Spanish Grand Prix: Verstappen in a league of his own

The departure

For the first time in his career, Max Verstappen started the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position. This is surprising information when you consider that it was on the same circuit that the Dutch driver clinched his first career victory in 2016. Equipped with medium tires, the Red Bull driver made a perfect start to hold off the local hero, Carlos Sainz, who was on soft compounds. After the first lap, there was already a one-second gap between the two drivers.

In 3rd place, Lando Norris said goodbye to his chances of a podium finish prematurely after a collision with Lewis Hamilton at the entry of the second turn. The McLaren driver was trying to squeeze through a tiny gap to overtake his compatriot, an overly optimistic overtaking attempt that resulted in his front wing turning into debris. The Bristol native was forced to stop at the pit lane and rejoined the race in a distant 20th position.

This incident benefited Lance Stroll, who took advantage of the confusion to overtake the two Britons and seize the third position. Behind the wheel of his new W14, Lewis Hamilton showed a strong race pace to get rid of the Aston Martin on the 9th lap. The seven-time world champion immediately built a gap of almost 2 seconds two laps later. The Mercedes driver then displayed a top speed that allowed him to catch up with the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in front of him. So much so that on the 13th lap, the Italian team asked its driver to step up his game.

Starting in 13th position, Guanyu Zhou leapt off the grid like a tiger to grab 9th place by the end of the first lap. The Chinese driver was then involved in a visually impressive three-way battle after his pit stop. The Alfa Romeo driver fiercely fought against the Haas of Nico Hülkenberg and the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda. It was the latter who emerged as the ultimate victor.

After the 21st lap and the pit stop shuffle, only 4 drivers had not yet stopped at their garages. These 4 cars were the two Red Bulls and the two Mercedes. The winged bulls were the only drivers on the grid who started on medium tires. On the 27th lap, in response to the two stops by the Mercedes, Verstappen dove into the pits to put on hard tires. If driver number 33 came out with a comfortable lead of 12 seconds over his closest pursuer, Sergio Perez emerged from the pit lane in 9th position. With the surprising pace of the Mercedes, a podium finish was far from guaranteed for Perez. In fact, on the 31st lap, he had a particularly brief battle with his championship rival, Fernando Alonso.

Overtaken in the 28th lap by Hamilton and then in the 35th by George Russell, once again this season, Carlos Sainz does not prove to be a reliable asset for the Scuderia when Charles Leclerc is not present. Dropping to fourth position, the Spanish driver did not seem capable of offering his fans a podium. Immediately overtaken by the two Mercedes, Sainz asked on the radio to find the best solution to beat Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, who was rapidly closing in on him. The message was clear: the objective is not the podium but the fourth position.

Faced with the stratospheric rhythm of Red Bull, Carlos Sainz couldn’t do anything. Perez dove on the inside of the first turn on the 53rd lap with disconcerting ease. The target for the second Red Bull driver was now the Mercedes of George Russell, who was 8 seconds ahead of him.

Despite his 18-second lead, Verstappen did not lift off the accelerator. On the 59th lap, his race engineer urged him to slow down as he was no longer allowed to exceed the track limits again. The championship leader showed particular disrespect by going for the fastest lap on the track, previously held by his garage neighbor.

This victory of the reigning world champion in Catalonia is his fifth this season and his 40th in his career. The Mercedes came to fetch their first double podium of the season and confirm that the changes made to the car have paid off. Sergio Perez climbed up from 11th place on the grid to finish 4th. The two local heroes, Sainz and Alonso, are separated by Lance Stroll, who finished in 6th position.

It is through his former team, AlphaTauri, that Pierre Gasly shone today. The French driver gave spectators a superb pass on the outside of De Vries at the first turn on the 23rd lap. A 5-second penalty for Tsunoda allowed the Frenchman to secure the small point of 10th position. With Ocon in 8th, the two Alpine cars finish in the points for the second consecutive weekend.