Spanish F-1 Grand Prix: race results

In a race that saw plenty of action in the middle of the pack, the winner was decided at the start as Verstappen edged Carlos Sainz and never looked back.

The Dutchman was joined on the podium by the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with Sergio Perez finishing in fourth place.

The main results of the race:

Sergio Perez is no longer a threat to Max Verstappen

At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, Perez beat Verstappen and it raised a lot of questions. Many have even started drawing comparisons to the infamous 2016 rivalry between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes cars.

But Verstappen has since beaten Perez in Miami despite starting the race in 9th place. We saw him pass Perez twice in Monaco. The Mexican had nothing to show, Perez made mistakes, but Verstappen didn’t.

At the end of the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix weekend, Max Verstappen is 53 points clear of his teammate and there is no championship left.

Mercedes has every reason to start catching up with Red Bull

First, let’s look at reality first. Red Bull was still around half a second quicker than Mercedes in the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix in race trim.

But Mercedes’ performance at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix is ​​proof that the updates work. The foundations have been laid for the team and now it’s time to catch up with Red Bull.

Ferrari still has the same problems as last year.

Either Mattia Binotto’s shadow still looms over the team or this is what Ferrari will look like under Fred Wasser.

The problems with Leclerc’s car were a big surprise on Friday, but even worse was the team’s strategy. Only 15 laps on hard tires – it’s just a joke. It was hilarious to watch a Ferrari driver accelerate after a rough start from the pit lane and then backtrack.

Ferrari needs a major overhaul as this team in this condition won’t be able to win the title any time soon.

Alpine needs more performance

Alpine improved in qualifying and showed its ability to overtake even Mercedes and Aston Martin.

But the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix showed that the French team, although making progress, still need the final steps to compete with the top four in the race.

Alonso gives Stroll sixth place

Aston Martin was out of its element at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, and understandably so. Every team, even the best, can have a suboptimal weekend. What isn’t clear is the ridiculous finishing of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

Alonso confidently outplayed a teammate in races each time, was a cut above. In Spain, Fernando had problems in qualifying, but in the race he was faster than Stroll, catching him in the last laps, but then he radioed so Lance wouldn’t worry, the Spaniard didn’t was not going to attack him and simply gave him sixth place. This act is laughable, as Alonso is a driver who never gives up, but in Spain he was happy to make way for his teammate, who incidentally is the son of the team owner.

It’s a strange dynamic at Aston Martin and it’s hard to see what the point of it all is.

The failure of Lando Norris after a successful qualification

For a driver like Lando Norris, qualifying for the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix was proof of his ability to really get the most out of a car.

The start of the race was a whole different story as contact with Hamilton on the first lap ruined his race.

They weren’t expecting a podium from Norris, but they would definitely get points. Unfortunately, it was his third mistake in seven races and it was just bad luck for the leader McLaren.

Early retirement of Valtteri Bottas from Formula 1?

It looks like Valtteri Bottas is no longer focused on the race. The Finnish driver has his own off-road adventures and really seems to be enjoying his life outside of the car.

However, all of this comes at a price, and it comes at the cost of its performance on the track.

He’s not the same Bottas we saw before last season, and he should probably sit back and wonder if he even wants to keep doing this.

Lots of overtaking, but at the same time a boring race

Were there any overtaking in the race? Yes, there were quite a few. But was it a spectacular race? Probably not, because the fight for positions was outside the points zone, or at most for 7-8th place.

It’s fun to watch Nico Hulkenberg, Guanyu Zhou, and Yuki Tsunoda battle it out, but the fact that they’re not battling for the top spots kills the interest.

Until we see how drivers are fighting for podiums and wins, it will be difficult for Formula 1 to keep fans interested.

Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic