Max Verstappen leads Red Bull’s one-two to win the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell after the dramatic retirement of Charles Leclerc… with Lewis Hamilton in fifth place in a stunning comeback after a puncture on the first lap dropped back to 19th place
- Max Verstappen fought back from fourth place to win the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Sergio Perez
- The Dutchman ran wide early on but led a Red Bull one-two from Perez that passed his teammate later in the race
- Charles Leclerc was on course for victory before his Ferrari suffered an engine failure in Barcelona
- For the first time this year, Verstappen leads the world championship ahead of Leclerc by six points
- Lewis Hamilton fought his way back to fifth place after suffering a puncture in a collision with Kevin Magnussen on the first lap
- Brit had finished fourth behind George Russell before suffering late mechanical drama and losing a place
Max Verstappen took the lead in the World Championship after storming to victory in a thrilling Spanish Grand Prix that saw Lewis Hamilton make a good comeback drive from last to fifth – despite wanting to retire!
It took all of the Dutchman’s fighting spirit – and the strategic savvy of his Red Bull team – to triumph after Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell, who finished third, put up a brave and scintillating fight for Mercedes. Verstappen was also helped by a pinch of luck – the retirement of leader Charles Leclerc on lap 27 of 66.
Leclerc’s withdrawal with “unspecified drive unit problems” allowed Russell to lead on lap 28.
Max Verstappen celebrates victory at the Spanish Grand Prix after leading home a Red Bull one-two at the Circuit de Catalunya
The Red Bull star crosses Barcelona in a dream weekend for the Dutchman and his team
But Red Bull lured Verstappen in for new tires and the world champion secured his third win in as many races.
He did so despite problems with an occasional non-working DRS that tested his patience. He garbled angry news reports over the radio and cheered him on in the car.
“We can’t even get the damn DRS to work, man,” yelled Verstappen. ‘Unbelievable.’
The most exciting duel in scorching temperatures came on lap 24 when Verstappen, exceptionally with a working DRS, found himself behind Russell on the 200-mile start straight.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had led away from pole position ahead of his title rival Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell
Verstappen made a mistake and dropped to fourth place behind teammate Sergio Perez when they were caught behind Russell
Verstappen fell down the inside of the first corner. Russell, who had moved up from fourth to third at the start, bravely kept his foot on the accelerator and snaked forward into the second turn. And then the Brit persevered as each of the 24-year-olds somehow avoided contact during their tight dance.
Russell’s day was his most rewarding since joining Mercedes earlier in the season. His car improved with significant upgrades, although it wasn’t enough to stop Sergio Perez from ending a Red Bull 1-2, 13 seconds adrift of Verstappen. Russell was another 20 seconds behind.
Hamilton, the man of the resurrection, clashed with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas on the first lap when he was sixth from where he had started. The collision at turn 4 caused a puncture. He stormed into the pits and found himself almost a minute behind.
He wanted to withdraw from the race. “I’d save that engine if I were you,” Hamilton said desperately. ‘We’re sorry.’
Peter Bonnington, his race engineer, countered: “Lewis, we think we can still score points. P8 or maybe better.”
Thank God Bonnington stepped in.
Hamilton would have finished fourth but was told to “lift and roll out”, presumably with critical fuel consumption when the sand ran out.
Carlos Sainz, whom he had overtaken, sped past Hamilton on the final lap.
The stewards viewed Hamilton and Magnussen’s encounter but took no action. Each driver made his own point of view clear. Magnussen said: “Fuck Lewis. He just rammed me. He knew what he was doing.”
Hamilton’s version: “F***, I got hit.”
Verstappen is now heading to Monaco next weekend with a six-point lead over Leclerc.
Leclerc, who lives in the principality, lamented his unhappiness but had little explanation.
“I don’t know any more than what basically happened,” he said. “Before that, I had no symptoms. It just broke and I lost power completely.”
Here’s the Sportsmail live blog for updates as the Formula 1 campaign continues at the Spanish Grand Prix.