For the third straight season, Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, but Lando Norris of McLaren made him earn it.
For the first time since 2024, Lewis Hamilton was back on the podium.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s key talking points are compiled by Autoweek.
Holding off a Relentless Norris Verstappen recorded career victory number 61, exactly eight years after winning his first race at the same location, but Norris drove him to the line.
Both drivers used a two-stop Soft-Medium-Soft tire strategy in hot weather at a high-energy track that penalizes the Pirellis. The race remained green throughout the 66-lap event.
After switching positions at the starting line, Verstappen overtook pole man Norris, but George Russell, who got the slingshot and raced from fourth to first, overtook them both. However, in the first stint, Norris was unable to pass his countrymate, while Verstappen easily overtook Russell.
When Russell pitted, allowing Norris to get some clear air, Verstappen was five seconds ahead.
To get a tire advantage in the final portions of the second and third stints, Norris extended both of his stints by a few laps. This allowed him to catch up to leader Verstappen. However, the defending champion held onto his lead and crossed the finish line 2.2 seconds ahead of time.
Norris remarked, “The race was not good enough, just because we should have won today.” “I believe our car was the fastest. However, I simply lost it at the beginning, and for the first stint, I was unable to go past George. We had the best vehicle there today, in my opinion. I simply didn’t perform well enough off the line, and that one mistake ultimately cost me everything. I don’t think I could have done much better after Turn 2, and I believe that collectively, we executed the ideal strategy. I was quite pleased with our work. However, yes. The one component, in the beginning, the 1% elsewhere, wasn’t sufficient.
Verstappen knew exactly how important it was to beat the quick-starting Russell to win his race.
Verstappen remarked, “I believe the beginning was what made the race.” “After taking the lead, I think we had to drive quite a defensive race, so that’s where I had that cushion in that first stint where I could eke out the margin a little bit. McLaren and Lando were lightning-fast today. The final few laps of the session always appear to be the fastest, especially on deg.
Even though Verstappen now has an almost unbeatable 69-point lead in the championship, it is positive for the next rounds that Red Bull has put in such a lot of effort at a track like Barcelona, which should suit the RB20’s advantages.
We’re enjoying a great year, if you disregard 2023,” Christian Horner, the team principal for Red Bull, stated. “2023 was a unicorn, but this is normal for Formula 1; there will be competition, great teams, and great drivers. Right now, we have to fight hard for the wins; as a team, we have to be at the top of our game, and the drivers also have to be at the top of theirs. That’s Formula 1, and it ought to be that way.