Mercedes shows improved performance with a double podium in Spain
Max Verstappen’s dominance of the 2023 Formula 1 season has rolled into Spain, where the Red Bull driver claimed his fifth win for the season and third in succession with a peerless performance at the Catalunya Circuit.
With the grand slam of win, pole and the fastest lap of the race, the Dutchman extended his championship lead to 53 points over his teammate Sergio Perez, while elsewhere on the podium Mercedes had its best race of the season with Lewis Hamilton leading home George Russell in second and third.
“It’s a big pleasure to drive with a car like this and I think it showed again today,” said Verstappen.
“We had quite a lot of different types of strategies out there [and] I think for most of the race, we were on the right one.
“We had another strong weekend, and that’s what I like to see for myself and the team, and hopefully, we can just keep that up throughout the year.”
Verstappen led the race away from pole, while behind him, Hamilton and Lando Norris came into contact, with the McLaren driver receiving a broken front wing after qualifying strongly in third.
Russell also went off track at the opening turn, although he settled in seventh place after starting from 12th, with that move investigated by race control.
When the field sorted itself out, Lance Stroll (Aston Matin) slotted into third place for the opening stanza behind Verstappen and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
Hamilton was the first of the leading pack to pit on lap 25 of 66, which triggered a glut of stops.
Russell moved past Sainz on lap 35, before the threat of rain, plus the opportunity to go for the fastest race lap, saw the leaders stop again for soft tyres between laps 46 and 53.
At the start of lap 52, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) overcame the Alpine of Esteban Ocon after an aggressive defensive move, with the Spaniard otherwise having the worst race of his season on home soil.
By lap 53, Perez had moved his way through to fourth from 11th on the grid, displacing Sainz.
Despite receiving a bad sportsmanship warning flag for exceeding track limits, Verstappen cruised to a 24sec win.
Behind Hamilton and Russell was Perez, then Sainz, Stroll, who just led home Alonso, then Ocon, Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), with his second points-paying finish for the season, with Pierre Gasly (Alpine) rounding out the top 10.
Other notable results included Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who had a miserable day in 11th after starting from the pit lane, and Oscar Piastri (McLaren), who finished 13th after spending the early stint of the race inside the top 10.
Next up on the F1 schedule is the Canadian Grand Prix over June 16-18.
2023 Spanish Grand Prix results:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine
- Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri
- Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
- Alex Albon, Williams
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas
- Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
- Logan Sargeant, Williams
2023 Formula 1 championship standings:
- Max Verstappen – 170
- Sergio Perez – 117
- Fernando Alonso – 99
- Lewis Hamilton – 87
- George Russell – 65
- Carlos Sainz – 58
- Charles Leclerc – 42
- Lance Stroll – 35
- Esteban Ocon – 25
- Pierre Gasly – 15
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Keyword: Verstappen’s dominance continues