Formula 1: Verstappen takes advantage of Leclerc’s abandonment to win the Spanish GP and lead the World Cup

Lots of fabric cut on the left Spanish Grand Prixsixth date of the Formula 1 calendar. In a race with everything — unexpected retirement, car injuries, overtaking, mistakes, hitting and techniques for all tastes — Max Verstappen recovered after a complex start and end that defeated him on the track towards his rival, with his problems red bull and to his own disappointment, to sign his fourth win of the season, the third in a row. Thus, the Dutchman became the new leader of the championship, moving Charles Leclerc to second place, who came in as leader and poleman of the weekend, but ended up leaving due to a technical problem with his ferrari.

Meanwhile, seven -time champion Lewis Hamilton smiled at him again Mercedes, even without reaching the podium. It was that the Briton fell to third in the last spot after a contact with Kevin Magnussen in the first lap, but he had a brilliant career, with a great approach to the wheel, made an impressive return and finished crossing the finish line in fifth place. And, perhaps more importantly, he hasn’t been seen to turn too far away from porpoising, which gives him and his team so many headaches.

Leclerc, who landed in Catalonia with 19 points more than Verstappen, was the main star in the first half of the race, where the high temperature (the track thermometer showed 49 ° C at the start) played an important role. to tire damage. On a main racetrack, with nearly 122 thousand people in the stands, Monegasque well defended the lead at the start, when an aggressive Verstappen tried to steal it in the first corner, and comfortably took the lead and an advantage that was more than 30 seconds into the 18th lap.

Meanwhile, the Dutchman suffered at the wheel of his Red Bull. First, because the strong gust of wind on turn 4 of the Catalan circuit caused him to lose control of the car on lap 9 and lose control, finishing fourth behind Leclerc, George Russell and his teammate and Sergio Pérez. And because when he started pressing to regain positions, DRS didn’t answer him.

Although from the Austrian team’s box they assured him that this system does not register problems, the reality is that the Dutchman cannot activate it whenever he wants. “We can’t even make it work. It’s unbelievable,” he complained on the radio.

Failed, but not giving up, Angry Max He was able to climb back to third place despite the intermittent operation of his DRS and some inconvenience in keeping his vehicle within railroad limits (a problem that other drivers also have). And on lap 28, the way opened for him.

Leclerc, seemingly invincible, began to lose power in his Ferrari and had to leave. “Everything was going fine and then it just broke down and lost power completely. It’s embarrassing. Although I’m getting a lot of positive things this weekend, we can’t afford it to happen multiple times this season,” the Disappointed driver commented. Ferrari.

Verstappen went on the hunt for first place, where he ended up definitely taking a hand from his partner. Because Pérez, who also ran, had a good run in his car and took the lead. But when the Dutchman finished second and started to raise his performance, from the Austrian team, they instructed him: “If it’s faster, let it go”. The Czech followed; The current champion was ahead and, without problems with his vehicle, he devoted himself to caring for that area until he crossed the finish line.

Red Bull took 1-2, along with Pérez’s lap record, returned Verstappen to the top of the championship and also climbed to the top of the constructors ’championship.

“My DRS was not working, which made everything very difficult. It was a hard start but a good finish. I am very happy to win and also very happy for Checo. A great result for the team,” said Verstappen.

Although not all of this is rosy for Red Bull. Pérez, who felt he had the car to win and always said he was in F1 to fight for victories, was upset at that command to give up the lead. “I’m happy for the team, but later we have to talk,” he threw on the radio after the end. Was the unity with the Austrian team broken?

Beyond that discomfort of his partner, for the Dutchman it was a round Sunday, as he not only scored his 24th win in the premier category, but he ended up coming back with a complicated start to the championship. . That 50 points behind Leclerc in the standings after the first three rounds of the year turned out to be a difference of six in his favor.

And although six championship dates have just finished running, given what happened in the last three, Monegasque seems to have no margin of error, ahead of the Grand Prix to be held at his home next weekend.

A break for Mercedes

Mercedes also ended up with a smile in Catalonia, where she was once again the star. Because Russell went to the third step of the podium and still didn’t drop into the top 5 until this season. But also because of Hamilton then “The Pilot of the Day”an recognition awarded by fans in the vote that opens the category at the end of each Grand Prix.

The seven -time champion signed a big recovery. After contacting Magnussen in the beginning, he had a flat tire, he had to pit and fell to 19th place. Back on track, he even slipped the idea of ​​leaving. “I’ll save the machine. Sorry guys”he said to his team. But in the end, he stayed on the path.

Thanks to his talent behind the wheel, some very good maneuvers and a great approach to the wheel, he slowly returned to fourth place. In that position he was driving with one more lap, when there was a water leak that caused his Mercedes to heat up. From the box they told him to slow down to finish. Carlos Sainz caught up with him and finished fifth.

And although he didn’t reach the podium, he was one of the big winners of that day, as he left Spain with peace of mind that he knew the work he was doing with his team was on the right track. He still lacks to give Red Bull and Ferrari a fight, but the outlook for the future is no longer as gray as it was a few weeks ago.