The 2023 F1 Spanish Grand Prix was a dominant display by Max Verstappen, who led from start to finish and extended his lead in the F1 Standings – Spanish GP. The Red Bull driver started from pole position and never looked back, as he controlled the pace and managed his tires to perfection.

Behind him, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completed the podium for a surprise comeback performance for Mercedes, after a strong recovery from their poor qualifying performance. Ferrari and Aston Martin had a mixed race, with Carlos Sainz finishing fifth and Fernando Alonso seventh, but Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll retiring with mechanical issues.

In this article, we will analyze the highlights and results of the 2023 F1 Spanish Grand Prix, the seventh round of the season and a crucial test for the teams and drivers

2023 F1 Standings – Spanish GP – 2nd June to 4th June

F1 Standings – Spanish GP Qualifying Time

The Spanish grand prix qualifying session was everything that an F1 enthusiast could hope for.

In Q1 there was some rain which had a few drivers struggling with the greasy track surface in. The result was an early red flag being displayed. Once the gravel had been removed from the track the session resumed.

F1 Standings – Spanish GP – Charles Leclerc Did Not Make It Out Of Q1

Charles Leclerc complained about not being able to turn his car in the track and the resultant reduced pace kept him in Q1 and out of Qualy.

Sergio Perez got into Q2 by the skin of his teeth in 15th position.

F1 Standings – Sergio Perez And George Russel Did Not Make It Out Of Q2

While he was on his flying lap Sergio went flying off the track and into the gravel at turn 5. He never really recovered and ended up missing out on Q3.

George Russel did not see Lewis Hamilton coming up behind on the start/finish straight, and swerved into him as he was starting his flying lap – the result could have been much more serious but the only damage was Lewis’s front wing.

Thankfully Lewis’s first attempt was enough to get him into Q3. George, however did not get through.

Afterwards Lewis said

Q3 Finished With A Completely Rearranged Front Row Grid

Max Verstappen looked like he never had a concern in the world, and could have been on a Sunday afternoon drive – although a very fast one!

He comfortably ended up on pole with a 0.462 second lead ahead of Carlos Sainz who ended up alongside him in P2 on the grid.

Behind them the grid has begun to look very interesting

• Lando Norris (McLaren) is in 3rd place
• Pierre Gasly (Alpine) is 4th
• A Newly resurgent Lewis Hamilton is in 5th.

Up until Lewis and George hit Lewis was putting in times that gave him a chance of starting at the front of the grid.

Q3 was not as impressive an may have been due to some damage to the floor of his car

Gasly May Be Penalized

Carlos Sainz had scary incident with Pierre Gasly. The Spaniard was very angry after Gasly blocked him as he was approaching the start-finish line.

After this Gasly had another incident with impeding Max Verstappen on his flying lap.

Gasly has been called to the stewards and faces a six place grid penalty

The final qualifying results were.

Max Verstappen wins Dominant Spanish Grand Prix As Mercedes Score Double Podium

Max Verstappen has extended his lead in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship with a dominant victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, while Mercedes scored their first double podium of the season with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finishing second and third respectively.

Verstappen started from pole position and fended off a challenge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the first corner, before pulling away from the rest of the field. The Red Bull driver controlled the race from the front and crossed the line with a comfortable margin of 24 seconds over Hamilton.

Hamilton, who qualified fourth, made a strong start and moved up to third place by passing Lando Norris on lap one.

Lance Stroll cleverly stole 3rd from Lewis, a position he kept until Lewis reclaimed it with his classic moves.

The seven-time world champion then chased down Sainz and overtook him on lap 28 with a late braking move into turn one. Hamilton then set his sights on Verstappen, but could not close the gap enough to challenge for the win.

George Russel Had A Great Race

Russell, who started 12th, also made impressive progress through the field and joined Hamilton in passing Sainz on lap 30.

The young Briton then held off a late charge from Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, who pitted for fresh soft tires on lap 48 and closed in on Russell in the final laps.

However, Russell defended well and secured his second podium of the season.

Sergio Never Truly Switched On

Perez, who started 11th after a disappointing qualifying session, recovered well to finish fourth, ahead of Sainz, who faded in the second half of the race.

Lance Stroll and Alonso finished sixth and seventh for Aston Martin, followed by Esteban Ocon and Guanyu Zhou for Alpine and Alfa Romeo respectively. Pierre Gasly completed the top ten for Alpine.

Charles Leclerc missed out on points, finishing 11th.

Yuki Tsunoda was 12th for AlphaTauri, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries. Nico Hulkenberg finished in 15th place for Haas, while Alex Albon was 16th for Williams. Kevin Magnussen was 17th for Haas, followed by Lando Norris for McLaren and Valtteri Bottas for Alfa Romeo. Logan Sargeant was the last finisher for Williams.

F1 Standings – Spanish GP

Verstappen now leads the championship with 170 points, followed by Perez with 117 points and Alonso with 99 points. Hamilton is fourth with 87 points, while Russell is fifth with 65 points.

The final race results are listed below

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References

F1 Official Web Site