Dutchman, Max Verstappen has secured victory in Spain following a string of unexpected events over the past weeks.
After moving to Red Bull Racing from Toro Rosso, Max Verstappen drove his first race for his new team, beating Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel who finished second and third respectively. Securing this victory, Verstappen has proven his worth and has lived up to expectation, becoming F1’s youngest lap leader, podium finisher, and race winner over the space of one race weekend.
Max Verstappen wins in Spain
The race of Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg came to an unexpected end in the Spanish Grand Prix, with the team mates crashing into each other when going into turn four. Making a fantastic start, Rosberg took the lead from Hamilton into turn 1, holding the lead through turn two and into turn three. However, through turn three, it is evident that Rosberg’s car slowed down, beginning to harvest energy for the ERS system mid turn. This then promoted Hamilton to close in onto Rosberg and attempt a maneuver into turn four up the inside. Covering Hamilton off, Rosberg pushed his team mate onto the grass, destabilising the Mercedes and causing Hamilton to spin, collecting Rosberg in the process, ending Mercedes’ winning streak and race hopes within thirty seconds of the lights going out at the start.
Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth after battling close with Sebastian Vettel for the final step of the podium in the latter stages of the race. This battle was unfortunately cut short however, with Ricciardo experiencing a tyre blowout two laps from the end. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas came fifth being followed by Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr in sixth. Sainz came out on top of the Spanish drivers, beating home favourite Fernando Alonso after the McLaren driver faced an engine failure after running well in the top 10 for most of the race. Force India’s Sergio Perez finished the race in seventh being followed by Williams’ Felipe Massa. McLaren driver Jenson Button finished in ninth place, securing points in a second successive race. Ex Red Bull driver, Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top ten for Toro Rosso, securing 1 point through the result.
Now it’s time for that all important driver of the day and there can only be one man for this award. After driving a calm and calculated race,Max Verstappen is my driver of the day. This will be a drive that will be remembered for a while to come, with the young Dutchman breaking record after record in the space of a single Grand Prix.
Results from the Spanish GP:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 25 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 18 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 15 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 12 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 10 points
- Carlos Sainz .Jr, Toro Rosso, 8 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 6 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 4 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 2 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1 point
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 0 points
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas, Ret
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Ret
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, Ret
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Ret
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Ret
Driver’s Standings after 5 races:
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 100 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 61 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 57 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 48 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 48 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 38 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 36 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 29 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 22 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas, 22 points
- Carlos Sainz .Jr, Toro Rosso, 12 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 8 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 8 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 6 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 6 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 3 points
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1 point
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
- Esteban Gutiérrez, Haas, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
Constructors Standings after 5 races:
- Mercedes, 157 points
- Ferrari, 109 points
- Red Bull Racing, 94 points
- Williams, 65 points
- Toro Rosso, 26 points
- Haas, 22 points
- Force India, 14 points
- McLaren, 12 points
- Renault, 6 points
- Sauber, 0 points
- Manor, 0 points
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