Lando Norris made a bad start that cost him a possible victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, which Max Verstappen won.
The world champion’s victory was spectacular, as he kept the British charge led by Norris at bay, and nothing the chasing group tried through strategic ingenuity could prevent it from that moment on.
In the end, Norris was 2.2 seconds behind, Lewis Hamilton, third to achieve his first podium of the season, and George Russell, fourth and last of the men’s hopefuls, except for the genius who squeezed all the possibilities of his spectacular Red Bull.
“We should have won,” Norris said. ‘I ruined the beginning. We deserved more. The car was fantastic.”
Yes, he braked early and went from first to third.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday afternoon
Reigning world champion Verstappen has won seven of the first 10 Grands Prix of 2024.
Verstappen fended off the challenge from Lando Norris (right) with Lewis Hamilton (left) in third.
Fans gathered on the track to witness the podium ceremony following Verstappen’s brilliant victory.
Regarding Verstappen’s brilliance, we highlight again that the Dutch star’s teammate, Sergio Pérez, finished eighth. The Mexican is trying to rebuild his confidence, while Verstappen’s self-confidence is bulletproof in his third year of total dominance.
His championship lead is 69 points over second-place Norris, with his third win in the last four races. But this is still much more competitive than last year and Red Bull’s feet are closer to the fire. McLaren, in particular, is getting closer.
As for Norris, second placed, would his McLaren strategists have served him better if he had attempted the undercut twice instead of being out for six and three more laps at their respective pit stops?
The idea was that he would have fresher tires and could mount a late attack. It didn’t really work: it went from 4.5 seconds on the first try to 11; then from four to eight. But Verstappen was apparently in charge, watching over his rubber while Norris had no choice but to push his to the limit in an enthusiastic attempt to catch the unreachable.
No scientist’s manipulations could have altered the course of events. However, McLaren’s men delegated the choice to cover for Russell rather than play (supposedly) harder and chase victory by taking different risks. He told them, “We have to go after Max.” But why did they ask Lando when he could barely assess the state of the race as well as they could?
In some ways it was a boring race because Norris’ threat was illusory.
Verstappen crossed the finish line 2.219 seconds ahead of his closest rival in Barcelona
That rival was Norris, a McLaren driver, who had fallen from pole to third position in the first corner.
George Russell (right) moved from fourth to first at the first corner, but the Mercedes driver eventually dropped to fourth at the end of the race.
Charles Leclerc (right) beat Carlos Sainz to fifth place after a fight at the start of the race.
The Ferrari drivers were seen deep in conversation after the race.
As for Hamilton and Russell, there is also a slight difference in strategy at Mercedes. Russell was called for his second stop seven laps later than Hamilton to put on hard tyres. He didn’t do Russell any favors. Hamilton overtook him with 14 laps remaining.
It was difficult, so to speak, for Russell because he had provided the most dazzling moment of the race, his gunslinger’s shot at the start an unexpected explosion. Norris, on pole, was busy keeping Verstappen at bay, starting second. In fact, he pushed the world champion off the track: a cloud of sand.
Russell saw his moment on the outside of turn one and worked his way to the front through that opportunity. It wasn’t going to last. In the first moment of DRS, on the third lap, Verstappen overtook the Englishman, on the outside and then on the inside.
Actually, the game ended and most of the remains went to the other places.
A highlight: Norris and Russell go wheel-to-wheel on lap 35. The McLaren man, chasing the second, pushed into turn one and pulled ahead, but the Mercedes overtook him and Russell moved ahead into turn three. Norris finally made it in turn seven. Not a single cigarette paper between his rubber bands, but everything clean and fair.
A good day for Hamilton after his recent problems.
