The layout of the Madrid track ended up being one of the main obstacles for Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1, held on Sunday (13). After losing positions still in the first lap, the Red Bull driver had to settle for the podium and spend the final part of the race defending third place from Lando Norris.
Read more F1: Rosberg blames Sainz for layout that hinders overtaking in Madrid: «He was the ambassador»
The situation started at Turns 1 and 2. Verstappen had taken second position, behind Lando Norris, but Lewis Hamilton’s attempt to advance in the opening complex made the Dutchman go off track to avoid contact. He returned ahead, but the race direction determined that he should give the position back for gaining an advantage by leaving the track.
Verstappen did not hide his irritation with the order. Over the Red Bull radio, he questioned the decision and made it clear that, in his view, staying on the track could have ended in an accident: “Man, what are you talking about? He would have crashed,” he shouted to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. “Like, what are you talking about? If I just stay on the track, I’m out of the race.”
Even though displeased, the driver complied with the order and dropped from second to fourth place. Kimi Antonelli also got ahead of the Dutchman again. A few laps later, Hamilton retired from the race due to a brake failure. Antonelli took advantage of the opportunity and ended up winning, while Norris had his result affected by the virtual safety car.
Hamilton downplayed the episode after the race. The Briton described his race as “a pretty good race” and, when asked about Verstappen’s complaints, replied: “Nothing to do with me.”
Read more F1: Antonelli admits that «I got confused» about incident with Verstappen in Madrid
For Verstappen, recovering positions was a complicated task on the tight Madrid circuit. With few overtaking opportunities, he finished behind Antonelli and had to manage Norris’s pressure in the final laps. Still, the four-time world champion considered that he got the most out of the weekend:
“I maximized the result,” he told the press. “Probably a bit of luck, of course, with Lando’s unfortunate situation, because I didn’t have Kimi’s pace, and definitely didn’t have Lando’s pace. We’re here on the podium, and I think that’s great, but we’re still a bit short of really fighting for the win; because it might have seemed a bit like we were fighting for the win, but that was more because Kimi was being held up by Charles.
“Because as soon as he had clean air, he just went away again, and I was busy with Lando behind me. But around here, if you drive a bit in the middle, then you can’t overtake,” concluded the Red Bull Dutchman.
Read more F1: Norris criticizes lack of overtakes in Madrid and advocates for “obvious” changes
