Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says Max Verstappen is the logical favourite for victory in Barcelona in light of the superior race pace demonstrated by the Red Bull driver on Friday.
In qualifying, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas locked out the front row of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix grid, but Verstappen's master class in strategy and tyre management at Silverstone means the Dutchman will be a force to be reckoned with once again in Barcelona.
Pirelli's harder tyre selection in Spain compared to last week's compounds and improvements at Mercedes have partly alleviated the team's tyre wear concerns but the long pace showcased by Verstappen in free practice caught Wolff's attention.
"The only similarity between Silverstone and Barcelona this week is the ambient and the track temperatures," explained the Mercedes boss.
"The track itself is very different, so we don't expect the same blistering issue like in Silverstone, but nevertheless, [there will be] more degradation and more overheating.
"I believe that Red Bull masters those conditions very well. Nevertheless, I think the work that has been done during the week and from yesterday to today was good.
"We have improved and that is most important. I hope we can give him a run for his money. Definitely Max needs to be seen as the favourite, based on yesterday's long runs."
Contrary to last week at Silverstone, Red Bull won't be an outlier on the grid with regard to tyres as all drivers among the top-ten will launch their race on the soft rubber.
Neither Wolff nor Verstappen saw any benefit to bucking the trend by starting on Pirelli's medium compound.
"The soft looks like a pretty good tyre," Wolff said. "It doesn't bring a lot of advantage to not start on the soft unless you are out of the top 10."
Verstappen agreed: "I think the soft tyre is good enough to start the race on," he said after qualifying.
"Normally the softest compound is a bit more tricky, as it falls apart quite quickly. I think it's alright at the track here."
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