Summary:
- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix at the Barcelona circuit on Sunday.
- The Dutchman fended off a disappointed Lando Norris and recorded his seventh Formula 1 victory of the season.
- Lando Norris came in second while Lewis Hamilton made a podium comeback for the first time since 2023.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix at the 2.894 mi Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, proving he does not need to drive the fastest car to stay on track for a fourth straight Formula 1 title.
While Verstappen made full use of Christian Horner’s ideas and the strategies developed by the rest of the Austrian team’s car engineers to go from third position to the lead, unlike last season, his car didn’t dominate with a wide margin.
However, this didn’t stop the three-time champion from going past Norris off the starting grid and overtaking early leader George Russell’s Mercedes car after the latter surprisingly took the first position at the start of the race.
The 26-year-old Dutchman showed off a flawless performance and fended off MacLaren’s Lando Norris, crossing the finish line 2.219 seconds ahead of him after the Brit ran out of laps, letting the Red Bull driver hung on for his seventh win of the highly competitive season.
The reigning world champion was joined on the podium by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in third position.
Verstappen marked his seventh win this season, which brought his total career successes to an impressive 61.
Speaking in an interview at the end of the race, the Brit didn’t hide away his disappointment.
Norris said they should have won the race in Catalonia, arguing “We had the quickest car”.
However, he added he was “glad” they were “close to RedBull and Max”.
Norris, who recorded the best lap of the day at 1:17.377 on lap 49 with an average time of 253.610 km, marked the 198th podium presence of his career in Spain.
Next up is the Austrian Grand Prix