Verstappen Takes Championship Lead, Leclerc DNF
Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona after Leclerc’s Ferrari lost power.
Red Bull Troubles
Verstappen’s DRS troubles appeared to solidify his loser status throughout the numerous laps he spent behind George Russell, but then Leclerc retired, and the Dutchman put in the fast laps on the soft tyres to ensure victory.
Not only did he win, but also the Championship battle took a turn. Charles Leclerc, who led the championship by 19 points, retired on Lap 27 of 66, allowing his rival to grab his fourth win of the season and, with it, the championship lead.
Sergio Perez, who did an outstanding job to secure Red Bull’s second 1-2 of the season, was disgruntled over team strategy.
With 15 circuits to go, Checo was told to let his Red Bull teammate pass, allowing Verstappen to waltz home and secure a third consecutive win after victories at Emilia Romagna and the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
“We’ll speak later,” Perez told his team in a radio chat afterwards.
Mercedes Resurgence
Russell put up a fight to claim a well-deserved P3 extending his run of finishing fifth or above in the first five races of the campaign. Though his teammate Lewis Hamilton could not extend his run of five consecutive Spanish GP victories, he impressed with a sensational recovery drive after the first-lap collision with Haas’ Kevin Magnusson. Before being overtaken by Carlos Sainz, he had run fourth, but Mercedes had reliability concerns over both cars in the closing stages.
Valtteri Bottas finished sixth for Alfa Romeo, continuing his strong start of the 2022 season.
Alpine had double points finish with Ocon in P7 and Alonso in P9. Norris finished eight despite suffering all weekend with tonsilitis, struggling with a fever and a headache throughout the weekend in Barcelona.
Yuki Tsunoda finished in the top ten for the third time this season, capturing the last point.
Sebastian Vettel was 11th, and Daniel Ricciardo was 12th, ahead of Pierre Gasly and Mick Schumacher. Guanyu Zhou was the only other driver to join Leclerc on the sidelines due to a technical issue during the race.
