During the 2018 Formula 1 season, Ferrari has often converted a difficult Friday into a much stronger Saturday and Sunday. It's therefore logical to expect a significant step even after an ostensibly uninspired Friday showing at Paul Ricard - but there is one big asterisk.

At last month's Spanish Grand Prix, the usual pattern would have resulted in Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel turning a low-key Friday into a better Saturday - so much so that it seemed the combination was still Barcelona favourite even after Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes set the practice pace. But it didn't happen.

Earlier this month, in Canada, Mercedes and Hamilton looked mighty on Friday, but Ferrari turned what Vettel called "disaster" into triumph and he went on to win.

About Edd Straw

Edd Straw is a former Editor and Editor-in-Chief of Autosport, who is now Motorsport Network’s Digital Content Manager.

Originally from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, he joined Autosport in 2002 having graduated from Warwick University. He went on to cover a wide range of categories from club motorsport to the World Touring Car Championship and Le Mans to Formula 3 before switching to F1 full-time at the 2008 French Grand Prix. He then became Autosport Magazine Editor in November 2014.

After becoming Editor-in-Chief of Autosport in June 2016, he took up his current wider Motorsport Network role in October the following year and continues to contribute as a writer, F1 correspondent and as host of The Autosport Podcast.

In his spare time, he was formerly a club racer whose abilities did not match his enthusiasm in a variety of categories ranging from Stock Hatch to the European Ferrari Challenge.