Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg meet at the first corner

Lewis Hamilton is experiencing a challenging start to the season, with a number of technical issues and tumultuous starts. He has yet to have a problem-free weekend, which has allowed Nico Rosberg to widen the gap in the championship. If he wants to keep his chances in the championship alive, the Briton must respond and once again outperform the championship leader. He doesn’t hesitate to point out that he has a 100% success rate when he has no problems in qualifying: “It’s now three poles out of three for me when I’ve been able to complete all the laps in qualifying.”

But he acknowledges that the battle was fierce since Nico Rosberg has been in great form since the beginning of the weekend: « It feels good to finally put a lap together, I am very, very happy. You always need to show this performance, to reassure yourself. Nico has been so fast this weekend, sometimes two-tenths quicker, sometimes more. I could see on my data where I was losing time. So I tried to understand on track, and it’s satisfying to tackle the obstacle and overcome it. »

Lewis Hamilton also knows that the Barcelona circuit is not the easiest for overtaking, so he must be very vigilant about his rival’s strategy: « It’s very difficult to overtake here. The strategy is therefore important, and paying attention to the tires: the forces exerted on this circuit literally eat the tires. So, you have to find the right balance and bring them to the finish. »

Nico Rosberg also knows that it’s at the start that he has the best chance to get the upper hand on his rival: “There is a big opportunity for me at the start: I’ve made good starts this year, and Lewis hasn’t led at the first corner this year. Maybe I’ll have an opportunity in the race tomorrow.”

The appointment is set and it promises to be intense.