F1 Spanish GP talking points

Verstappen versus Ricciardo: Let battle commence
It was only ever a question of when, and not if, Max Verstappen would join one of F1's elite teams. Within 18 months of his Formula 1 debut, his Red Bull promotion offers Max that first shot on the biggest stage.

The fact Verstappen doesn't even turn 19 until the early weeks of autumn means it's premature to suggest he has already 'graduated' from his F1 apprenticeship - but, for the first time in his nascent career, he'll be up against a driver on the other side of the garage who certainly has: Daniel Ricciardo.

According to Helmut Marko, Daniil Kvyat's fluctuating fortunes and ultimate Red Bull demise were caused because he "couldn't handle the pressure" of trying to take on the Australian.

When is the Spanish GP on Sky Sports?

Ricciardo certainly inflicted plenty of damage on his younger team-mate in qualifying and his 4-0 Saturday scoreline in the early rounds of 2016 was achieved with an average lap-time advantage of 0.75 seconds. Verstappen's first challenge will be to get within that mark, although Ricciardo has plenty of starting advantages at Red Bull with age - all eight years of it - and familiarity with the RB12 chief among them.

Verstappen v Ricciardo should be quite the contest. JG

Sainz versus Kvyat: Points to prove
With Verstappen and Kvyat dominating the pre-race headlines, Carlos Sainz has been somewhat sidelined ahead of his home race. But Barcelona, and the rest of the season, can be as crucial for the constant at Toro Rosso as it is for his former team-mate.

More often than not, Red Bull promoting one driver ahead of another presents a huge shift in momentum and Sainz must find the motivation to avoid following the likes of Jean Eric-Vergne, who was similarly overlooked in his bid to reach the next step.

But Red Bull and Helmut Marko still have faith in Sainz and the door is certainly not closed.

As Ted Kravitz wrote, one reason for Verstappen's move is to defuse the "melting pot" at Toro Rosso. Sainz can now build on his encouraging debut year without the pressure of growing tension and an "ugly" rivalry, without having to compare his every race, which have too often been blighted by unreliability, to the Dutchman's.

In the future, Sainz needs one of Ricciardo or Verstappen to move on to pastures new but first he must ensure he remains competitive alongside Kvyat. Should he do that, or even get the better of the Russian, then anything is possible.

As for Kvyat, he will be eager to dominate Sainz to prove he deserves better in Formula 1, whether that's with Red Bull or another frontrunner. He has at least proved the potential is there.

One thing's for sure, a 'fired up for being dropped' Kvyat up against a 'fired up for being overshadowed' Sainz adds another exciting element to the Spanish GP and 2016. MM

Can Lewis' luck change - along with his Barcelona record?
To understand what sort of weekend Lewis Hamilton requires in Barcelona, consider a couple of statements the world champion made two weeks ago when he arrived in Sochi for the Russian GP. And prepare to wince in retrospect.

From Friday: "I am hoping for a clean weekend". And from Thursday, when asked about his deficit to Nico Rosberg: "It's 36 points, it's a lot of points, a race and a bit, and I don't take it for granted. It is a big step."

Alas for Hamilton, it's a deficit which now stands at 43 - bigger than big, then - principally because his hoped-for clean weekend turned out filthily dirty. After a second successive engine failure in qualifying demoted him to 10th on the grid, a water pressure leak on race day effectively confirmed Rosberg as the race victor. Curse what you wish for, Lewis.

But Hamilton won't be alone in the Mercedes garage desperately hoping for a trouble-free weekend in Spain. The whole team, savaged across social media, needs it. Even Rosberg has admitted his victories lack "ecstasy" when achieved while his team-mate is handicapped by unreliability. Hamilton has called on his fans to keep their trust in Mercedes while, for their part, the world champions have branded conspiracy theorists "lunatics" and published an open letter to fans vowing that Rosberg wasn't receiving preferential treatment. But the critics will only be silenced by clean deeds and straightforward weekends - and certainly not by letters describing, to counter-productive effect, Hamilton's second-place finish in Sochi as "miraculous".

Yet might there be a new twist in the 2016 tale this weekend - and one which would see Lewis leave Barcelona once again cursing what he wished for if he finally enjoys a clean weekend?

Bad luck and bad reliability has robustly protected Hamilton - without a victory since October - through the opening four rounds of relentless Rosberg success. But what happens if Rosberg prevails in a straightforward, equal-opportunity battle with his team-mate - which, lest we forget, is exactly what he did 12 months ago at Barcelona and was within half a second of doing so in 2014 as well.

Rosberg, not unreasonably, is considered a Circuit de Catalunya specialist. Judging by his Barcelona record of one victory in nine attempts, Hamilton can't be. Whatever his luck this weekend, he'll need a special performance on Sunday to turn the title tide. PG

Ferrari in desperate need of a win
Let's put it bluntly: the pressure is on Ferrari to deliver in Spain or heads could start to roll.

Ahead of the Chinese GP, Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne fired a warning shot, telling Sky Sports F1: "The team knows that the clock is on and we need to start winning some races and bringing them home".

The two Ferraris subsequently made contact at the first corner in Shanghai, but with Hamilton starting from the back they were able to salvage a second-place finish with Sebastian Vettel, albeit nearly 40 seconds behind race winner Rosberg.

Perhaps the warning from Marchionne explained why Vettel was overly apologetic for the collision on team radio and keen to place the blame on Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat.

Worse was to follow in Russia where Vettel was on the back foot following a gearbox change penalty relegating him down the grid, while Kimi Raikkonen was out-qualified by Valtteri Bottas.

Can Ferrari catch Mercedes in the Spanish GP?

Vettel was eliminated in an opening lap collision with Kvyat, leaving Raikkonen to bring home a third-place finish for Ferrari.

Just four races into the season, Mercedes have scored more than double the number of points of Ferrari and rumours of discontent are growing.

Marchionne is reportedly considering sacking team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, whom he appointed last year, and replacing him with James Allison.

And perhaps changes will come as soon as next week following another Marchionne warning ahead of this weekend's race: "I expect us to win shortly - starting with Spain."

The Scuderia desperately need their first win since Singapore last year and their first in Spain since 2013 on Sunday. WE

Watch the Spanish GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV.