F1 2016: six things you need to know about the Spanish GP

Barely a week has gone by since Daniil Kvyat was dropped from Red Bull in favour of teenager Max Verstappen, but already they’ve been forced to face the media together in F1’s customary six-man, pre-race press conference.

Sat side-by-side, members of the press had expected an awkward encounter given that Verstappen now occupies the car Kvyat took to the podium in China last month, but the pair were remarkably philosophical about the switch.

The Russian was clearly disappointed though, saying that Red Bull had given him “no real explanation” for the move. Kvyat recalled that he had been “lying on the sofa” watching Game of Thrones when the decision was conveyed over the phone.

“It was ‘hallo, well, we have some news for you’ and I think there was a 20 minute talk,” said the 22-year-old. “I got to know many interesting details, I must say...”

Which is more ruthless: Game of Thrones, or Red Bull Racing?

At the Spanish Grand Prix last year, local hero Fernando Alonso was forced to retire from the race after a discarded plastic visor strip found its way into one of the cooling ducts of his car.

As his McLaren-Honda was retiring from every other race anyway, no one really noticed. But now the practice of ditching tear-offs has become an issue again.

Race director Charlie Whiting had to remind teams at the start of the season that pulling off the strips – used to clear drivers’ view of the track – was banned under the International Sporting Code.

As a result the teams asked for more time to trial alternative solutions, and with the mid-season test at Barcelona coming up immediately after this weekend’s grand prix, that deadline has been extended until the forthcoming event in Monaco.

Clear your field of vision, and watch this space.

As is often the case when drivers arrive at their home grand prix, attention has been on Spain’s home favourites Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz in the build-up to this weekend’s race.

Among their engagements in Barcelona was a joint Q&A session which allowed them to cover a broad range of topics, including everything from their favourite meal to cook to which animal they’d most like to be if given the chance.

“A rabbit, probably,” was Alonso’s reply, sending Sainz into a fit of giggles. “I really like meerkats,” responded the Toro Rosso driver after the laughter had subsided.

As well as the light-hearted stuff, the drivers also reminisced over a photo from 2004, when a 10-year-old Carlos was introduced to soon-to-be-world champion Alonso for the first time.

“I was meeting my hero. At that time I couldn’t even speak,” recalled Sainz. “I was so nervous!”

Watch the full video here.

Clearly there are perks driving for an American F1 team. Not only is Romain Grosjean doing rather well (with three points finishes in four races) but there’s also talk of him featuring in the NASCAR Sprint Cup later this year.

Haas F1 – an arm of Gene Haas’s racing empire – is openly discussing the idea of parachuting the Frenchman into a Cup race if they can find time in his busy 2016 schedule.

Telling reporters that he “definitely” wants to do it, Grosjean admitted that he wouldn’t be comfortable starting out on an oval. That leaves two possibilities: Watkins Glen or Sonoma.

There’s the small matter too of finding a car for him to drive, and none of the four drivers in Gene Haas and Tony Stewart’s co-owned team are likely to give up their seats.

We hope it happens, so long as Grosjean doesn’t attempt the accent. We’re looking at you, McLaren.

No, he’s not talking about the beloved children’s puppet ensemble.

Rosberg was referring to the restrictions that have been placed on team radio messages this season, following complaints from fans that drivers were receiving too much help from their race engineers.

The Mercedes driver – who currently leads the championship by 43 points from teammate Lewis Hamilton – believes the measures are making life more difficult for drivers out on track.

“To everybody at home who said that we looked like 'muppets' directed by our engineers on radio, that's stopped now,” Rosberg told Autosport. “So it’s a good direction.”

Hi ho everyone!

This was the season that Ferrari was supposed to take the fight to frontrunners Mercedes, but nearly two months into the new campaign the German outfit are just as dominant as ever.

The Silver Arrows have been aided in no small part by Ferrari’s misfortune in 2016, which has seen them get two cars over the finish line just once in the first four grands prix this year.

Their situation was further compounded when CEO Sergio Marchionne turned up to watch the team at the Chinese Grand Prix, only for the two cars to collide on the opening lap.

Eight years on from Ferrari’s last championship triumph (the 2008 constructors title), pressure is mounting on the Scuderia to deliver once again. The boss expects them to start winning soon, “starting with Spain” he is reported to have said this week.

Doesn’t ask for much, does he?