Max Verstappen finished the Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1 in second place and assessed that Red Bull Racing extracted practically everything it had available. The Dutchman acknowledged that Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris had more pace, but managed to keep the McLaren driver behind until the checkered flag.
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The race in Madrid started with a complicated moment involving Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen had to go off track after the Ferrari driver touched the curb and returned to the racing line, avoiding a possible contact between the two cars. The team decided that the Dutchman should give the position back, a decision considered difficult by Laurent Mekies.
“At the start, Lewis touched the curb and returned to the racing line. I had to go off track, otherwise we both would have suffered damage,” explained Verstappen. The driver also made it clear that victory was not within Red Bull’s reach at that moment. “I don’t think we had the pace to challenge for the lead. Kimi and Lando were faster than me throughout the race, so I’m happy with second place,” he said.
The difficulty in overtaking on the circuit played an important role in Verstappen’s defense. According to him, when a car manages to position itself in the middle of the track, there is practically no space for an overtaking attempt, which allowed him to control Norris’s approach in the final laps.
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Liam Lawson finished the race in sixth, after starting on hard tires in an alternative strategy. The New Zealander lost a position to Franco Colapinto at the start, and when he managed to recover ground, the VSC was deployed and complicated his race. Still, he gained two positions compared to the grid and highlighted the car’s evolution during the weekend.
Mekies also highlighted Verstappen’s fifth podium in the last seven races, and emphasized the work done by the team in Milton Keynes to improve the car and the power unit. For the Red Bull chief, the performance on the new Madrid circuit confirmed the positive streak started in the last stages.
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