Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix for the third year in succession this afternoon after holding off the challenge of Lando Norris in Barcelona.
The Red Bull driver, for whom it was a seventh win of the season, extended his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings to 69 points over Norris as a result.
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Norris, who came second ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third, started on pole but saw his advantage relinquished almost immediately with George Russell taking the lead into the first corner and Verstappen maintaining second.
Verstappen passed Russell on lap two and, barring pitstops, never looked back as he came through to win, over two seconds ahead of Norris.
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW! 🏆👏 PIC.TWITTER.COM/DCEPILQDQP
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) JUNE 23, 2024
He said: “I think what made the race was at the beginning I took the lead on lap two and that’s where I had my buffer, and in that first stint where I could eek out the gap a little bit. After that we had to drive a defensive race with Lando and McLaren, they were very quick today especially on degradation.
“I think we did everything well, we drove an aggressive strategy but luckily it paid off until the end. Very happy to win here.”
Norris was frustrated with this start and admitted he ought to have done better than second.
“I should have won it. I got a bad start. As simple as that,” he said. “The car was incredible today, we were for sure the quickest, I just lost it in the beginning.
“Disappointed but a lot of positives. One negative and that kind of ruined everything. I know that I can just work on it for next time. It’s a good amount of points, thanks to the team because the car was amazing.”
