Max Verstappen started on pole, led every lap and set the fastest lap on his way to Grand Slam success in this morning’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The two-time defending champion never looked challenged on his march to his third consecutive victory, coming home 24 seconds clear of second-placed Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes were the clear winners in the battle of the rest, George Russell coming home third having started 12th on the grid. Both Hamilton and Russell made short work of the pack ahead, Russell gaining five spots on the opening lap while Hamilton was quick to pass third-placed Norris into Turn 1 off the start, only for the McLaren to suffer damage by running into his left rear.
Norris was left to limp to pit lane, returning to the track but well out of contention for points, where he remained for the entire Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll was a benefactor of the incident, briefly moving to third before the seven-time World Champion retook the spot on Lap 8, having suffered no damage from the prior contact.
Both Mercedes then made easy work of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who had started well from second, Hamilton taking the spot off the local driver following the first round of stops mid-race while Russell followed through on Lap 35.
Hamilton would pull clear to finish a lonely second as a battle between Perez and Russell threatened to brew over the final laps. Perez ran out of laps to make up what had once been an 8-second gap and was forced to settle for fourth.
Sainz struggled to match the pace of the Red Bulls and Mercedes but came home fifth, 18 seconds clear of sixth-placed Lance Stroll. Fernando Alonso finished seventh, both Aston Martins struggling to make ground for a decent haul of points. As a result, Mercedes take second spot in the Constructors Championship.
While Esteban Ocon couldn’t replicate the pace which saw him take a shock podium at Monaco last week, the French driver held firm for eighth to cement his spot in the Drivers Championship top 10.
Yuki Tsunoda ran an excellent race for AlphaTauri but was let down in the dying stages by running Guanyu Zhou off-track while attempting a pass. A 5-second penalty saw him drop out of the points, elevating Zhou to ninth and Pierre Gasly to 10th.
Gasly had started in that same position following two three-spot grid penalties for impeding in qualifying. The Frenchman struggled for early pace but recovered in the second half to salvage a sole point.
Charles Leclerc was 11th home, the Ferrari driver struggling to make up ground, having started from pit lane. With Tsunoda’s penalty, Leclerc did make a late push on Gasly to take 10th but ran out of laps to get a move done.
Tsnoda was classified 12th, one spot ahead of Oscar Piastri, the first McLaren home.
Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams all lacked race pace on the fast-flowing circuit, failing to score points, as did Nyck De Vries and Norris following his early contact with Hamilton.
Race victory puts Verstappen 53 points clear of Perez in the Driver Standings, while Hamilton closes in on Alonso in third, with just 12 points separating the pair.
Red Bull is now 135 points clear in the Constructor Standings, with Mercedes now sitting second with an 18-point buffer over Aston Martin. Ferrari sits fourth, a further 34 points behind.
Formula One returns in two weeks with the Canadian Grand Prix.
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