Max Verstappen finished the Spanish Formula 1 GP in second place, after a decisive defense against Lando Norris in the final laps. The Red Bull Racing driver acknowledged that luck helped, but joked while explaining how he managed to keep the McLaren rival behind.
Read more F1: Hamilton recounts critical moment before retiring in Spain
Starting in P3, Verstappen gained a position during the race and advanced again when Norris failed to make his stop during the virtual safety car period. With newer tires, the Briton closed in in the final laps but found no space to overtake.
The start of the race was eventful for Verstappen, who cut the first corner and passed Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli. Red Bull instructed him to give back the two positions, a decision the Dutch driver complied with after initially complaining over the radio.
Hamilton retired shortly after with brake problems on the Ferrari, allowing Verstappen to regain third position. The Dutchman advanced again when Norris, then leader, failed to take advantage of the virtual safety car window to make his stop, while Verstappen pitted and ended up benefiting from the situation.
Read more F1: Verstappen is voted Driver of the Day after P2 in Madrid
Asked about the result, Verstappen assessed that second place exceeded Red Bull’s expectations: “Looking at the race pace, for us, it’s a great result. Lando was unlucky with the virtual safety car, so for us, second place is an incredible result, because you could see how much he was catching me, but here you can’t overtake, so I managed to keep him behind,” he said.
The Dutch driver also explained in a relaxed way how he managed to prevent Norris from closing in: “It was just keeping the car in the middle. That works very well here and trying to maintain tire grip, which was the hardest part of that section,” Verstappen concluded, reinforcing the criticism he made throughout the weekend about the Madrid layout and the difficulty of overtaking.
Read more F1: Verstappen gets annoyed with Red Bull’s order in Madrid
