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)
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Spanish GP and Sergio Perez secured a 1-2 finish while Mercedes’ George Russell took the other spot on the podium
Max Verstappen cruises over the finish line to leapfrog Charles Leclerc at the top of the championship. Perez makes it a one-two for a jubilant Red Bull, with Russell third, Carlos Sainz fourth, and Hamilton fifth
An elated Verstappen said after the race – “Of course, I went off, I just lost the rear. And I was on the train and trying to pass but my DRS was not always working which made it tough. We had the strategy to get ahead again and do our own race. Difficult beginning but a good end! I tried to stay focussed, which is not always easy.”
This was Verstappen’s 24th GP win of his career. 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 wins overall.
Leclerc started the race from pole position, lead the race for 28 laps before a power issue forced him to retire.
The latter part of the race saw Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton emerge towards the front, finding himself in the fourth spot after being last at one point, but a warning from the garage about a potential DNF penalty saw him give up a place to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
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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