Max Verstappen once again cruised to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, recording his 40th race win in Formula 1 while seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton secured his second podium of the season in second place.
Verstappen’s victory was his fifth win in seven races in 2023 and has seen him further strengthen his position at the top of the drivers’ championship, with his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez enduring another difficult weekend in fourth place.
The day was however a positive one for Mercedes with the upgraded car securing the German manufacturer’s first double podium of the season as George Russell claimed third position having started 12th on the grid.
A happy Hamilton said in the post-race interview: “What a result for our team. We definitely didn’t expect to have the result that we had today. So, I really want to take my hat off to my team.
“A big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for continuing to push and bring us closer to the Red Bulls. They are still a bit ahead but we’ll keep chasing them down.
“This is an amazing result. George did a great job as well.”
Carlos Sainz started his home race in second but finished fifth ahead of the Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and home hero Fernando Alonso. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was eighth while the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu and the other Alpine of Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.
Your top 10 in Barcelona ????????#SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/joC529GXhz
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Charles Leclerc could only manage 11th place after a weekend of struggles in his Ferrari while McLaren’s Lando Norris finished in 17th place having started the race in third.
The next round of racing is at the Canadian Grand Prix in a fortnight.
