Pumped up at home in Barcelona, Fernando Alonso failed to please his crowd at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.
The local hero had to settle for seventh place in an event dominated by none other than Max Verstappen, who rounded off a perfect weekend at the wheel of his Red Bull.
As for Lance Stroll, he managed to overtake his teammate at Aston Martin and finish in sixth place after another parade on Sunday that was virtually devoid of debate.
“We didn’t have enough speed today,” said the 24-year-old driver.
As a good teammate
Alonso was a good player as he got within a second of the Montrealer with about ten laps to go without trying to destabilize him.
“Lance doesn’t need to worry,” the 41-year-old veteran pilot said over the radio. It’s not worth taking unnecessary risks. »
Still, Alonso was quicker than Stroll after passing Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon on lap 52 of 66. At about two seconds per lap.
“I had fresher tires than him,” explained Alonso, who slacked off at the end of the race while maintaining a lead on the Alpine d’Ocon behind him.
A good start
True to form, Stroll got off to a brilliant start. After starting from fifth place when the red lights went out, he slipped to third place, taking advantage of a small collision between Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in front of him at the second turn.
But after that the tires of his single-seater rapidly deteriorated so that he could no longer hold his position.
While Aston Martin was seen as the second force on the board at the start of the season, it must now be recognized that the threat from Mercedes is very real.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Mercedes is coming back like this,” said Alonso. His cars are fast and we’re worried. »
Behind the untouchable Verstappen, Hamilton was voted ‘Driver of the Day’ and his partner George Russell finished second and third. It is also the first time in 2023 that the two Mercedes colors will meet on the podium.
At the end of this seventh stage of the season, the German team also took the opportunity to snatch second place from Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship (152 to 134).
rider alone
Verstappen scored the 40th win of his career and is one step away from claiming a fifth all-time win alongside Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna.
The Dutchman takes the lead in the drivers’ standings, a comfortable 53-point lead over Sergio Pérez, who finished fourth at Barcelona.
Verstappen could miss the next two events on the calendar and retain the championship lead even if his teammate takes the win and takes the bonus point for fastest lap in each. That says it all.
And now Montreal!
The F1 circus travels to Montreal, where the Canadian Grand Prix will be held on June 18th.
It remains to be wished that there was better performance out on the track. We certainly haven’t been spoiled since the start of the season. The return to Mercedes form may bode well for the future.
What if Hamilton showed his good weather form at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve?
It’s a track on which he not only claimed the first of his 103 victories (in 2007), but also seven times.
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It’s good news that Mercedes is showing its teeth, but it’s worth noting that Hamilton conceded 24 seconds to Verstappen when waving the checkered flag in Barcelona.
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For a rare time, the 20 cars finished Sunday in Spain. Logan Sargeant was last behind the wheel of his Williams, one lap behind the winner. Alongside Dutchman Nyck de Vries, the American is one of just two drivers on the grid not to have scored a point in 2023.