A hard-earned victory like few others have achieved in the last 2 years. Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, adding piece number 61 to his already extraordinary career.
A success built with anger, experience and the ability to choose the most appropriate moments to launch the right attacks. Shortly after the start, the overtaking of Lando Norris – the real bogeyman of the weekend – came on the surprising George Russell, author of an exceptional start and first braking that had put him ahead of everyone.
At the end of the race, the Dutchman admitted all the difficulties he had in the race due to a McLaren which, at Montmelò, proved to be the strongest car of all both in terms of pace and tire management.
“This race was definitely a sweaty one, but I think that, essentially, it was decided from the start. I took the lead on the second lap after overtaking Russell and managed to create a sort of buffer, a small gap over my rivals.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“But then we had to run in defence, because Norris and the McLaren were faster than us and they were also better than us in terms of degradation. Even in the last stint they were really fast. But it went very well, we were aggressive with the strategy and It worked great. We were close, but we’re very happy to win again.”
Verstappen also explained the start, made on used Soft tires to keep the set fresh for the final stint. The strategy paid off, but it was the Dutchman who made it possible thanks to a double decisive maneuver in the first two laps.
“At the start, while I was fighting with Norris, I had to go a bit on the grass with the right tires and I lost momentum. I braked late in turn 1 to try to take the lead, but I managed it one lap later with the overtaking on Russell, we still managed to manage the tires well and this made the race easier for me.”
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