In this first part of the season, when Max Verstappen saw the finish line, he always did it as the winner. The fourth success of the season, the one that allowed him to complete the overtaking on Charles Leclerc (52 points recovered in the last four stages) was probably the most suffered, coming at the end of a race made far from linear by technical problems and errors. .
“Thanks guys, but the first part of the race was not easy at all”, commented Max over the radio after the checkered flag, and in fact at a certain point in the race the number 33 Red Bull was not only far away. from the first position (due to an error by Max at turn 4) but also at risk of retirement due to a problem with the usual DRS system.
The Red Bull team celebrates the double win in the Spanish GP in the Barcelona pit lane
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
After a third of the race, both Verstappen and Red Bull would certainly have signed for a second position, but the scenario changed abruptly with the retirement of Leclerc’s Ferrari, transforming a Sunday up to that moment of suffering into a triumphal day ended. with the second double of the season.
A result that brought a huge smile to Christian Horner’s face, radiant at the end of the race. “Luck and bad luck always balance each other over the course of the season – he commented – Ferrari was unlucky today, we were unlucky in two previous races, but we are still at the beginning, and the reliability factor will continue to be decisive for the outcome. the final”.
An FIA commissioner checked the compliance of the rear wing before the start after the replacement of the DRS
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
To complicate Verstappen’s race considerably was the faulty functioning of the DRS system, a problem that emerged in Friday’s practice, which then reappeared in qualifying and confirmed itself in the race, with the risk of wiping out the fourth victory of the season.
It is not a little surprising that in two days Red Bull was unable to find a solution to the problem, but the moving wing was one of the components involved in the weight loss plan of the RB18.
“We will carry out an in-depth analysis – commented Horner – but we are trying to eliminate every possible gram from the car, and perhaps in this case we have sin of presumption. We thought we had a solution, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out to be reliable for the entire race ”.
Sergio Perez celebrates with Max Verstappen the double win in the Spanish GP
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
In light of the unexpected events that Verstappen had to face in the sixty-six laps of the race, the victory (combined with Leclerc’s retirement) is a scenario that goes beyond the rosiest of predictions made by Horner and Helmut Marko on the eve of the race.
Red Bull scored a great blow, leaping to the top of the Constructors’ classification thanks also to the contribution of Sergio Perez.
In the race, the Mexican confirmed a good pace, but thanks to Verstappen’s mistake (who ended up behind him after exiting at turn 4), the engineer was told twice not to complicate Max’s comeback.
George Russell, Mercedes W13, precedes the two Red Bulls of Sergio Perez, and Max Verstappen
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Perez complied, and it was a strategic choice for his role in the team, as the alternative would have been to see Verstappen wrest the position of strength from him. At the end of the race, however, Checo was not in the best mood, and he immediately said on the radio that he wanted to speak with the team.
Horner anticipated it, and clarified everything as soon as Perez got off the car.
“Yes, I explained everything to him immediately – confirmed the Red Bull team principal – the problem is that no driver has a clear view of the race when he is on the track. The different strategies brought Max behind Sergio with an important performance advantage linked to the cooler tires, and it made no sense to leave the riders free to confront each other because it would not have changed the order of arrival but would have meant a waste of time ” .
For Red Bull, the only not very reassuring note (in perspective) that emerged in Spain is the step confirmed by Ferrari ‘revisited’ by technical updates, but Horner shortly after celebrating the second double of 2022 does not embrace this analysis:
“If we look at the deterioration that Carlos suffered in the second half of the race, I think we actually did very well. I think it’s a shame we couldn’t see the direct confrontation between Charles and Max, because I think it would have been very close. “
“Maybe the three stops would have worked better than the two they chose, but in general I think the cars are still very close.”
The numbers in this case belie Horner (when Leclerc retired on lap 28 the margin he had over Verstappen was 13 seconds with the added advantage of strategy) but these are not the figures that are of interest to Red Bull today, which after six races he bridged the points gap from Ferrari and scored the overtaking.
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