He always wins. And he always wins thanks to himself, rather than the machine. Max Verstappen is dominating a world championship in which Red Bull is struggling more than expected, but in the end Max is there to make the difference with his perfect driving and masterful management of the garage. In Spain, what had been seen in the previous races, excluding Monaco, was repeated, with Verstappen winning by turning the small errors of his rivals to his advantage, from Norris’s modest start to Russell’s spectacular but excessive attacks which ended up giving the third step of the podium to teammate Hamilton, on a day in which Mercedes shined again.
And Ferrari? Leclerc fifth and Sainz sixth. But it would be simplistic to dismiss the balance sheet as disappointing, because in fact there was an exceptional Leclerc, who with the Medium tires in the middle of the race and the Soft ones for the end, traveled at very high paces, not too far from those of Verstappen and Norris who were battling in front. That is, if he had started in the second row, the podium would certainly have been his, but perhaps he would have given us something more. And the contact with Sainz in the early stages should not be forgotten, in which the Spaniard was too determined and Charles suffered damage to his front wing in the contact. Carlos, after all, does not yet have a contract for 2025 and was racing at home, but overall he was slower than Leclerc and suffered from the choice of Pirelli Hard tires for the finish, tires that forced him to a very slow pace, like after all, it happened to Russell. The doubt remains that if the first pit stop had been brought forward a little, Charles would perhaps have been able to make the leap forward. In any case, one Ferrari inconspicuous but much better than expected, with excellent prospects in the two consecutive races that will be held next Sunday at Zeltweg and then at Silverstone.
Returning to the protagonists of Montmelò, it is worth highlighting thehonesty of Norris, who admitted that he got off to a bad start paying the consequences heavily: ‘I was the one who threw away the victory’. Honest beyond belief, you learn by making mistakes and already next Sunday in Austria, at Red Bull, McLaren will be able to redeem themselves.
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