Verstappen sweeps, Norris gives a show, Sainz survives and Alonso embarrasses

Max Verstappen is still determined to make Formula 1 a monologue and, after some races in which there seemed to be an alternative, the Dutchman once again swept the field. Lando Norris was in charge of adding spice to the race, but it was not enough to snatch one more victory from the World Championship leader. The one from McLaren overtook the Mercedes and saved the furniture after giving up his pole at the start, in a race in which he gave the sporting spectacle and Ferrari gave the negative note.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had a clash, but considering that they are not going to be teammates much longer, there was not much to respect each other. The Madrid native finished sixth, behind the Monegasque, who left his position as the theoretical leader of the Scuderia although he again complained about the strategy of his team. Fernando Alonso was much worse. Without rhythm, without the possibility of gaining positions and without points, since he finished 12th and with the feeling that the Aston Martin AMR24 is more tractor than the all-terrain vehicle that was promised at the beginning of the season. Furthermore, he has no signs that it is just a matter of this circuit.

George Russell’s bravery at the start was one of the great initial surprises of the Spanish Grand Prix. The Briton, who started fourth, took advantage of the fact that poleman Norris focused more on closing Verstappen before reaching the first corner first, something the Mercedes driver did.

Russell’s joy did not last long. And, as expected, the Red Bull Dutchman’s race pace was much higher. In just one and a half laps he had already settled all possible debate about a possible fight for victory, which caused the more than 100,000 spectators who filled the stands (125,210, according to official figures) to stop experiencing the show that was expected. Norris’s eventual fight with the Dutchman was not such, in the end, although everything was decided in the strategic fights in the pits.

It didn’t help the local fans that neither Sainz nor Alonso had much of a chance to fight at the top. Especially critical was the behavior of the Asturian’s Aston Martin, since from the beginning (he went off in the first corner, something very unusual) he seemed very nervous. It’s no longer that reaching the ‘top 5’ was a goal, it’s that it was an absolute chimera.

In the case of Sainz, he was defeated in the initial battles. First, with Leclerc, who accused his teammate of throwing him off the track to defend the position (although then the Ferrari ‘stratego’ took it upon himself to sabotage the Monegasque’s options), and then with Lewis Hamilton, who was very much on the edge of The knife took away the advantage that the Spaniard had obtained in the pits with an overtake investigated although not sanctioned.

Bad Alonso, regular Sainz

Sainz’s anger with the regulations came through in an eloquent comment that many drivers would sign before the race: “Why do we have the rule book if we don’t follow them?” But the truth is that it was not only this overtaking that could be explained that the Madrid native did not achieve much more. In fact, Hamilton immediately went more than 4 seconds behind: it was not a race for Ferrari, far from it.

With Verstappen escaping from Russell, who didn’t even smell him, the one who was excited about the podium was Lando Norris. The one from McLaren made the Mercedes sweat, first he made Hamilton bite the dust for third place and then he also surpassed Russell, who knew that he was going to give up. Not without battle. The best thing about this race was seeing the two Britons, who have known each other forever, wheel to wheel between turns 2 and 5, overtaking each other on the outside so that, in the end, it was the McLaren driver who took the position.

Norris showed that his candidacy to take the combative jersey was more than deserved. As soon as the second pit stops were completed and many decided to install soft tires (with emptier tanks and lower temperatures, greater advantage for whoever had them), Norris began to lose Verstappen’s time lap by lap, who temped until the last moments.

Behind, the fight for the podium was resolved in favor of Hamilton: he rode soft much later than his teammate, who used hard for the final relay and therefore arrived with a double disadvantage. Despite Norris’s final push, nothing changed: Verstappen won his 61st grand prix, ahead of Norris, who took the fastest lap and the ‘title’ of driver of the day, and Hamilton, who got on the podium for the first time this season .

With Sainz sixth and Alonso 12th (even the ‘hated’ Alpine finished in front), the best thing for the Spaniards is that their home GP is now history. There is no time for reflection: next week, Austrian GP. And in the middle, an announcement that was to occur this Sunday and that has been delayed, with Sainz as the protagonist.