Up until the 27th lap yesterday at the Spanish Grand Prix, pole setter Charles Leclerc looked as if Monegasque would race safely to his third win of this year’s Formula 1 season. But then the drive unit on the Ferrari suddenly gave out, and the 24-year-old had to park his car in the pits – which Red Bull took advantage of coldly. Max Verstappen drove in Montmelo near Barcelona after a stable order in front of his teammate Sergio Perez to victory and the first World Championship lead this year. George Russell let the recently ailing Mercedes racing team celebrate with third place.
Oppressive heat, 37 degrees air temperature, the asphalt even hotter. And it quickly got heated at the sixth round of the season. At the start, Leclerc held the lead in front of Verstappen, behind it it got chaotic. Schumacher got off to a good start from tenth place, made up positions and also benefited from a crash by his teammate: Kevin Magnussen rammed into Lewis Hamilton and fell to the end of the field, the record world champion had to pit for new tires. Then the disaster for Verstappen began. First he had to go into the gravel trap in turn four, when he fell behind Russell, the DRS overtaking aid also gave out, as it did in qualifying. Meanwhile, Leclerc pushed the pace undeterred – before the technology played a trick on him before half-time. “I suddenly lost power,” said the Monegasse. “It’s a shame. We had the race under control, the car was fantastic.”
The duel for the lead was called Russell versus Perez. On the 31st lap, the Mexican overtook the Brit. After another change to medium rollers, Verstappen came back on the track just behind Perez. The Mexican was told over the radio not to defend himself against his team-mate. In the 49th lap, the stable order was carried out, which did not change until the end of the race. “Thanks to ‘Checo’, he’s a great teammate,” said Verstappen after his 24th Grand Prix victory. Perez was less than happy with the decision. “We’ll have to talk about that.”
Now the Monaco classic follows
Before the classic next Sunday in Monaco, Red Bull now has the upper hand. Leclerc, on the other hand, is puzzling before his home race: “We can’t afford something like this to happen more often during the season.” (free)
Source: Nachrichten
