¡Uno-dos-tres!
The end of the second triple-header brings us to familiar Catalunya, although not so familiar in these temperatures. The sixth race in seven weeks, and already the paddock is bursting with legal wrangling, political intrigue, regulatory headaches, and driver market shenanigans. Perfect for another F1 weekend!
Welcome to Round 6 of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The Circuit
The 30th running at this circuit, I believe.
Sector 1 is all about power. A very long run into turn 1 before a sharp right-left, and then climb through the tyre-killing turn 3.
Sector 2 will start to expose your car's weaknesses in the medium-speed, the downhill braking for turn 5 particularly tricky. Hold your breath through the fearsome Turn 9 (Campsa).
Sector 3 is a totally different story, you'll need mechanical grip and plenty of tyres left to escape without loss. Try to stay as close as you can through the tricky final chicane if you're trying to overtake.
The zenith of aerodynamic efficiency. An engineer's dream. Ride on-board with Bottas after he left Hamilton for dust in last year's qualifying.
What's occurring?
Not much happened last year, so it's really not worth your time. Instead, let's focus on the present!
Max Verstappen returns to the scene of his first victory, immediately after his latest. It all feels a little China 2015 combined with Belgium 2019. Are Mercedes struggling? Dare we dream of a LH-MV championship fight? Perhaps it's just the heatstroke talking ...
Sebastian Vettel receives a brand-spanking-new Scuderia chassis as he looks to overcome his early-season woe. Leclerc is riding high, 4th in the world championship. Will they be close enough on track for us to see a repeat of the team orders fiasco from last year?
Sergio Perez returns after being COVID-benched for the last two races, and is fighting fit as both he and Racing Point try to bounce back from their Silverstone troubles. It feels like I write this every time but when will they put a weekend together?
McLaren and Renault continue their midfield ding-dong. A welcome home-race for Carlos Sainz, and perhaps the last opportunity for Lando to use Scenario 7. Farewell, old friend. Ricciardo has agreed with Cyril that if he scores a podium this year then the boss will be getting a tattoo. One for Netflix, methinks.
Toro Rosso are slowly introducing themselves into the major midfield battle. Gasly continues to star on Saturdays but falls away on Sundays. Kvyat bounced back well from his Silverstone smash.
The Crazy Gang continue their rumble over the last few rows. Giovinazzi's two points in Austria are looking more and more priceless by the day. Haas qualified 7-8 here last year. Feels like a long time ago. Williams are still searching for their first points.
Assorted tyres and weather info
It's a return to the hardest compounds this weekend. C1 - C2 - C3.
Scorchio weekend expected. I like it warm, but I don't like it this warm.
'Tyre pressures?' you ask ...
23.0 psi (front) | 20.5 psi (rear), compared to the last race that's -4 psi fronts and -1.5 psi rears.
Schedule
Back to normal this week after Silverstone's Friday practice offset.
BST | CEST (local)
FP1 1000 1100
FP2 1400 1500
FP3 1100 1200
Q 1400 1500
R 1410 1510
Check your own time-zone on Autosport or F1.com.
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Another race weekend! The Catalonia 300 doesn't really have the same ring, does it? 
Assorted predictions, musings, frozen treat recommendations and everything else welcome below ...
Edited by TomNokoe, 13 August 2020 - 20:38.
