Mercedes looks to demoralize Ferrari in Spain

Lowe: "if you're quick around Barcelona, you'll be quick everywhere"

The first European race on the calendar traditionally marks the beginning of a new phase of the F1 season and according to Paddy Lowe, Mercedes F1 Executive Technical Director, it could be a demoralizing weekend for the team's competition.

"Barcelona itself is a circuit which is very demanding of all aspects of car performance," said Lowe.

"There's a common saying in Formula One that if you're quick around Barcelona, you'll be quick everywhere. This makes it an important landmark in the season to see where you stand in performance terms, as most teams will be bringing a range of upgrades."

So if Mercedes can show Ferrari just how superior they are this coming weekend in Spain, Ferrari will know their season, for all intents and purposes, is over.

"Of course, we've all been to this circuit already in 2016 during winter testing – but it's a very different track in May compared to how it was back in March. It will be much warmer and the tires will behave differently.

"We have the Hard, Medium and Soft compounds to choose from, which presents some challenges. The Soft will be essential for qualifying but not be a great race tire, so determining the optimum strategy will be a focal point.

"Qualifying and race starts will also be important, as it is notoriously difficult to overtake at this circuit. But the highest priority is to come back with our MGU-H problem solved, having had a repeat fault over the past two race weekends. The team has been working day and night to understand it and we're targeting a clean weekend all round."