The 2023 Spanish Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen back at the top of the podium for his 40th win of his Formula 1 career last weekend, stretching his lead in the driver standings to at least 53 points.
Right behind the Dutchman was the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who finished second and third, respectively. Their double podium has elevated them back to second in the constructor standings, although they still have a long way to go to catch Red Bull at the top.
Read more below as the SBOTOP team shares some of our biggest takeaways from the Spanish Grand Prix 2023 results.
Mercedes have a solid foundation to build on
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were both in a jovial mood following their double podium finish. Mercedes introduced several changes last time out in Monaco, and they worked on last weekend’s visit to Catalunya.
Mercedes moved away from their zero-sidepods concept, which has troubled them before. And that, along with their superior tyre management, allowed them to gain the upper hand over the rest of the chasing pack.
Hamilton had a first-lap collision with Lando Norris, but luckily his W14 wasn’t compromised. The seven-time world champion was able to run the soft tyres longer, which gave him the edge over the Ferrari drivers after the first stops, and he never looked back from there.
His teammate Russell, meanwhile, did a masterful job of working his way up to third on the grid following a 12th-place finish in qualifying. And he did it by extracting enough power, overtaking almost everyone in front of him in the process.
The 2023 Spanish Grand Prix was George Russell’s first podium since his victory in Sao Paulo last season, his first in his young career.
“This is what we were hoping for when we brought in the upgrades,” said Hamilton. “This result is definitely what we were working towards. I hope everyone is feeling really proud back at the factory.”
Red Bull were still a lot quicker than Mercedes on Sunday, but the W14’s raw pace has been much improved. It’ll be interesting to see if they can keep their momentum going in the next couple of races.
Another miserable outing for Ferrari of course
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. are not in the mood following their poor outings in Catalunya on Sunday, which seems to have been the norm these past few weeks.
Sainz Jr. was eager to score his first podium in front of his home fans. The Spaniard started second on the grid, but he eventually finished a distant fifth after losing out to the likes of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Sergio Perez because he couldn’t go the distance with his soft tyres.
Despite the disappointing finish, Sainz Jr. at least finished in the points, but the same couldn’t be said for his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc failed to make it out of Q1 in qualifying because of some rear-end issues with his car, so he started in P19.
The Monegasque driver started on the hard compound, but it backfired as he found himself pitting at the same time as his teammate on the softs. Leclerc eventually finished in 11th place because of Yuki Tsunoda’s time penalty.
Ferrari also introduced sweeping changes to the SF-23, just like Mercedes, that were aimed at improving its overall pace. It’s safe to say that they haven’t found a winning formula because they’re way behind where they were at this point last season.
Verstappen is just a class above the rest
Max Verstappen had a weekend to remember in Catalunya, as he claimed pole position, posted the fastest lap, and led from start to finish to assert his dominance over all opposition.
But despite this, the two-time defending champion has no plans to let up, especially with Mercedes showing signs of improvement.
“It’s a good period, but we have to keep on working and trying to find more performance. There are still a lot of races to come where we again have to perform really well and try to win the race,” said Verstappen.
According to the Spanish Grand Prix 2023 odds, the closest racer to rival Verstappen right now is his teammate, Sergio Perez, but Checo had another challenging weekend in Catalunya.
Sergio Perez struggled in qualifying, as he dropped out in Q2 to start in P11 on the grid. The Mexican star eventually finished fourth in the actual race, falling a couple of seconds short of another podium finish.
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