MOTORSPORT: Red Bulls reign in Spain

World champion Max Verstappen leads the 2022 Formula 1 title chase for the first time after an emphatic one-two sweep for Red Bull in the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona yesterday.

Verstappen’s win was made much easier when the quickest qualifier, Charles Leclerc, was sidelined by an engine failure in his Ferrari as the up-and-down start to the new generation of F1 cars continued in Spain.

Even so, the Dutchman did not have everything in his favour as George Russell had a short run in front on the way to third place for Mercedes-AMG as he announced that the first European race of the season is the start of his real run in ’22.

Daniel Ricciardo’s torture test at McLaren continued as he was only 12th, while his teammate Lando Norris picked up eighth despite a bout of tonsillitis.

The real disappointment in Spain came for Leclerc, who led the standings and also the race before his engine failure. But he won’t have to wait for another crack as his home race, the Monaco grand prix, is next weekend.

“Of course this one hurts, because we were in front all weekend and worked really well. I know that things like this can happen sometimes and in moments like these, it is important to look at the positives,” said Leclerc.

“So it’s a shame and I’m disappointed that we lost the opportunity to score a lot of points, but the season is still long and we know we have the potential.”

Verstappen’s victory confirms that Red Bull is now on top of its early-race reliability problems, even if the car is not the outright one-lap leader in qualifying, even though he had to overcome the failure of his drag reduction system (DRS) that cost him straight-line speed.

“It was a difficult beginning but a good end. I went off in turn four. It was upsetting at the time but then I calmed myself down and focussed on the bigger picture,” said Verstappen.

“We are on a good trajectory and we can be proud of that as a team but, as you can see, some things are fragile and we need to keep on working hard.”

Outside the podium, Carlos Sainz was quick but not a contender in the second Ferrari, while Lewis Hamilton’s underwhelming start to the year continued with fifth despite the speed of Russell thanks to an early puncture that dropped him to the back of the pack.

“It was a very tough Sunday and very far from what we were hoping for. A gust of wind threw me off in turn four and unfortunately my car was damaged,” said Sainz.

“It's a horrible feeling being that far behind, but you just have to keep your head up, keep pushing, keep going and hoping for better,” said Hamilton.

The Formula 1 world championship continues with the Monaco GP next weekend.

2022 Spanish GP results:

2022 F1 championship standings:

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