FORMULA 1 - 2016

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BARCELONA FP2: ROSBERG BACK ON TOP\

Formula 1 world championship leader Nico Rosberg set the practice pace on Friday for a Spanish Grand Prix that could see the Mercedes driver celebrate his eighth win in a row.

The German, who would become only the third driver to win the first five races of a season after compatriot Michael Schumacher and Britain’s Nigel Mansell if he triumphs on Sunday, led the way with a fastest time of one minute 23.922 seconds.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had been fastest in the morning session in 1:23.951 and was fourth in the second session.

Both were well inside Rosberg’s 2015 pole position time of 1:24.681.

Vettel’s team mate Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest in both sessions, 0.254 adrift of Rosberg in the afternoon, with three-times world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth in the morning but third after lunch.

Ferrari were the only ones using the quicker, soft tyres in the morning, having opted for more sets than their rivals as they feel their car is better suited to them.

Hamilton is 43 points behind Rosberg in the standings after suffering power unit failures in the last two race weekends that sent him to the back of the field in China and to 10th on the starting grid in Russia.

Mercedes said they had changed the turbo and a part of the energy recovery system for Barcelona.

But limited time to change the design since the last race in Russia meant they had just one example available and getting it ready in time had taken a “superhuman” effort, the team said.

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen was sixth and eighth on his practice debut with Red Bull after leaving Toro Rosso in a swap with Russian Daniil Kvyat. Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo was quicker in both.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz was ahead of both Red Bulls in the afternoon.

Spain’s Fernando Alonso, twice the world champion, was 10th and seventh on another encouraging day for McLaren after last year’s struggles.

Mexican Sergio Perez had a difficult morning, stopping with two-thirds of the session remaining after smoke came from the rear of his Force India car. The team have brought major aerodynamic upgrades to Spain.

French rising star and reserve Sebastien Ocon made his practice debut with Renault, taking the car that Britain’s Jolyon Palmer will race on Sunday, but was unable to set a lap time due to technical problems.

Palmer also had problems in the afternoon, with a tyre blowout halting the session.

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VETTEL: MARCHIONNE’S PRESSURE SHOWS HE CARES

Sebastian Vettel says the pressure put on Ferrari by its president Sergio Marchionne is positive for the team.

This week, with the Maranello marque having failed to win one of the four races so far, Marchionne declared that he “expects” victory in Barcelona, because Ferrari “deserves” it.

When asked about the effect that sort of pressure has on the team, German Vettel answered: “I don’t want to comment on what is in the press but I know enough of what he has told me.”

“But it’s great to see that he cares and that he is as disappointed and frustrated as we all are that we have not achieved the results that we should have.”

“I see it more positively than what the media calls pressure. I think it’s good that the president is behind us,” Vettel added.

His teammate Kimi Raikkonen also sounded positive on Thursday, saying that while Ferrari is still behind, the gap to Mercedes is no longer huge.

“If you look at how many points are still available, we are not so far away from the top,” said the Finn.

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DENNIS: NO HONDA CUSTOMERS BEFORE WE WIN F1 TITLE

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis has indicated he will not give the green light for Honda to begin supplying engines to customer teams.

A new rule means engine manufacturers in F1 must be prepared to supply up to three teams per season, but Dennis has a reported contractual veto guaranteeing an exclusive works arrangement for the Woking team.

Reports this week have linked Toro Rosso and Force India with potential Honda deals for 2017 but Dennis says it is important for McLaren to focus on its own targets for now.

“If you want to win world championships, plural, which we absolutely do, you have to be aligned with a manufacturer, toe to toe, head to head, and fully prioritised,” he said in an interview with F1 Racing magazine.

“And after you’re begun to reap the competitive benefits of that mutually loyal one-to-one commitment, and on-track success duly begins to come, then you can consider supplying other teams, but not before,” Dennis said in the interview to mark McLaren’s 50th anniversary.

“Yes, we at McLaren want to be good formula one citizens, and we always have been, but altruistic behaviour of that nature must also be set against a background of fair, pragmatic and sensible business practices.

“So if you want to hear it in blunt terms, let’s get to the point where we’ve won the world championship first and then we’ll think about it,” he added.

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FERRARI ENGINE ONLY SAUBER UPDATE IN SPAIN SAYS NASR

Sauber’s only update for the Spanish grand prix is a new Ferrari engine specification according to their Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr, amid the Swiss team’s obvious financial troubles.

Most teams launch significant chassis and aerodynamic upgrades at the first European race of the season.

But Nasr was quoted by Brazil’s UOL in Barcelona: “The only update we have this weekend comes from Ferrari.”

The works team Ferrari used performance tokens to update its engines in Russia, and now customer Sauber will fit the new power units to its cars in Spain.

“On the aerodynamic side, we have nothing,” Nasr admitted. “The others bring updates because, as it is the same track as testing, you can compare the improvement of your car really well here.

“The result of the Spanish grand prix usually ends up dictating what the European season will be like,” he added.

Even backmarker Manor has an update for Barcelona, causing Pascal Wehrlein to say this week that moving past Sauber is now the team’s goal.

“That they were already close, yes, that was clear,” Nasr acknowledged. “What we have to do is focus on our work. It may be that this update from Ferrari helps us a little.

“We will have to do what we can.”

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MASSA OPPOSED TO VISOR TEAR-OFF BAN

Felipe Massa says he does not support the FIA’s forthcoming ban on discarding helmet visor tear-offs on the track.

Actually, the ban was originally intended for the start of the 2016 season but F1 will now enforce it as of Monaco later this month.

“I don’t think there’s a need for it (the ban),” said Williams driver and F1 veteran Massa.

“I have heard arguments that the strips can get into the brake ducts and cause them to overheat, but I’ve never seen that there were serious accidents because of that reason.

“Instead, the strips play an important role in improving the visibility for the drivers,” added the Brazilian. “We should be able to throw them away, if necessary.

“Sometimes the visor gets dirty very quickly, and for safety it is important to be able to clean it straight away,” said Massa.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari drivers defend Arrivabene amid replacement rumours

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have both strongly defended Ferrari team principal Maurizo Arrivabene, amid rumours the Italian could be replaced following a disappointing start to the season.

Italian media have suggested Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is considering a management reshuffle which could see technical boss James Allison promoted to team principal, replacing Arrivabene, after Ferrari failed to win any of the opening four races.

However Vettel has branded the rumours "bullshit", admitting he is happy with the job Arrivabene is doing.

"I know there has been some rumours and some bullshit lately, but we are very happy that he is with us and not with somebody else," said the four-time world champion.

"He is reachable, accessible for all the people," he said on Friday. "He spends a lot of time with the team, not just here but also in Maranello."

Meanwhile team-mate Raikkonen has called Arrivabene "the best team boss" he has ever had.

"He is the best team boss I have ever had," added the Finn. "I think he is exactly the right guy for this job and he does a good job.

"The team... we are good together and we will get where we want to go, but it is not always easy to go."

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Button: We had a pretty bad day

McLaren's Jenson Button expressed his frustration after a tough day for the English-based side during practice sessions one and two.

The 2009 World Champion suffered some early problems during the second session and only completed 20 laps.

Button, though, explained that there were some positives to take out of Friday's sessions as they managed to sort out the issues late into FP2 and put in some solid laps.

"We had a pretty bad day, FP1 was tough and in FP2 we couldn’t get the car out of the garage for most of the session," the 36-year-old claimed.

"But eventually we managed to get a bit of running and the long run pace didn’t look too bad. On the soft tyre we actually found a good balance, as we were having issues with the rear tyres floating all day. We’re getting there, so tomorrow will be a lot better.

"In the end today was not too bad, as we found the balance, but until then it had been a pretty bad day in terms of finding the balance. We made some big changes and now the car feels better. We’re a bit behind in the game but we’re getting there.

"Every race is the same, we have a lot of developments and that’s fantastic. We spent a lot of time throughout the day finding out if the new parts work or not, so Friday is always a busy day. Tomorrow we can focus more on qualifying work.

"We want to get into Q3 and then be consistently in there. We want to be consistently in the points, but this is going to be a tough weekend. I don’t think it’s going to be easy to score points, but we’ll do our best."

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Horner labels new F1 engine deal as "very weak"

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has labelled Formula 1's new engine agreement as 'very weak' in failing to solve the sport's real problems.

Despite manufacturers and the FIA being bullish about the deal to sort out cost, performance and supply issues, Horner remains unhappy about the plan.

"It is a little underwhelming," explained Horner at the Spanish Grand Prix. "It's a very soft agreement between the manufacturers and the FIA.

"It tickles the price, deals a little bit with convergence, the obligation to supply doesn't really apply, so it's a very weak agreement.

"Unfortunately it's a shame more couldn't be done, but I suppose if you look on the bright side it's better than nothing."

Manufacturers happy

Despite Horner not being satisfied with what has been put on the table, both Renault and Mercedes have spoken in support of the agreement.

Renault's Cyril Abiteboul said: "We are pleased with this agreement in particular. What's good now is to have a clear understanding of what's coming up for the next few years. We all know stability is important, so we have agreed for some stability up to 2020.

"We have also agreed for price reduction for customer teams, that's clear, that's agreed. There is also a clear target to get the performance to converge, because we all believe that it's important for Formula 1.

"We believe it is happening anyway, but there is this clear target. It cannot be a guarantee, because no one can guarantee performance. You can't guarantee performance in the wind tunnel, same thing with engine.

"But we all know what we have to do. It's good, it's a relief, because we know what we have to do and we can make plans for the future."

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff added: "We achieved a major price reduction over two years. We have opened up development scope for others to catch up.

"We have designed an obligation to supply so no team runs out of an engine contract. We have found a mechanism how performance convergence could be triggered.

"Lots of good things, many months of hard work in trying to get everybody on the same page, I think it's a good step forward."

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Gutierrez says Haas issues making him look 'very bad'

Esteban Gutierrez has expressed growing frustrations that the 'f******g great job' he is doing for Haas is being disguised by ongoing reliability issues.

The Mexican has finished only one race so far this year in a campaign that has been affected by a spate of mechanical troubles. At Barcelona on Friday, his afternoon running was curtailed again by an electronic issues.

Speaking after the session, he said that the onus was now on the team to turn the corner on sorting the problems out – but it was clear he was not happy with the way things were playing out.

"I honestly put myself aside from this because it's not really my responsibility to fix the car," he said. "The team has to get on top of this.

"I am here to drive, to drive as fast as possible and it is what I really love doing. It's not nice because it's making me look very bad to the outside as a driver, personally.

"All the f*****g great job I'm doing on the inside is not really perceived by the outside. So it's a little bit frustrating on that side, and also showing my pace.

"I've been quick in everything. I just hope to get the car that I deserve in order to put the results on the paper."

Tricky wind

Although Gutierrez was not as unhappy with the balance of his car as teammate Romain Grosjean, he said things had not been ideal during the day.

But there had been hints of progress prior to the mechanical problem he suffered.

"Yeah, FP1 the feeling was not really great," he said. "The main dominating factor was the tyres, so a lot of snaps and it was quite tricky to drive, even though the conditions were really nice. It was sunny, no wind, I was expecting to have a good feeling but it wasn't the case.

"Then when we switched to practice two the wind came and made it tricky. The feeling on the medium tyre was pretty bad, maybe a bit worse than practice one.

"On the soft tyre on the first three corners I was able to do - because I didn't complete more than that - it felt more normal. The tyres were working better, so it was a wonderful feeling coming in to Turn 1, Turn 2 and Turn 3, so I keep myself with that one."

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New Force India aero package a big step - Perez

Sergio Perez believes that Force India has made a significant step with the new aero package that has introduced to the VJM09 in Spain.

Perez and teammate Nico Hulkenberg were ninth and 10th in FP2, and the team was satisfied with that outcome at a track, which was not expected to be favourable.

“I think we've definitely made good progress,” said Perez. “I think the car definitely feels better.

"In the main areas where we needed the downforce, it came. Obviously we always want more but I think we've done a reasonable step, and I mean, to be inside the top 10 at this track means a lot to us. It's our weakest track.

“So, happy for today, although I had a very messy day with FP1, I lost a lot of time when I really needed to make progress with the car.

“There was some oil leaking, going into the floor, so we had to take the floor out. There was a problem with the radiator, so we had to change the radiator, and it took a while.”

Asked by Motorsport.com if the improvement could be felt more in faster or slower corners, Perez said: “It's pretty much everywhere. I think it's mainly medium- to low-speed, the traction has improved for us. I'm happy that we've done a reasonable step.

“I want to see how competitive we can be tomorrow in qualifying. Our degradation has improved as well. Obviously we're facing a very tough weekend in this circuit, and if we can get away with some points, it means that we have done a massive step forward.

“I think still that there is more potential to come from this upgrade once we put everything into place and we get a bit better balance.”

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Grosjean reverting to Bahrain set-up to cure handling woes

Romain Grosjean is going back to the set-up he used at the Bahrain Grand Prix, after coming to the conclusion in Barcelona that the direction taken since then has been wrong.

The Frenchman endured another frustrating time in free practice for the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday, after claiming on the Haas team radio that his car felt like a 'disaster'.

Following an extended debrief after the sessions, Grosjean and his team suspect that recent issues with the handling have been triggered by a set-up direction it embarked on from China.

That is why Grosjean's car will be converted overnight to the type of set-up he had in Bahrain for the second race of the season.

"It is just a general philosophy that we have taken since China," said Grosjean, when asked by Motorsport.com how he was going to sort out the problems.

"We thought it was very positive but it doesn't work as we would like. On the paper it could be something very good, but it looks like on track it doesn't work as well as we would like."

Front-limited

The set-up changes made for China were prompted by a combination of the track being front-limited, so requiring a different approach, and the need to cure some issues that had come to light in Bahrain.

Grosjean added: "China is a very different track, very much front limited, and we struggled getting the heat in the tyres, then getting the tyres too hot and not getting the right tyre pressures.

"So I think all the set-up changes we made in China were hidden by the fact that we struggled with the tyres working, and that is why it was a bit tricky. So that is why we decided to keep the set-up but I think in hindsight we should have reverted before Russia.

"I thought after Bahrain that we could do something on the car and change it in a way that would suit me better, because in the race we had clear points when I wasn't so happy with the car.

"But we tried and again China was very dominated by tyres. In Russia we didn't really understand very well what happened.

"If I look back we could have done things a bit different but again we are struggling a bit with the tyres. And here we are at a track we know, with very high track temperature, so at least we know things are working properly but the car doesn't feel right. Hopefully tomorrow is a much better day."

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Massa frustrated: "Not a fantastic Friday"

Felipe Massa admits his Williams team will have to work a lot overnight to make his car competitive for qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Massa experienced a frustrating Friday in Spain, finishing FP2 in a lowly 16th place after having taken ninth in the morning session.

His Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas was only 11th in FP2 as both drivers failed to get a clean lap in on soft tyres.

"It was not a fantastic Friday," said Massa. "Trying to understand the tyres, trying to understand the car.

"I also had a mistake on my best lap with the new tyres, with the soft tyres, I went completely on the outside of the track.

"I couldn't do my best lap on the first lap, then after you get minimum a half second, six-tenths slower, so I did it on my second lap.

"So not so happy for the Friday compared to Russia, for example. There's a lot of work to try to make the car more competitive for tomorrow."

Massa remains upbeat for the rest of the weekend: "I expect to be competitive, I expect to maybe be in a position to fight with Red Bull.

"It's not easy, they have a good car here in this track. But we will try."

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Arrivabene the best F1 boss I've ever had - Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen has labelled Ferrari F1 boss Maurizio Arrivabene as the best team principal he has ever had.

Arrivabene took over from Marco Mattiacci as the head of the Maranello squad at the end of the 2014 season, in which the team finished fourth in the standings and without a win.

Although Ferrari has not yet matched rival Mercedes, the Italian squad did return to winning ways last year, with Sebastian Vettel taking three victories.

Raikkonen believes Arrivabene is the right man to get Ferrari where it wants to be.

"He is the best team boss I have ever had," said Raikkonen. "I think he is exactly the right guy for this job and he does a good job.

"The team... we are good together and we will get where we want to go, but it is not always easy to go."

Vettel also hailed Arrivabene's work and rubbished speculation that Ferrari was looking at replacing him.

"He is doing a very good job," Vettel said. "He is leading the team. On the other hand, he is reachable/accessible for the people. He spends a lot of time in the team, not just here but also in Maranello.

"I know there have been some rumours and some bullshit lately, but I am very, very happy he is with us and not with someone else."

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Felipe Massa's Williams motorhome cribs tour with Sky Sports F1 & Natalie Pinkham

Felipe Massa shows Sky Sports F1's Natalie Pinkham around the Williams Martini Racing motorhome.

Take a look behind the scenes of our home at the European F1 weekends.

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Nico Rosberg explains why the Spanish GP circuit is a special place to drive

Nico Rosberg previews the fifth race of the 2016 F1 season, the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, together with race engineer Simon Cole.

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With Love From Spain - 2016 Spanish Grand Prix - Sauber F1 Team

Greetings from Barcelona, Spain! Our drivers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr about the tyre choice for the Spanish Grand Prix, the weather (really?!?), fan love and why Barcelona feels like a home race. Watch the video, take the poll and don't miss the latest news and articles on our website!

[skalls]

So Horner has an amazing day during FP3 and qualifying, beating Ferrari. Complains yesterday about the engine regs for 2017. I just don't get it. The Renault engine is legitimately good and the RB chassis is one of the best ones out there. Just wish he'd stop the crying.

Really surprised with the lackluster results from Ferrari.

Should be a good race. If Hamilton has a decent start tomorrow I think he wins.

[skalls]

Wow...

That was some sort of start.

[ErikB]

Max !

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[davidsan]

Max is incredible, so calm under pressure. Though it looked like Red Bull performed the under cut on their driver that was leading the race..

Lewis & Nico just a racing incident, I can't wait for Monaco now!

[joeskow]

Legendary drive from Max.. awesome race today

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES IN TURMOIL AS HAMILTON VS ROSBERG WAR ERUPTS

Formula 1 championship leader Nico Rosberg’s hopes of an eighth win in a row disappeared on Sunday after a collision with Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Britain’s triple world champion Hamilton had started on pole position, with Rosberg alongside on the front row at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The German, aiming to make it five successive wins for the season, passed Hamilton around the outside of turn one and the Briton was then squeezed on to the grass as he tried to regain the lead at turn three.

His car skewed sideways and smashed into Rosberg’s, with both drivers ending up in the gravel and the safety car deployed.

Watching Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche shook his head in dismay, while Hamilton threw his steering wheel out of the car.

The pair returned to the paddock on scooters and trudged up the stairs for a debrief with Mercedes team bosses, motorsport head Toto Wolff hot on their heels. The drivers were also summoned to see the stewards after the race.

The team’s non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, a triple world champion himself, blamed Hamilton before going to see the drivers.

“It is stupid, we could’ve won this race,” the Austrian told the BBC. “Lewis is too aggressive. I need to talk to them and hear their explanation and then we will see what happens.”

Wolff, who has had to bang heads together before now, was more cautious than his compatriot.

“Niki has a driver’s opinion and it’s fair enough. As a driver you see it in black and white,” he said. “From a team’s perspective we’ve looked at the pictures and the data and it’s not clear cut.”

“Nico had a really good turn one and turn two, Lewis tried to dive in, Nico closed the door. I’d say let’s wait and see what the stewards say. It’s not a situation where you can attribute 100 percent of the blame.”

Rosberg still has a comfortable lead in the championship standings, being 43 points clear of closest rival Hamilton before Sunday’s race.

However, the collision ended Mercedes hopes of extending the team’s winning run to 11 races and equalling McLaren’s 1988 record streak of success.

Only one driver in the modern era has won eight consecutive races — Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, with nine in a row in 2013 for Red Bull — but Rosberg had hopes of continuing his run after winning at the circuit last year.

Victory would also have made him only the third F1 driver after compatriot Michael Schumacher and Britain’s Nigel Mansell to win the first five races of a season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYfGJ88ixSo

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HAMILTON VS ROSBERG A RACING INCIDENT SAY STEWARDS

Spanish Grand Prix race stewards have deemed the first lap collision, involving Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, a racing incient while both drivers are refusing to point fingers of blame.

Rosbberg gave his version, “I was aware of the situation, I saw Lewis coming closer. so I went for the usual racing driver action of closing the door as early as I could.”

“I was making it clear I wasn’t leaving any space, so I was very surprised that he went for the gap anyway. The stewards decided it was a race incident, so we will accept that – we will leave it at that.”

“It was my race and our [Mercedes’] race to win – I was here to win, that’s what I was looking forward to and what I was really excited about at Turn 1 after getting past Lewis. So for us to end in the sandtrap like that – it is as bad as it gets.”

Hamilton summed it up from his perspective, “First of all, a huge apology to all of our team – when I stopped my heart just sank. To not deliver for them, it’s honestly… indescribable how gutted I was.”

“I got a good start but he [Rosberg] slipstreamed me into Turn 1. Then through Turn 3 he had a d-rate – basically he made a mistake and started in the wrong engine setting. We only have one setting for maximum power and he wasn’t in it, which meant he was like 180bhp down.”

“I’m not getting into blame, just a huge apology to the team. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Don’t have a good feeling this second, but we will recover.”

Hamilton’s DNF drops him to third in the F1 drivers’ world championship table, four points adrift of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and 43 behind Rosberg.

Full statement from FIA race stewards: The incident concerned started when Car 6 dropped into an incorrect power mode, as set by the driver prior to the start. This created a significant power differential between Car 6 and Car 44 at the exit of Turn 3 coming onto the straight, resulting in as much as a 17kph speed difference between the two cars on the straight. Car 6 moved to the right to defend his position, as is his right under Art 27.7 of the Sporting regulations.

Simultaneously Car 44 as the significantly faster car with, at that time, apparent space on the inside, moved to make the pass. Art 27.7 requires the leading driver to leave room, if there is a “significant portion” of the car attempting to pass alongside. Car 44 had a portion of his front wing inside Car 6 small fractions of a second prior to Car 44 having to leave the right side of the track to avoid an initial collision, which may have led him to believe he had the right to space on the right. Once on the grass on the side of the track Car 44 was no longer in control of the situation.

Having heard extensively from both drivers and from the team, the Stewards determined that Car 6 had the right to make the maneuver that he did and that Car 44’s attempt to overtake was reasonable, and that the convergence of events led neither driver to be wholly or predominantly at fault, and therefore take no further action.

MIKA: Was the racing Steward British I wonder?

EDIT: Yep, Eddie Irvine, no wonder Lewis gets away with this...

[MIKA27]

SPANISH GRAND PRIX: SENSATIONAL VERSTAPPEN YOUNGEST EVER F1 WINNER

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen made Formula One history as the youngest race winner on Sunday in a sensational Spanish Grand Prix that saw dominant Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collide and crash out on the opening lap.

Verstappen, only 18 and making his debut for the former world champions after being promoted from junior team Toro Rosso a week earlier, beat Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen — at 36 twice his age — by 0.616 seconds.

Verstappen was also the youngest driver to stand on the podium and the first Dutch race winner since the championship started in 1950.

His proud father Jos, who was twice on the podium with Benetton as Michael Schumacher’s team mate in 1994 and raced against Raikkonen later in his career, declared it the best day of his life.

“This is really something unbelievably special,” he told reporters while others acclaimed an exceptional talent.

Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel, the previous youngest race winner thanks to his astonishing 2008 Italian Grand Prix victory for Toro Rosso at the age of 21, was third for Ferrari.

Rosberg had his lead trimmed to 39 points, with Raikkonen moving up to second ahead of Hamilton.

The German’s dream of an eighth successive win, and fifth of the season, had disappeared in the gravel on the opening lap as he and reigning champion Hamilton crashed out while battling for the lead.

That looked like being the talking point of the day at a circuit that has seen processional races in the past, until Verstappen rewrote the script.

His was a remarkably assured performance for a youngster who could not drive on public roads until last year and whose precocious entry into the sport was questioned by many.

“I was targeting a podium but to win straight away is an amazing feeling,” said Verstappen, who had qualified fourth with Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo third.

Ricciardo might have joined him on the podium but a late puncture left him fourth.

“I can’t ever remember seeing a debut performance like that,” gushed Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, with the energy drink brand’s billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz also in attendance.

“The kid’s just done an unbelievable job. Max hasn’t put a wheel wrong all weekend. To win the race, I don’t think anyone can have dreamed of that.”

Verstappen soaked up the moment, lingering on the podium after the Ferrari drivers had gone and holding the winner’s trophy aloft.

While Red Bull celebrated, and Ferrari rescued a race that had looked like being one to forget after Raikkonen and Vettel qualified fifth and sixth, dominant champions Mercedes were licking their self-inflicted wounds.

Triple world champion Hamilton had started on pole position, with Rosberg alongside, but their race imploded after three corners.

The German passed Hamilton around the outside of turn one and the Briton was then squeezed on to the grass as he tried to regain the lead.

His car skewed sideways and smashed into Rosberg’s, with both drivers ending up in the gravel and the safety car deployed.

“It is stupid, we could have won this race,” Mercedes’ non-executive chairman Niki Lauda told the BBC. “Lewis is too aggressive. I need to talk to them and hear their explanation and then we will see what happens.”

Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff refused to apportion blame, however.

“From a team’s perspective we’ve looked at the pictures and the data and it’s not clear cut. Nico had a really good turn one and turn two, Lewis tried to dive in, Nico closed the door.

“I’d say let’s wait and see what the stewards say. It’s not a situation where you can attribute 100 percent of the blame.”

The collision ended Mercedes hopes of extending the team’s winning run to 11 races and equalling McLaren’s 1988 record streak of success.

Finland’s Valtteri Bottas was fifth for Williams with Spaniard Carlos Sainz sixth for Toro Rosso. Mexican Sergio Perez was seventh for Force India and Brazilian Felipe Massa eighth for Williams.

Britain’s Jenson Button scored for McLaren in ninth with Russian Daniil Kvyat, the man who had to cede his Red Bull place to Verstappen, 10th for Toro Rosso.

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LAUDA: THE MORE MARCHIONNE CALLS FOR WINS, THE MORE MISTAKES FERRARI MAKE

Niki Lauda has hit out at the pressure Ferrari’s president Sergio Marchionne is putting on the faltering Maranello team.

Heading into the Barcelona round, Ferrari and Fiat chief Marchionne had said he expected the team to immediately end its winning drought in 2016.

But the red cars were actually outpaced in qualifying not just by the normally-dominant Mercedes, but also the charging Red Bulls.

“The fact that Ferrari is so far behind is very surprising,” Lauda, Mercedes’ team chairman but also a former Ferrari champion, told German television RTL.

“The problem with Ferrari is that they are under pressure — the more Marchionne calls for wins, the more the Italians make mistakes,” he added.

Sebastian Vettel, normally Ferrari’s lead driver, even trailed teammate Kimi Raikkonen on Saturday, but insisted the pressure is not getting to the team.

“He (Marchionne) talks to us internally, it is not just what is written in the newspapers,” the German told the Spanish daily Marca. “So this does not affect us in the way you may think.

“Sunday he will come and wish us luck. Yes, he is our president, but also a big fan who wants Ferrari to succeed. We all have ambitious goals and do not need any warnings,” Vettel added.

Asked if he can deal with the pressure at Ferrari, the German told Spain’s El Pais: “I am always asked about the pressure, but in Red Bull I had Dr Marko who can be quite demanding!

“The pressure I have, I put on myself and it is much greater than anything else coming from outside. Nobody has to tell me to win,” Vettel added.

Boss Maurizio Arrivabene, meanwhile, has been the subject of rumours in Barcelona but he also backed Marchionne’s right to demand that Ferrari wins.

“I would be worried if a president came to us and said we should go to Russia or Barcelona and finish second. I don’t think Enzo Ferrari would have said such things either,” he told Italy’s Autosprint.

Like Lauda, Alain Prost is another famous former Ferrari driver who knows the pressures of driving for the Scuderia.

“It’s never very stable,” the Frenchman, working as a pundit for British television in Barcelona, told the Telegraph. “You can see that today, with the rumours about what is happening.”