Red Bull finishes 1-2, Mercedes (Russell) third, as Leclerc’s power unit failure caused him to retire.
BARCELONA, Spain—Max Verstappen took advantage of his rival Charles Leclerc’s power unit’s failure to win the Spanish Grand Prix Sunday at the Circuit de Catalunya. Verstappen passed teammate Sergio Perez laps before the race’s finish, giving the Dutchman his fourth win of the season. Third place went to Mercedes George Russell, who earned his second podium of the year.
Verstappen got off to a very slow start, trailing Leclerc at the start and finding himself in third following a spin at turn four when a tailwind was too strong for him. But the Dutchman recovered and gradually moved back up the grid from fourth.
The unexpected occurred when Leclerc, who had a demanding 30-second lead at the time, encountered a power unit failure on lap 27.
That situation allowed Verstappen and Russell to battle for the lead. Still, the Red Bull driver struggled for the next 14 laps with DRS (Drag Reduction System) failure that otherwise would have had him pass Russell many times. Verstappen finally pitted on lap 29, giving the lead to Russell. But now he also had Perez for company. The Mexican, who had no problem with his DRS system, quickly passed Russell for the lead on lap 31.
Both Perez and Verstappen then swapped the lead laps, and Perez found himself back in first. That changed on lap 49 when the Red Bull team declared that Verstappen was the faster driver. Verstappen passed Perez for good and went on to win by just over 13 seconds.
Perez was unhappy about the situation, claiming that it was “unfair.” But Verstappen called Perez “a good teammate” because the move had implications for both the Driver’s and Constructor’s world championships. Verstappen leads Leclerc in the Driver’s Championship by six points, and Red Bull leads Ferrari for the Constructor’s trophy by 26 points.
Carlos Sainz Jr. gave his home crowd something to cheer about, finishing fourth in the sole Ferrari, passing Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton just laps before the finish. But it was far from a disappointment for Hamilton, who was lucky to finish that high after colliding with Kevin Magnussen early in the race and then having to pit due to a puncture in his front left tire.
Sixth place went to Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas. Alpine received double points with Esteban Ocon seventh and Fernando Alonso in ninth after Alonzo started in 20th (and last) because of an engine change. McLaren’s Lando Norris took eighth, and Yuki Tsunoda gave Alpha Tauri the last point in tenth.
Formula One does not have much time to rest as the famed Monaco Grand Prix takes place next weekend. It is a venue where the home-standing Leclerc, looking for a comeback, has not had much luck. Verstappen, on the other hand, won in Monaco last year.
Friday practices and Saturday’s qualifying will be televised on ESPN2, with Sunday’s race broadcast on ESPN in the United States.
