Verstappen Wins Again as Norris Rues Poor Start
Max Verstappen led from pretty much start to finish in a drive that once again proved why he is the Best Driver in the World. McLaren’s Lando Norris came home a frustrated second after having a poor start whilst Lewis Hamilton managed to pick up his first Podium of the year!
The Biggest Talking Points
At the start, Lando Norris got a poor getaway which allowed Max Verstappen to get alongside, but it was George Russell who got the best start of all and managed to slingshot his way into the lead after the first corner. However, it wasn’t long until Max made his way by as he retook George into Turn 1 just two laps later (it was actually a really good move). Elsewhere, the two Ferrari’s got pretty close to each other as Carlos Sainz had to take to the run-off and the Race settled down a bit until George and Carlos opted to box first. Russell actually had a bad stop which didn’t help his cause and at the front, Lando Norris decided to go long to have a tyre off-set against the pitting Verstappen.
As the Race went on, things got quite close between Sainz and Lewis Hamilton (Hamilton managed to get through unscathed) whilst Norris was able to climb his way back up to second with his fresh tyres which included a great little scrap with Russell’s Mercedes. Elsewhere, Oscar Piastri was making moves on the strong-performing Alpine’s whilst Aston Martin were having a pretty abysmal day and were fighting the Haas’ and Kick Sauber’s. In the final stint, Lando Norris hunted down Max Verstappen (which he obviously didn’t quite manage to do), but the interesting thing was the fact that Mercedes and Ferrari both put their lead drivers (George and Carlos) onto Hards which ultimately saw them get past by their respective teammates which felt a little bit unfair on them! Also, on the final lap, Sergio Perez managed to get past Pierre Gasly for 8th.
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve only given out one 10 for today’s Spanish Grand Prix and that is obviously for Max Verstappen. Max was clinical at the start and showed great pace throughout to take yet another victory in his stellar career! I also thought Lando Norris had a great Race, but he messed up his start, Pierre Gasly had a great outing and was unlucky not to finish P8 whilst Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Esteban Ocon all had really good showings!
Drivers Who Had a Shocker
In total, I’ve given out two 1’s for today’s Race, and the first one is for Yuki Tsunoda. I don’t really get what happened, but Yuki was absolutely nowhere today, and he also sped in the pitlane which is never great! The other driver I gave out the worst possible grade to is Logan Sargeant and Logan being the only driver to get lapped twice proves why that’s the case. I also thought Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, and Alex Albon all had difficult days too.
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
Max Verstappen: 10
Lando Norris: 9 (FL)
Lewis Hamilton: 8
George Russell: 8
Charles Leclerc: 7
Carlos Sainz: 7
Oscar Piastri: 5
Sergio Perez: 4
Pierre Gasly: 9
Esteban Ocon: 8
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Fernando Alonso: 4
Zhou Guanyu: 6
Lance Stroll: 2
Daniel Ricciardo: 4
Valtteri Bottas: 3
Kevin Magnussen: 2
Alex Albon: 2
Yuki Tsunoda: 1
Logan Sargeant: 1
Another great review Linus!