Max Verstappen wins the Spanish Grand Prix
Max Verstappen won his third race in a row on Sunday as he emerged victorious in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, Spain. It was another comfortable victory for the reigning champion. Nyck de Vries finished in 14th. Verstappen’s lead at the top of the table is now 53 points.
Verstappen started the race in pole position after qualifying on Saturday. It was the fourth race of the season that he was starting in first and the first time he had started first in the Spanish Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari started in second. Nyck de Vries started in 14th in his AlphaTauri.
Verstappen held off Sainz on the first turn of the race despite Sainz getting off the mark quicker in what was the only moment of the race that anyone got near the 25-year-old. Verstappen was even able to go in for a pit stop on two occasions and still had a comfortable lead at the top when coming out of the pits.
Despite the lead, Verstappen was unhappy with the hard tires telling his team that they were “slipping everywhere” and claiming they lacked grip. Verstappen went into the pits to change the tires and finished the race 22 seconds ahead of the nearest challenger Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen was given a black flag a few laps before the end of the race for track limits for going over the lines on too many occasions. Verstappen was told to take no risks for the last few laps and to make sure he stayed between the lines by the Red Bull team. Verstappen also picked up the bonus point for the quickest lap in the race.
Nyck de Vries stayed in the same position he started in. The 28-year-old also made two pit stops, with the last change to soft tires ensuring that he returned from 17th to 14th.
Verstappen is now 53 points ahead of his closest challenger Sergio Pérez who is also of Red Bull. Perez finished today’s race in fourth behind Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
