max verstappen spins winner spanish grand prix

Despite an off-track excursion, Max Verstappen won a drama-packed 2022 Spanish Grand Prix that will go down as one of the most entertaining seen in Barcelona in a long time, while his title rival Charles Leclerc did not finish the race.

The 19 points lead Leclerc before Spain, has vanished as the reigning F1 World Champion now leads the drivers’ standings after round six on 110 points by six points. Red Bull overcame Ferrari in the F1 constructors’ championship and now lead by 26 points.

What a race! Where to start? Perhaps best at the beginning.

Both Leclerc and Verstappen got away well and darted into an early lead, while Carlos Sainz duffed his start and dropped down the order, but it was worse for Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen, the Haas driver clattering into the Mercedes beaching it while the #44 limped to the pits with a puncture.

Sainz was again in the spotlight when he spun into the gravel on lap 9, the Ferrari twitching through Turn 4 and snapping out of control; and then it got juicier as a lap later, his saving grace was that Verstappen had a similar incident at the exact same place in the corner when gusty winds swirled around the Repsol bend.

Luckily the Red Bull spent less time through the gravel, rejoining behind George Russell, which triggered one of the finest duels witnessed at the oft boring track. Verstappen was hampered severely with a faulty DRS which opened intermittently, more often than not staying shut to the Dutch ace’s frustration.

After his excursion, an angry Max makes for a mega Max; they pitted the World Champion to free him of Russell’s rear end, whereupon he delivered a catch-up masterclass. Russell was always going to be easy to lose once he got by it became a battle against Perez.

But it wasn’t a battle of course as Perez –  Red Bull’s Minister of Defence – stepped aside on lap 49 with a gimme move that handed Verstappen the lead where he stayed until the end. It was proper teamwork that will no doubt irk Perez, but what does he expect with Verstappen in the sister car?

An emphatic Red Bull one-two at the Barcelona venue where a precocious young Max won his first Grand Prix in 2016, in 2022 history repeats itself for equally important victory.

Russell was mega on his way to third, as mentioned his scrap with Verstappen was out of the top drawer, and nothing short of heroic, in a slower car, at that point, the Mercedes new boy did everything he could do to frustrate the eventual race winner.

In the Mercedes, Hamilton’s third corner wheel-banging prompted him to call the team to retire his car after stopping and joining second last.

But he got the “move on call” from the pitwall, and he then delivered one of his best performances and a telling recovery as Hamilton simply gobbled Sainz’s Ferrari with the end in sight to take P4. Until, with a couple of laps to go they got marginal on fuel, giving the local hero fourth.

Whatever the case, Mercedes are by far the most improved package seen in Barcelona this weekend. The amount of race pace they found since Miami has been impressive, the W13 is now drivable, finally.

Report in progress…

2022 Spanish Grand Prix Provisional Result

spanish grand prix result graphic 2022

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