The Dutch pilot of Red Bull is the new leader in the pilot ranking after his victory during the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. He took advantage of the abandonment of Charles Leclerc, unhappy after a good start.
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Max Verstappen has something to consider himself happy. The Dutch pilot of Red Bull has just chained, after the Grand Prix of Emilie-Romagne (Italy) and Miami, a third consecutive victory during the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, May 22. The reigning world champion is the new leader in the pilot ranking, ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). But nothing was easy for him during this race.
Party in second position on the starting grid behind his rival from Ferrari, Verstappen first experienced an embarrassing episode before attacking his team, via radio communication. During the ninth round, the 24 -year -old pilot went to the fault by losing the back of his vehicle. The same error had been made two laps earlier by Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
The podium of #SpanishGP 🇪🇸
1⃣ 🇳🇱 Max Verstappen
2⃣ 🇲🇽 Sergio Perez
3⃣ 🇬🇧 George Russell https://t.co/vxpnrzje2l
At the time, Verstappen lost precious seconds on Leclerc and above all had to line up behind George Russell (Mercedes) and his teammate Sergio Pérez (Red Bull). It was only after the latter let him go back third, on the orders of the stable led by Christian Horner, that Verstappen lived DRS misadventures, this fin installed at the back of the car that can ‘Open in order to facilitate overruns.
a more peaceful race
For several laps, the Dutchman fought with an intermittent functional DRS. “Mad Max” then returned, attacking his engineers on the radio: “We are not even able to make our DRS work. It’s incredible!”. It was in the twenty-seventh round that Barcelona’s scorching heat ended up smiling at the world champion, when Charles Leclerc had to abandon due to a mechanical problem.
only remained to exceed Russell. Something done thanks to a passage by the stands and the famous “Undercut”. Verstappen only had to manage the end of the race to go to victory, ahead of Pérez (2ᵉ) and Russell (3ᵉ), before putting into perspective after a twist race. All in peace, this time.
🗨️ “I had a wind in my back and I lost control”
Max Verstappen after his victory despite a passage in… https://t.co/xbpvnsool
“I had the wind in my back and I lost control in turn 4. Then, my DRS did not work all the time, so it made things complicated. We managed to iron in front Thanks to our strategy. It was a complicated start to the race but a happy end, “said Verstappen after the race. 2>
Leclerc Revanchard in Monaco?
Distent to 47 points in the pilot ranking at the end of the Australian Grand Prix in early April, Max Verstappen managed to start again by winning the following three races. He is now six points ahead (110 points) on Leclerc (104 points), who once again played bad luck after a very good start to the Grand Prix which had seen him fly at the top of the race.
After five consecutive victories from Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona – the Briton managed to finish 5ᵉ after having experienced a hanging at the start of the race – Verstappen won his second race in Catalonia. The first dates back to 2016, when he had become at 18 and 227 days the youngest winner in Formula 1. of time has passed since and the Dutchman has asserted himself as the boss of the discipline.
In a week, Verstappen will try to put this back on the Monaco circuit this time, a great prize he had won in 2021. The Dutchman should face a more determined Charles Leclerc than ever. The Monegasque is always looking for a victory at home. After his misadventure last year at the Principality Grand Prix and with that experienced today, the Ferrari driver will have accounts to settle.