MOTORSPORT: Verstappen wins in Spain
But competition continues to close in on Red Bull, with Norris stepping up againMax Verstappen has claimed his third successive Spanish Grand Prix victory, although he had to work hard for his seventh win of the 2024 Formula 1 world championship.
Lando Norris once again proved to be a match for the Red Bull driver, pushing Verstappen all the way in his much-improved McLaren.
After 10 races, Verstappen and Norris now sit one-two in the point standings.
“I think what made the race was the beginning,” said Verstappen.
“I took the lead on lap two and that’s where I had my buffer, then in that first stint where I could eke out that gap a little bit.
“I think after that we had to drive quite a defensive race – Lando and McLaren, they were very, very quick today, especially on deg.
“It seems always the last few laps of the stint, they were very, very fast.
“But then I think we did everything well; we drove quite an aggressive strategy, but luckily, it paid out until the end.”
From his second career pole position, Norris lost out on the run to the first corner when he was jumped by both Verstappen and the fast-starting Mercedes of George Russell, who swept into the lead.
Verstappen, though, didn’t muck around in taking the top spot from Russell around the outside of turn one at the start of the third circuit.
Meanwhile the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz engaged in a similar battle, with the Spaniard gaining the upper hand after a trip through the escape road.
Russell was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 16 of 66, with Verstappen stopping two laps later, while Norris was the final to swap tyres on lap 22.
Following the stop sequence, Norris had to work his way past both of the Mercedes, first displacing Lewis Hamilton and then Russell, who engaged in a spirited battle.
Around lap 45, the leaders stopped again to take on soft tyres for the run to the finish, with Norris emerging 8sec behind Verstappen.
Hamilton then passed Russell at turn one on lap 52, ultimately claiming his first podium finish since Singapore last year.
At the chequered flag, Verstappen was victorious, but Norris had whittled his advantage down to a little over 2sec.
Behind Hamilton, Russell just held off Leclerc, with Sainz next from Oscar Piastri (McLaren), then Sergio Perez (Red Bull), and a stout showing by the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, with the pair scoring points in ninth and 10th for the second successive race.
Daniel Ricciardo was classified in 15th after a tough outing for the RB squad.
Next weekend, Formula 1 heads to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix.
2024 Spanish Grand Prix results:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine
- Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
- Zhou Guanyu, Stake
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
- Daniel Ricciardo, RB
- Valtteri Bottas, Stake
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas
- Alex Albon, Williams
- Yuki Tsunoda, RB
- Logan Sargeant, Williams
2024 Formula 1 championship standings:
- Max Verstappen – 219
- Lando Norris – 150
- Charles Leclerc – 148
- Carlos Sainz – 116
- Sergio Perez – 111
- Oscar Piastri – 87
- George Russell – 81
- Lewis Hamilton – 70
- Fernando Alonso – 41
- Yuki Tsunoda – 19
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