Mercedes back on pole at Barcelona, but neither Hamilton nor third-placed Bottas expecting an easy race-day fight with Ferrari; Sunday's Spanish GP live only on Sky Sports F1 at 1pm
Sunday 14 May 2017 13:24, UK
Lewis Hamilton is braced for a "tough race" in Sunday's Spanish GP after Ferrari and Mercedes remained locked together in qualifying despite the introduction of a suite of upgrades on both cars at Barcelona.
Although the Ferrari and Mercedes cars have been radically altered since the start of the season, with the Silver Arrows launching an extensive and conspicuous upgrade package this weekend, the two frontrunners still appear to be all-but equal on pace.
In a thrilling conclusion to Saturday's qualifying hour, Hamilton held on to his 64th F1 career pole position by less than a tenth of a second from title leader Sebastian Vettel.
"It was really intense for us, making sure we pulled out every millisecond we can. It's strange that we bolt on all this stuff and we still remain within half a tenth of each other," observed a relieved Hamilton. "But it's great for the races."
Such is the nip-and-tuck nature of F1 2017's box-office duel that Hamilton admitted Mercedes' engineers, armed with extensive amounts of data after practice, could not say for sure which team had the quicker car heading into qualifying.
Spanish GP Qualifying: The full story
But after failing to improve his provisional pole time on his final Q3 lap, Hamilton is nonetheless optimistic he still has more speed in hand for Sunday's race.
"We knew it was going to be tight," he told Sky Sports News HQ. "It was impossible for the engineers to say whether we were ahead or behind in theoretical lap times.
"But we were really great in Q1, Q2 and I don't know whether they lost time, or they gained time, or they turned their engine up for Q3, but they definitely gained ground. But there was more time in my lap, in the second one, so I'll try to utilise that tomorrow."
While Mercedes have made visually-apparent changes to the W08 in Spain, Ferrari's alterations, which began in Bahrain two races ago and have continued in Barcelona, have been more subtle and difficult to spot.
But they proved just as effective as Mercedes' in qualifying at the Circuit de Catalunya when only an error at the last corner prevented Vettel claiming a remarkable pole having very nearly parked-up his Ferrari at the start of the session.
But the stage is instead set for another head-to-head duel between the title combatants in Sunday's race with both Vettel and Hamilton understandably wary of the threat posed by Valtteri Bottas - who, like in Russia when he claimed his maiden F1 win, will start from third.
Sky F1's Spanish GP Sunday schedule
"It will be a tough race for sure when you see how close it is between us," said Hamilton. "There is a long run down to Turn One and I'm just hoping l can make a good start. It's then a long, hard race here, both physically and mentally - and for the car."
Bottas, who like Vettel had to revert to a used engine before qualifying, is also expecting another race-long fight for supremacy with the Ferraris.
"For sure there was performance loss with the old engine and also a bit of a loss with less running compared to the other guys in practice," Bottas told SSN HQ.
"But the team did a great job overnight and this morning getting everything together and the car was working well. So still all to play for tomorrow. We are starting first and third as a team and again it's going to be a tight fight with the Ferraris."
Hamilton and Bottas are separated by 10 points in the standings, but leader Vettel would stretch his overall advantage to at least 20 points were he to defeat both Mercedes cars over Sunday's race distance.
"Every race is just as big as the other but it's important to maximise on every point," admitted Hamilton, a winner at Barcelona in 2014.
"I'm something like 10 points [13] behind Sebastian, so every second and moment counts more than ever before. So whether it's this race, the next one, or the one before, every race counts so I really hope that the weekend can continue the way it has done so far."
Don't miss the Spanish GP exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday - lights out for the race is at 1pm. Check out all the ways to watch F1 on Sky Sports for subscribers and non-subscribers - including a NOW TV day pass for £6.99!
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