In the 59th lap, there was still a little salt in the soup. Max Verstappen had illegally left the track for the third time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with his Red Bull. Where that should have happened, the reigning world champion could not understand. “Where?” he asked. If he had gone over the limit again, he would have received a five-second penalty. Something like that can cost you a win or a place on the podium. Ultimately, however, nothing threatened the fifth victory in the seventh Formula 1 race of the season. At that moment, the Dutchman, who was circling alone at the front, had a 16-second lead.
“Now you can bring the race home within the white lines, okay?” He heard over the radio – and soon rushed over the finish line with a lead of 24 seconds. At the place where he clinched his first Formula 1 victory in his first assignment for Red Bull in 2016 at the age of just 18 years and 228 days. “It’s a great pleasure to be able to drive such a car, that was shown again today,” he said. “I had a strong weekend. I hope we can continue like this.” Verstappen’s performance was impressive once again, his victory was never in jeopardy and the competition didn’t stand a chance. He has now accumulated 170 points in the overall standings and leads by 53 points over his team-mate Sergio Perez.
Far more surprising was who joined him on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix: the two Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. “Mega job, boys, mega job!” Hamilton cheered in the car. “It’s a result of all your hard work. Mega job from George too.” For the former permanent winners, second and third place brought the most successful weekend for Starfleet so far this season.
At the start, Verstappen was able to fend off the early attack by Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) in the first corner. Lando Norris, on the other hand, did not assert himself a row further back. After a grid penalty for Pierre Gasly, Hamilton moved up to fourth place and worked his way past Norris a bit. His McLaren was damaged in the duel and he had to come into the pits involuntarily on the second lap to have the nose of his car changed. The race was over for him before it had really started. And Hamilton wasn’t happy for long either: Lance Stroll had gotten off to a good start, then the Aston Martin driver managed a good overtaking maneuver against the seven-time world champion.
From this season, we are already used to the fact that the color green mixes with the cars in front. Only Fernando Alonso was at the wheel so far. The 41-year-old veteran has been third four times this season and even second at the previous race in Monaco. But now, at his home Grand Prix, he was only eighth fastest in qualifying. For once, he didn’t see his team-mate Stroll, who is 17 years his junior and whose mentor Alonso has become, in the rear-view mirror. First of all anyway, because after his pit stop on lap 15 it was Alonso again, who was fourth in the internal duel – and also changed the color mixture.
In qualifying, the two Mercedes clashed, a “communication error,” explained Russell
Behind Verstappen’s blue Red Bull at the front, the black Mercedes cars of Hamilton and George Russell lined up. Russell had worked his way up from twelfth to third place, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez from eleventh to fourth after a third of the race after Alonso turned off to change tires on lap 20. The first four, on the other hand, drove into the pits later than everyone else. That cost Hamilton second place on lap 25, which Carlos Sainz took over. But a little later, Hamilton effortlessly passed the Ferrari again. The fact that Sainz’ teammate Charles Leclerc, second in the 2022 World Cup, played no role was due to a failed qualifying. He started penultimate and finished 11th. For the Scuderia it was once again a weekend to forget.
That could have caused real problems: George Russell (left) and Lewis Hamilton crashed into each other with their Mercedes in qualifying.
(Photo: Josep Lago/AFP)
For the previous race in Monaco, the Silver Arrows had traveled heavily overhauled, among other things, the underbody had been changed and the side boxes, which were once so narrow, had been enlarged. On the slow street circuit it was not really clear how much all the upgrades would provide an upswing and how well the new components would harmonize with each other – on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya it was now evident: Quite good. Although the Mercedes had clashed in qualifying, a “communication error”, as Russell explained, Hamilton’s front wing had broken. But on Sunday everything went smoothly. Russell eventually got past Sainz too.
Verstappen didn’t have to deal with all the position changes further back. After half of the laps, the Dutchman was more than 13 seconds ahead of his pursuers. He drove as confidently and superiorly as he had mastered qualifying the day before. However, after 44 of 66 laps, the solo driver reported problems with his hard tire compound, he spoke of overheating and having major problems when braking. 16 seconds lay between him and Hamilton. A stop would not cost Red Bull the lead, but Verstappen stayed outside. After 51 rounds, Hamilton and then Perez got a new set of tires. Verstappen wanted that too: “These hard tires no longer have any grip! I slide everywhere.” In the 53rd lap, the 25-year-old was finally allowed out and switched from hard to soft. He didn’t let his lead be taken away – until the end.