It was Verstappen who dominated at Silverstone last weekend to take Red Bull’s first win of the season, and with Mercedes concerned that the tyre issues that struck them at the two British rounds will reappear in Barcelona, he is best placed to challenge Hamilton as he starts third on the grid behind Bottas.
Verstappen is Hamilton’s nearest challenger in the championship standings with a 30-point margin at the top of the table, and another Red Bull win would really open up the title battle. Behind Verstappen, the returning Sergio Perez leads a Racing Point one-two with Lance Stroll, with Alex Albon sixth and the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel disappointing once again in ninth and 11th. Follow the live updates below.
Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of this afternoon's Spanish Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton starts from pole position for the fourth time this season ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
However, the threat may come from the Red Bull of Max Verstappen behind, with tyre strategy set to be another major factor in deciding today's victor as it did one week ago at Silverstone due to the high temperatures in Barcelona this weekend.
With lights out scheduled for 2:10p BST, we'll bring you all the build-up to the sixth race of the season.
More than four months later than planned, Formula One finally rolls into Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix.
It's been an awful long time since pre-season testing, but back in February we got to see the first signs of Mercedes' dominance and their new DAS system, which caused such a stir at the start of the season.
However, DAS has not been anywhere near as significant as the way that Mercedes and Red Bull are looking after their tyres in hot temperatures this season, and that's exactly why we may have a race on our hands today. Max Verstappen prevailed last time out as Hamilton and Bottas struggled massively with blisters on their Pirellis, and the Red Bull driver is hopeful that the sunshine at Catalunya this afternoon will lead to the same.
If Mercedes do struggle, they will need to stop more or drive slower to manage the tyres and make the end of the race, which could open the door for Red Bull to snatch another win.
Following his first win of the season, Verstappen spoke to The Independent exclusively about his hopes for the rest of the season and where he sees the battle this weekend playing out.
A good weekend for the Dutchman would see him on the podium, but a perfect weekend? Verstappen believes they can win the race, even if he's keeping himself grounded.
The cars get out for the first time today as the pits open for the reconnaissance laps to the grid, with Catalunya springing into life. It's roasting hot in Barcelona this afternoon, and with most of the top 10 on the softest tyres, they're not going to last long on their first stints before needing to pit.
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It was another Saturday to remember for Lewis Hamilton, who not only clinched his fourth pole position of the season, but became the first F1 driver in history to secure 150 front-row starts during his illustrious career.
Here's a look back at how qualifying played out yesterday.
Red Bull have made changes to Max Verstappen's Red Bull under parc ferme conditions overnight, having spotted anomalies in his data at the end of qualifying yesterday. The changes don't come with any penalties as Red Bull have installed new parts from a previously-used engine, meaning he will be clear to start in third.
"After spotting an anomaly on the data from Max's PU we decided it would be best to change it to a previously used PU for the race and were granted permission to do so by the FIA," a Red Bull spokesperson has told Motorsport.com.
As well as Verstappen, Hamilton has made a late change, with his front-left tyre changed from the set he used in Q2 as it was deemed damaged and unsafe.
The 'End Racism' message from the 20 F1 drivers is played once again ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix, with the sport continuing its push to fight racial inequality and try to find new avenues to open itself up to more diversity and inclusion.
As was the case in Silverstone, F1 allocates a but more time than normal for the drivers to gather at the front of the grid, with the same 13 drivers taking a knee and the seven behind them standing as the sport pushes its anti-racism campaign.
The drivers are being strapped inside their cockpits and we're just five minutes away from lights out.
It's going to be all about strategy, strategy, strategy today, with a two-stop option the most likely candidate for the bulk of the field. However, Pirelli believe the three-stop option could yet prove competitive, while we saw last week the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Esteban Ocon make a shorter strategy work. Could anyone one-stop? It looks unlikely.
The cars ignite into life as the grid clears, and the long run to Turn One is revealed to the drivers. It's one of the longest drags to the first corner on the calendar, and gives the perfect chance for those in second, third and even fourth to slipstream the leader and fight for the lead.
As he has done previously this season, Hamilton is crawling around the formation lap, trying to preserve as much life in his tyres as possible. He leads the field round to the grid ... here we go ...
Lap 1: What a nightmare start for Bottas! Hamilton gets away supremely from pole, and Verstappen follows behind to drag his way past Bottas and move up to second. As they go side-by-side, Stroll appears on Bottas's inside and he takes third, and Bottas has to fight Perez off to prevent himself from slipping down to fifth!
Lap 2: Bottas is told to keep calm and focus, but in the distance he can see Hamilton disappearing out in front. That start has massively compromised his race.
Lap 4: Stroll is under attack from Bottas, who now has DRS to his aid, but Stroll positions his car well in the middle of the track that forces the Mercedes to remain behind ... for now.
Lap 5: This time Stroll does not fight it as Bottas has enough speed to pull alongside and clear the Racing Point before Turn One. That moves him up to third, but he's 3.7s back from Hamilton.
Lap 6: Verstappen is keeping pace with Hamilton, with the gap just 1.4s and their times almost matching. Red Bull radio in to their man to say the gap is coming down, but Verstappen believes Mercedes may be up to a few tricks.
"Yeah I know, but he is just driving super slow," Verstappen replies.
Lap 7: Why is Hamilton going slow? For two reasons: one is the fact that Mercedes can't afford to take too much life out of their tyres too early, and the other is that the slower Hamilton goes, the more be brings Bottas back into play to attack Verstappen. The gap between second and third is just 1.8s.
The Spanish Grand Prix takes place across 14 - 16 August 2020.
How can I watch it?
All European races will be held behind closed doors, meaning that the only way fans will be able to see the action is on television.
In the UK, Sky Sports continue to hold the exclusive rights for F1, with Channel 4 only able to show the British Grand Prix live as they are restricted to highlights coverage the rest of the year.
If you’re not a Sky customer you can purchase a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
Here’s how Sky and Channel 4 plan to show the Spanish Grand Prix:
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What time does each session start?
FRIDAY
Free practice 1: 10am – 11:30pm BST
Free practice 2: 2pm – 3:30pm BST
SATURDAY
Free practice 3: 11am – 12pm BST
Qualifying: 2pm – 3pm BST
SUNDAY
Race: 2:10pm – 4:10pm BST
Driver changes
Sergio Perez is back in the Racing Point after missing the last two races due to coronavirus, meaning he returns to replace Nico Hulkenberg for the Spanish Grand Prix and beyond.
Grid
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 15.584secs
2 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:15.643
3 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:16.292
4 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:16.482
5 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:16.589
6 Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:17.029
7 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:17.044
8 Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:17.084
9 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:17.087
10 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:17.136
