Experience pays off and having a missile in your hands just as much. And it is precisely with these two ingredients that Max Verstappen won the Spanish GP although the very first lines the story seemed different.
Impeccable from lap 2, the Dutchman put on yet another signature performance, bringing home important points for Red Bull among the constructors. Behind him came a very disappointed Lando Norris who really believed in victory knowing he was driving an excellent McLaren which, however, allowed him to set the fastest lap of the day, while Lewis Hamilton appeared decidedly more smiling, returning to the podium after an absence starting from Mexico in 2023.
Fourth and true loser of the race was George Russell.
He took off like lightning and took the lead, then slipped back and on lap 52 of the scheduled 66 saw his top 3 finish taken away by Ham’s other Mercedes. Ferrari did badly with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz at the end of a colorless grand prix and immediately made tense by a contact between the two, fortunately without consequences from the point of view of the car and any penalties.
Seventh place for Oscar Piastri’s MCL38, preceding a now usual desaparecido like Sergio Perez on RB20, then the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. The Aston Martins confirmed themselves out of form with Alonso twelfth and Stroll fourteenth, as well as the Racing Bulls, with Ricciardo fifteenth and Tsunoda even penultimate.
