Spanish Grand Prix Review
Published:
May 23, 2022

There's a new name atop the Formula One World Drivers' Championship standings after Max Verstappen won this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. In what may be a telling sign for the season, the Dutchman's victory didn't come in the easiest of circumstances, as technical gremlins and a trip through gravel slowed him down, but he still took first place with relative ease. 

The scales between title rival Charles Leclerc and Verstappen are now a little more even after Leclerc's Ferrari retired from the lead with a power unit failure – something the reigning champ has already endured twice this year. The win makes it three in a row for Verstappen, and with Red Bull's impressive showing to make it a second 1-2 in three races, he may retain this championship lead for the rest of 2022.

Spanish Grand Prix Review

There's a new name atop the Formula One World Drivers' Championship standings after Max Verstappen won this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. In what may be a telling sign for the season, the Dutchman's victory didn't come in the easiest of circumstances, as technical gremlins and a trip through gravel slowed him down, but he still took first place with relative ease. 

The scales between title rival Charles Leclerc and Verstappen are now a little more even after Leclerc's Ferrari retired from the lead with a power unit failure – something the reigning champ has already endured twice this year. The win makes it three in a row for Verstappen, and with Red Bull's impressive showing to make it a second 1-2 in three races, he may retain this championship lead for the rest of 2022.

Although Barcelona is a familiar venue for F1, with the teams testing there most years, the scorching heat is not. The track temperature broke the 50°C mark, meaning the drivers' Pirelli tyres were in for a gruelling day on the tarmac. Lewis Hamilton was the only man to start the race on the medium compound Pirellis as everyone else opted for red-walled softs. However, the Brit only made it to Turn 4 on the first lap before picking up a puncture after a collision with Haas' Kevin Magnussen.

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Spanish Grand Prix Review

There were contrasting fortunes for Hamilton's teammate, however. In the opening corners, George Russell jumped up to P3, taking advantage of a poor start for the home hero Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, who dropped to fifth. Even more encouragingly for the 24-year-old Norfolk-born driver, he showed enough speed in an improved Mercedes car to race against the Red Bulls and Ferraris. With Leclerc and Verstappen holding their positions from their front row start, Russell could clinch a podium should he stay out of trouble.

Russell's race was soon even easier when the chasing Sainz span off the track at Turn 4, and then, one lap later, Verstappen repeated the blunder from second place to tumble down to fourth. Soon after, Sainz elected to come in for new Pirellis while Verstappen battled on. A strong tailwind was said to be the cause, but whatever the reason, Russell was now in second place while Leclerc held a healthy gap out in first.

Sergio Perez very compliantly let Verstappen through to attack Russell after the Mexican failed to pass the Mercedes driver in the opening 11 laps. However, his Dutch teammate faced an unexpected problem – his DRS wasn't working correctly. Frustrating calls to the pit wall couldn't solve the problem, and the erratic behaviour of Max's rear wing meant he was stuck in third place.

Spanish Grand Prix Review

Their battle for second soon became the fight for first as Leclerc's Ferrari faltered from the lead. The Monegasque nursed his SF-75 back to the pits, but only to retire from the race. Red Bull immediately called Verstappen in to pit for the undercut to try and have him grab P1 with fresh soft Pirelli rubber. Now, without his teammate in the way, Perez attacked Russell and passed the Englishman with DRS as the race approached its halfway point.

Verstappen's soft Pirellis proved to be potent, and he didn't take long to ease up to the back of Russell and pass to grab second place – no undercut necessary. However, with the tyre degradation being so high, Verstappen would need to pit again like his rivals in the top three. This meant he would need to pass his teammate on track should he wish to win the race.

Further back, a spirited fightback from Sainz and Hamilton had both drivers reach P5 and P6, despite their earlier issues. The pair effortlessly passed Valtteri Bottas, who was trying to make a two-stop strategy work with Pirellis medium tyres in fourth place. One lap later, Hamilton used DRS to pass Sainz, too. Unfortunately for Hamilton, he would need to surrender the position back to the Spaniard in the closing laps thanks to his engine temperature reaching a critical level.

The easy late-race pass for Sainz on Hamilton was only matched by Verstappen's on his teammate. With Max rapidly closing in on Sergio's race lead, Red Bull radioed ahead to tell Perez not to fight for the win. Just as he did earlier in the race, the Mexican slowed down and allowed Verstappen to pass without issue. They would finish the race in that order, with Russell rounding out the podium to take his second silverware of the season.

Red Bull now have in P1 the Constructors' Championship on a Sunday when everything fell right for the team. It's a trip to Monaco in a week – a Grand Prix where Red Bull have triumphed five times since 2010, including last year. With Charles Leclerc having never finished at his home race, can anyone stop Max Verstappen at the so-called jewel in the crown?

Spanish Grand Prix Review