Verstappen’s luck turns in Spanish Grand Prix win
MONTMELÓ, SPAIN Nothing was going right for Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix. The wind had blown his car off course, his Red Bull was struggling, and top rival Charles Leclerc seemed headed for a sure victory.
His fortunes turned when Leclerc lost power and his Ferrari suddenly sputtered to a near stop.
Then Verstappen’s own Red Bull team intervened by ordering Sergio Pérez to get out of Verstappen’s way. The reigning Formula One champion went from minimizing damage Sunday to winning the race and reclaiming the points lead.
“Not an easy start to the race, but we turned it around,” Verstappen said after his fourth win of the season, third consecutive.
Then the Dutchman thanked Pérez, who might have won himself but settled for second when Red Bull issued team orders.
“He is a great teammate,” Verstappen said.
Pérez took over the lead after Leclerc. But with 17 laps remaining, Red Bull told him to get out of Verstappen’s way.
“It’s unfair, but OK,” said Pérez, who was denied the chance for his third career F1 victory.
The stakes were too high for Red Bull and Verstappen, who trailed Leclerc by 19 points ahead of the race but now holds a six-point advantage in defence of his first title. Pérez is third in the standings and 19 points behind Leclerc.
Leclerc, meanwhile, had a terrific start and easily cleared Verstappen and controlled the race until lap 27.
“No! No! No! What happened?” he screamed on his radio.
Once out of his Ferrari, he said it was an engine failure.
“I lost engine power and had to stop,” Leclerc said. “I don’t know what the problem is yet, but it hurts.”
It closed a terrible day for Ferrari, which started first and third, but Carlos Sainz Jr. was gobbled up at the start and dropped to sixth before the first turn. Seeking a victory in his home grand prix, Sainz later was blown off course by the wind in the same spot as Verstappen but ultimately rallied to finish fourth.
Sainz was beaten by George Russell, who finished third for his second podium of the season with Mercedes. Russell also had an impressive battles with Perez and Verstappen and held the champion up as Verstappen tried to recover from his own spin.