From Barcelona onwards, the battle between F1 giants will be intense

SOCHI, Russia: Formula One heads home after four opening long-haul races with the championship finely balanced between champions Mercedes and Ferrari and the prospect of an intense battle stretching out ahead.

With the European season proper starting in Spain next week, and teams promising upgrades and a faster pace of development, the two frontrunners return to their factories with two wins apiece.

Mercedes have a one point lead in the constructors’ championship while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with two wins and two second places, is 13 clear of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

“It’s going to be extremely close,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. “More than very.

“They (Ferrari) came out of the winter with a good car and it seems to suit Sebastian a lot. And we just need to stretch ourselves to perform as good as we can,” added the Austrian.

So far success has alternated between the two teams, with Vettel winning the opener in Australia, Hamilton in China, Vettel again in Bahrain and Valtteri Bottas taking his career first success in Russia for the team he joined in January.

In 2016, Mercedes were dominant and won all but two of the races with 20 pole positions from 21 starts but resurgent Ferrari – who won nothing – have already recast the 2017 landscape.

Vettel’s pole in Sochi was Ferrari’s first since 2015 and the front row lockout the first grid since 2008 with both red cars at the front. There can be no doubt now that the sport’s oldest and most successful team are back with a vengeance.

Red Bull are a distant third at present, with Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo fifth and sixth in the standings, but they too could get back into the mix if impending upgrades to their engine and chassis are as good as they hope.

Verstappen won for Red Bull in Spain last year, his first career victory, after Hamilton and now-retired team mate Nico Rosberg collided on the first lap and nobody is taking anything for granted now.

“Everybody will come with upgrades for Barcelona,” Mercedes’ non-executive chairman Niki Lauda told reporters.

“The season will start anew and then who has the better upgrades, and makes the quicker car, we don’t know yet. We will see in Barcelona and practice and then the race.”

“To win the first grand prix... is always the most difficult one,” the retired triple champion said.

“This I know out of my own experience. So every one that comes next, for him his life is easier. He has proven that he can win.

“As soon as you win the first grand prix, a big load comes off,” added the Austrian, who was surprised Ferrari did not win in Sochi given their race pace and having both cars starting on the front row.

Lauda won the championship with the Italian team in 1975 and 1977.

Bottas has had to wait longer than most to scale the top step of the podium but the man he replaced in January, retired 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, took his first victory in his 111th grand prix start after also starting out at Williams.

Mika Hakkinen, world champion in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren, took 96 races.

Only last week, reporters were asking Bottas about having to accept so-called “team orders” and help Hamilton in the title battle against Vettel, but it looks different already.

Bottas is now just 10 points adrift of Hamilton and, having started the season as an emergency stopgap, can now quite legitimately see himself in the championship mix. – Reuters