Is further power going to be swinging towards Mercedes on the weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix? Lewis Hamilton was the quickest in the second practice of Friday and even though a lot of teams were struggling with the quicker super-soft tyres, that will have at least given Hamilton plenty of confidence to go forward into the weekend with. Hamilton topped out second practice ahead of the two Red Bull cars of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was up in the top four but all of them really looked as if they had more to come. On top of lack of performance from the super soft tyres, the high winds were causing all sorts of distractions and spin-offs and it would make the race pretty interesting if they were to keep up on Sunday.

2017 Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton got the win last season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after he had picked up pole position. Sebastian Vettel though had actually gotten a jump on Hamilton off the start and took the lead into the first corner. Vettel held the lead after the first round of pits and then with the safety car out, Hamilton jumped into the pits for faster tyres, while Vettel went on to medium tyres and he came out of the pit lane right alongside Hamilton and they actually touched wheels. Hamilton went off the track in that but recovered and on the 44th lap had enough in his quicker tyres to pass Vettel on the straight and the held out until the end. Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas took third.

2018 Spanish Grand Prix odds

Lewis Hamilton 11/8, Sebastian Vettel 5/2, Valtteri Bottas 9/2, Max Verstappen 9/1, Daniel Ricciardo 9/1, Kimi Raikkonen 9/1, bar 3001/

2018 Spanish Grand Prix Pole Position Odds

Lewis Hamilton 11/8, Sebastian Vettel 5/2, Valtteri Bottas 10/3, Kimi Räikkönen 8/1, Daniel Ricciardo 16/1, Max Verstappen 16/1, bar 66/1* (betting options taken at 6:02 a.m. on May 12th, 2018)

Preview

Lewis Hamilton has taken two wins at the Gran Premio de España, his success last year adding to his 2014 title. That is three wins in the last four editions of the race that the Mercedes have taken. It has been a tough season for Hamilton so far, his pace hasn’t quite been there and in getting his first win of the season, there was a large slice of luck needed for that to actually happen. Valtteri Bottas looked set for a win before a puncture for the race leader with four laps to go. Hamilton jumped all over the opportunity. Basically, the Mercedes car hasn’t been as consistent or as quick as the team would have liked it but they are hanging in there and Hamilton will be looking to at least get on the podium here.

Ferrari haven’t had a great track record at the Spanish Grand Price really since 2008 and so Vettel is going to have his work cut out for him in trying to land the race win here and put in the best response possible to Hamilton’s win last time out. So it may be worth skipping past him as a winner and the real threats look to be from the Red Bull duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Breaking it down between those two, Verstappen’s volatility has crept up time and time again this season and while he has the pace, the temperament in putting everything together is questionable.

He produced that famous win here though just two years ago for the team and that could put a bit of extra juice in his box. But it really leaves Ricciardo at 9/1 odds with bet365* (betting options taken at 6:02 a.m. on May 12th, 2018) as a decent option to put in a challenge in this one, if he can get himself to at least the second line on the starting grid. Still again the Mercedes and Vettel who can get into the picture, a third-place finish may be a realistic target for Ricciardo. Valtteri Botta’s position is pretty interesting. He doesn’t have the speed that Hamilton has in qualification yet actually hasn’t done all that bad this season.

He wasn’t as quick as Vettel in second practice on Friday but that is two-second-place finishes and really what should have been a win last time out for him. Whereas though Hamilton can create his own fortunes, you get the feeling that Bottas is going to prosper more from other things going his way like people crashing out. But still, he is currently carrying form with him and took a podium finish in Spain last year.

Prediction

Back Hamilton to get to the front of the grid and stay there for 11/8 odds* (betting options taken at 6:02 a.m. on May 12th, 2018) does have appeal. He is able to handle any weird conditions better than others and his quick time in second practice wasn’t even on the quickest tyres. So he should be in the frame for a title defence and we like Ricciardo to get himself up on the podium as well because he looked to be handling the track really well in Friday’s practice after a crash in the first season. It may be a tight scrap then between Vettel and Bottas for the other spot.