Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, celebrates on the podium after winning the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, Spain, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Max Verstappen cruised to victory at the Spanish GP while George Russell finished in third place
Max Verstappen sealed the 24th GP win of his career in Spain. He also claimed his 64th podium finish. Last season, Verstappen had finished second at the Spanish GP behind Lewis Hamilton. This was his fifth successive podium finish at the Spanish GP. The tally reads 2018 (3rd), 2019 (3rd), 2020 (2nd), 2021 (2nd), and 2022 (1st). It’s his sixth podium finish here and second, win overall.
Looking back at the race, Verstappen admitted that he enjoyed the intense duel with Mercedes driver George Russell during the final quarter of the race.
“Of course I was a bit frustrated at the time because I couldn’t get Russell because of DRS issues, but the fight itself was really cool also. I think that lap where I did go down the outside and George went around the outside and I was around the outside of Turn 3 again, I think that was a really cool fight”, Verstappen said after the race.
He further added, “I look back at it and I’ll smile now; at the time of course I was a little bit frustrated. But it was a really good and tough battle, I think.”
Both Verstappen and Russell would be satisfied with how things turned out. While Verstappen secured his 4th win of the season, Russell made it to the podium having earned a third-place finish.
Ferrari has been dismantled top of both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. Max Verstappen overtakes Charles Leclerc to lead the drivers’ championship with 110 points while Leclerc is now placed second with 104 points followed by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in third place with 85 points.
In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull overtook Ferrari at the top after the 1-2 finish in Spain. Red Bull leads the table with 195 points; Ferrari is behind in second place with 169 points. There is a fair amount of gap between the top 2 teams and the rest of the grid with Mercedes occupying third place having earned 120 points.
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