The racing grid is becoming more competitive. The top seven qualifiers for the Spanish Grand Prix were separated by mere tenths of a second. Five teams represented the top seven drivers: McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari and Alpine. Max Verstappen appeared to be set to be the pole sitter until Lando Norris drove his McLaren a blistering 1.11.383 pace around the 14 turn, 2.8 mile track. Max Verstappen recently stated that Red Bull dominance is over. It remains to be seen if that is prophetic, self-motivating…or a bit of both.
The first lap of the race was entertaining. When the lights went out, Norris immediately squeezed Verstappen into the grass. While Norris was playing games with Verstappen, George Russell rounded both cars as they approached turn one. Norris was forced to back out of his position as Russell wheeled around him and took the lead.
Mercedes is improving but they still lack the overall race pace of the Red Bull. During lap three, Verstappen’s DRS turned on as he maintained his less than a second gap to Russell. As they wheeled around turn one, Russell attempted to break Verstappen’s draft. Max wasn’t drafting. He didn’t need to draft as his car gained 18 kilometers per hour more speed from DRS on the long straight. Verstappen fooled Russell into thinking he was drafting, and when the Mercedes driver moved to break the tow, Verstappen pulled around him to take the lead. By lap 18, Verstappen had a 5 second lead and decided to pit for a new set of tires. Executing a 1.9 second stop, he came out fourth with the top three cars in need of new tires. By lap 25, he was back in the lead.
At first it seemed like the race was Max Verstappen versus Mercedes. However, as the race wore on, the true challenger arose. Lando Norris opted to run as long as he could on his initial set of tires, pitting at lap 24. When he exited the pits, he was fifth. By lap 35, he overtook Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Lando’s overtake of Russell was an epic lap. They traded positions twice, racing wheel to wheel most of the lap. Once Lando finally pulled free, he skittered away to break the one second DRS zone. His goal? Beat Mad Max.
Lando Norris almost achieved victory today. He lost the race at the start going into turn one. Still, he gamely gave the race everything he had. Around lap 48, the second round of pit stops ended and Lando was eight seconds behind Max. As the laps ticked off, the gap between Verstappen and Lando charted as follows:
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- Lap 49 – The gap is 7 seconds.
- Lap 51 – The gap is 6 seconds
- Lap 57 – The gap is 4.9 seconds
- Lap 62- The gap is 4.1 seconds (5 laps to go)
- Lap 63 – The gap is 3.1 seconds
- Lap 65 – The gap is 2.3 seconds
- Lap 66 – Max Verstappen maintains a 2.2 second gap ahead of for the win.
McLaren has made great strides this year. Today Lando raced himself into 2nd place in the drivers’ championship with 150 points, edging Charles Leclerc out by two points. McLaren’s run this year is starting to remind me of Red Bull’s attack on Mercedes, the year before Verstappen won his first championship. McLaren must keep the pressure on. They have a chance to do so with Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull at the midpoint of this season.
Max Verstappen scored his 61st career win along with his 3rd Spanish Grand Prix win in a row. It was his third time sharing the podium with Lando Norris this year. Lewis Hamilton scored his first podium finish of the year as well. Mercedes is slowly catching up, but McLaren has the overall edge, leaving Mercedes to execute experienced strategy. This was race 10. There are fourteen to go to determine who will be crowned champion.
