There have been some changes made to Turn 10 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this winter. The corner has been given a larger radius and is now about 35km/h faster than before. Not everyone is a fan of the changes, but what seems certain is that it plays into Mercedes’ hands more than Red Bull Racing’s.
Max Verstappen stated that turn 10 is now more fun to drive while completing a qualifying lap, but according to the Dutchman, it will reduce the number of overtakes. Sebastian Vettel is happy with the changes, while Lando Norris is less in favour. The grid is divided.
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According to Auto, Motor und Sport the seemingly small change could have a big impact. It would help teams who struggle to keep their rear tyres at temperature for the entire lap.
‘This is good news for everyone who was worried about losing too much time in the third sector with rear tyres that were too hot. Mercedes and Alpine, too. There was no sign of this on the first day of practice’ writes the German medium.
Alpine performed surprisingly well on the first day before the Spanish Grand Prix. Where the French formation did not perform well in the first three weekends of the year, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were in fourth and fifth place in the second free practice.