Spanish GP: Verstappen dominates race to secure 40th F1 win
5th June 2023Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated a lights-to-flag victory as the reigning world champion secured his 40th career win.
Verstappen lined up in pole position, alongside Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, for the Spanish Grand Prix. When the lights went out, Verstappen easily contested track position with Ferrari’s Spaniard and maintain the lead after the Turn 1 and Turn 2 chicane.
From there the Dutchman remained unchallenged for the lead eking out a four-second lead by lap eight, ahead of Sainz.
Despite a two-stop strategy transferring Verstappen from the medium compounds, the hard tyres to the softs, Verstappen never relinquished the lead.
While the reigning world champion had a lonely race out in front, hindered by the occasional backmarker, it didn’t stop the Netherlands driver from exceeding track limits.
The Dutchman received a black-and-white flag for exceeding track limits three times across the race, on lap 59 of 66. One more excursion outside track limits and Verstappen would have been handed a five-second time penalty, but it wouldn’t have changed the running order.
Even with though the black and white flag loomed overhead, Verstappen still inquired about the fastest lap time. Although his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, advised the world champion not to worry about it – Verstappen still set the fastest lap time on the board.
By the time the chequered flag fell, the Dutchman secured victory 24 seconds ahead of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell who rounded out the podium in second and third respectively.
In the end, the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix provided Verstappen with his sixth career hat trick (win, pole and fastest lap), and his third career grand slam (win, pole, fastest lap and led from start to finish).
That’s all for the article: Spanish GP: Verstappen dominates race to secure 40th F1 win!
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Gasly slapped with six-place grid drop for Spanish GP
- Spanish GP: Verstappen on pole as Gasly and Russell go to stewards
- Spanish GP: Verstappen fastest in FP2 one-tenth ahead of Alonso
- Spanish GP: Verstappen flies to the top seven-tenths ahead of Perez
- Monaco GP: Leclerc slapped with 3-place grid drop after Norris impede
- Monaco GP: Verstappen narrowly takes pole by 0.084s over Alonso
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