Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, another round of the season in Formula 1. The three-time world champion with Red Bull held off Lando Norris with McLaren, and third on the podium went seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes, for whom it was first podium of the campaign and first since October last year.
For Verstappen, who already has three victories in Spain, victory did not come easily. The start of the race was extremely exciting, with George Russell in the Mercedes ahead of Norris and Verstappen, who started first and second respectively. Norris went to third, but then made up for the poor start. Despite his efforts, the talented Brit settled for second place in Barcelona. Russell, who started great, remained in fourth position, and in the top 10 there were also Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Alpine drivers - Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
"I think what made the race so exciting was the start. I took the lead and then I had a buffer to open a gap. After that we had to drive defensively. Lando and McLaren were very fast. I think we did everything very well. Happy I won here. It all came down to how we managed the tyres. They get very hot here, so it's easy to slide", said Verstappen.
The Dutchman leads convincingly with 69 points ahead of the second-placed Norris, who overtook Leclerc. The Monegasque has 148 points to his credit. Sainz is fourth with 116, followed by Perez with 111 points.
Verstappen will be chasing an eighth win since the start of the season at next weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. The race is on Sunday, June 30, at 16:00 Bulgarian time. | BGNES
