In a thrilling face-off with Lando Norris, Max Verstappen emerged victorious in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. The Circuit de Catalunya witnessed a strategic battle between the drivers and their respective teams, Red Bull and McLaren. After 66 laps, Verstappen claimed the win, but it was clear that despite his lead in the standings, the championship is far from decided.
Verstappen’s victory under the Spanish sun completed his trilogy in Barcelona, but never before had he fought so hard for it. The difference at the finish line was a mere 2.219 seconds.
Behind Verstappen and Norris, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes secured third place, closely followed by his teammate George Russell. For Hamilton, this is his first podium finish since Mexico last year.
In the Spanish GP qualifiers, Norris had secured pole position, which he claimed was his best lap ever. However, the joy of his advantageous position was short-lived. The McLaren driver defended his position against Verstappen right after the lights went out, even pushing Verstappen onto the grass, but he chose to back down heading into turn 1.
Russell’s Brilliant Move
Not only did Verstappen outdo him, but so did Russell. The Mercedes driver, starting from P3, brilliantly took the lead right away.
Just two laps later, Russell’s fun was over. With the help of DRS, Verstappen easily overtook him and took the lead on the track, where he had already triumphed in 2016, 2022, and 2023. Following this, the three-time world champion from Red Bull immediately pulled away, putting him out of DRS range of his pursuer.
Once the initial dust from the start had settled, Verstappen led the pack, followed by Russell, Norris, Hamilton, and Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. The latter two had a minor contact at the start, but without any significant damage.
‘No, I want to catch Max’
Russell is the first of the top five to pit for new tires (mediums) on lap 15, but he loses valuable time during the pit stop. Norris’s race engineer asks over the radio if he’s considering an undercut, but Norris’s response leaves no room for interpretation and speaks volumes about the new ambitions of the Woking team: ‘No, I want to catch Max’.
While Verstappen does pit for a super-fast stop (1.9 seconds), Norris takes the lead. He confidently drives a few more laps as the new race leader. Relatively late, on lap 23, he finally pits. Upon returning to the track, he finds himself in P6, behind Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton, and Sainz.
However, Norris’s McLaren has pure speed and he easily overtakes Sainz, and later Hamilton and Russell. The latter has to capitulate in the 35th lap after a good fight (and a mistake on his part). By then, Norris’s gap to Verstappen, who is driving consistently fast lap times, has grown to just under ten seconds. However, the RB20 is no longer dominant in terms of pure speed. Norris manages to close the gap lap by lap. His comeback race is reminiscent of last month’s race in Imola, where Verstappen barely emerged as the winner.
Slow pit stops in the final stages
In lap 45, Verstappen pits for the second time, this time for new softs. His stop is not optimal (2.8 seconds), but Norris’s stop four laps later is even worse (3.5 seconds). Fortunately for him, the McLaren ace still manages to return to the track just ahead of Russell, in P2. The gap between Verstappen and Norris is then ‘only’ seven seconds.
In the final stages, Norris manages to reduce the gap to just over two seconds. However, Verstappen keeps his cool and manages to preserve his tires. As a result, he is flagged as the winner for the seventh time this season. The conclusion: Verstappen remains superior, but it’s not as easy as it used to be…
