2016 Spanish Grand Prix

Championship standings

Rosberg leads Hamilton by 43 points after four maximum scores. Räikkönen is third with 43 points, Ricciardo fourth, Vettel fifth. Mercedes holds an 81-point advantage over Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings.

Previous race

Rosberg achieved the first grand slam of his career in Russia — pole, fastest lap, led every lap, and won — extending his winning streak to four races in a row. Hamilton started tenth after a hybrid unit failure in qualifying and finished second. On the first lap, Kvyat hit Vettel twice and sent him into retirement; the radio outburst from Vettel afterwards was described as “one of the most explosive… for years.”

Between-race developments

Red Bull have swapped Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen. Verstappen joins Red Bull Racing; Kvyat returns to Toro Rosso. Red Bull cited pressure on Kvyat following his role in the Russian first-lap accident and ongoing tension between Verstappen and Sainz at Toro Rosso. Kvyat described himself as “shocked” at his demotion. This is Verstappen’s first race with Red Bull.

Entrants

Esteban Ocon makes his first free practice appearance of the season for Renault, replacing Palmer in FP1, but suffered a tyre failure from debris and could not set a timed lap.

Tyres

Pirelli brings the hard, medium and soft compounds — the first appearance of the orange hard tyre this season. All other teams except Sauber have introduced car updates for this race; Sauber’s financial difficulties continue and they have announced they will miss the mid-season test.

Car upgrades

With Spain being the first European race, most teams bring their first major updates. Mercedes runs a revised front wing with a modified nose alongside changes to the engine cover and rear wing. McLaren has made significant changes to the MP4-31, most notably an extensively revised front wing. Force India has updated the VJM09 airflow. Renault has introduced a new chassis for Palmer. Both Sauber and Haas are now running the updated Ferrari power unit introduced in Russia.

Practice

FP1: Ferrari set the pace — both Vettel and Räikkönen on the soft compound ahead of Mercedes. Verstappen was sixth, faster than Ricciardo in his first session for Red Bull. Kvyat, back at Toro Rosso, was half a second behind teammate Sainz. Pérez was limited to nine laps after smoke appeared at the rear of his car.

FP2: Mercedes led, with Rosberg 2.5 tenths clear of Räikkönen and Hamilton third. Räikkönen was called back to the pits to investigate a fuel system problem. Jolyon Palmer suffered a tyre failure on the start-finish straight — the second such failure for Renault with no debris trace found.

FP3: Rosberg fastest (1:23.078), a time that stood for the full session. Hamilton was second, Vettel third. Verstappen was fourth, ahead of Ricciardo — the first time this weekend he outpaced the Australian. A sensor malfunction sent Rosberg briefly to the garage before his qualifying preparation laps.