Analysis: Why This Year's Spanish Grand Prix is Set to be a Thriller

On the 2nd June, F1 revealed an 8 race European season to kickstart the Coronavirus Pandemic-affected 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. As part of this, the Spanish Grand Prix was announced to be held on August 14th-16th, in the middle of summer.

This marks the first time that the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been held so late in the summer, in a period of time when temperatures will be swelteringly hot. The race is normally held in the months of April/May, with the exceptions of the first Grand Prix at Barcelona in 1991 (held 29th September) and the 1996 race (held 2nd June). The reason for this is that temperatures are of a much more reasonable heat, with average temperatures in the high teens/low 20s (Centigrade) in April/May, rather than high 20s/low 30s in July/August.

Over the past few years, Mercedes have been the team to beat in F1, taking the championship double every year since the hybrid engine regulations came into force in 2014. However, in recent years, they have started to show a chink in their armour, with cooling being a particular issue the team have significantly struggled with. This has caused Mercedes to often run in lower engine modes than they would like to, and sometimes even causes retirements in the race.

With this year's Spanish Grand Prix set to go ahead in possibly some of the highest temperatures we will see all season, Mercedes have every right to be extremely nervous, and fans have every right to be extremely excited, for a race that the preseason favourites may suffer a very large blow. And in a shortened season, each race will be more valuable than previous years, and any issues or retirements could have lasting championship implications.

Red Bull are the only team other than Mercedes to win at Barcelona since 2014, with Max Verstappen taking a historic win on his Red Bull debut in 2016 at just 18 years old. Going into 2020, Red Bull look to be closest to Mercedes, and with their past form at the Spanish venue, they will be licking their lips for a race where they may potentially have the fastest car.

Max Verstappen's Maiden F1 Win - 2016 Spanish Grand Prix

Racing Point surprised everyone at preseason testing to seemingly have the 3rd fastest car in 2020, however as their car is essentially a 2019 Mercedes copy, it is likely they will suffer the same cooling issues as Mercedes. This will be particularly good news for Ferrari and McLaren, the 2 teams who looked to be battling for the 4th quickest car. Ferrari will be hoping that they manage to improve the SF1000 to become a consistent race winner before August, however if not this could be their only opportunity to seriously challenge for the win in 2020, whilst McLaren will see this as an opportunity to finally break onto the podium without the aid of penalties for the first time since 2014. 

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hasn't always provided the best races, however should a later summer date prove to be the catalyst it needs for a thriller, then that could potentially save the Spanish Grand Prix for 2021 and beyond.