BARCELONA, Spain -- After four consecutive one-two victories for Mercedes in the first four races, a lot rests on this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix injecting some excitement into the season. Ferrari has shown promise throughout the opening four races and, arguably, had the quicker car in two of the four. However, from the raw numbers we saw during Friday practice, there is little hope Spain will be the turnaround Ferrari was hoping for.
On single-lap pace, Ferrari had a 0.3s deficit to Mercedes and on like-for-like long runs the gap extended to 0.4s to 0.5s. The Mercedes, at least in Valtteri Bottas' hands, looked like the more drivable car and, after a series of Friday practice sessions where Ferrari appeared to have the edge, Mercedes heads into qualifying day as the clear favourites.