result is needed. One positive is that, after asking for a new chassis, Nasr did see an improvement in the car. But he was unfortunately unable to show this in the race after going out on lap 1.
McLaren
A great result last time out, as both drivers finished in the points for the first time this season. Although they did benefit from other drivers having issues, they will have more confidence going into this weekend. Hopefully, they will continue to pick up points for the rest of the season having proved their car is much stronger than last season.
Manor
Manor are hoping to see some developments and improvements this weekend, with many upgrades ready for this weekend. Although we can’t expect a sudden jump in performance, it may bring them closer to the rest of the pack.
Haas
In three out of four races this season so far, Haas have finished in the points. This will give them confidence as they head back to Europe for the European part of the season. Unlike the previous races, they have got data and knowledge of this circuit, having tested here in their pre-season preparations.