Spanish Grand Prix: Verstappen holds off Norris to complete Spanish hat-trick
Max Verstappen won the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Sunday, while McLaren pole-sitter Lando Norris lamented a poor start that cost him the victory.
The British driver was clearly hurt after finishing 2.2 seconds behind Red Bull's triple world champion after 66 laps around Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on a hot and sunny afternoon.
"I should have won," said the disappointed driver, now Verstappen's closest challenger in a title 'battle' that still looks one-sided despite rivals catching up.
"Not could have. Should have won. I got a bad start. Simple as that. The car was incredible. We were the quickest and I lost it at the beginning. A lot of positives this weekend. One negative and that kind of ruined everything."
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, finished third for his first podium appearance of the season, while Mercedes teammate George Russell was overtaken and finished fourth.
Verstappen increased his championship lead to 69 points over Norris, who also received a bonus point for fastest lap.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fifth, just 0.3 seconds behind Russell, after a wheel-banging battle on lap four with teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished sixth in front of his home crowd.
Leclerc said the collision damaged his front wing while he was attempting to manage the tyres, and he planned to speak with the Spaniard, who will be replaced by Hamilton at the end of the season.
"He is motivated to do something spectacular but I was probably not the right person to do that with," said the Monegasque.
Sainz also complained about Hamilton after being forced wide by the Briton, but the stewards saw no need to intervene.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished seventh, Red Bull's Sergio Perez eighth on a three-stop strategy, with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon taking the final points for Renault's underperforming Alpine team.
Norris had beaten Verstappen by 0.020 of a second on Saturday, securing only his second F1 pole, but the 24-year-old's advantage slipped away as soon as the lights went out.
Russell rocketed past around the outside from fourth as Verstappen and Norris battled into the first corner, with the Red Bull squeezed onto the grass in what team boss Christian Horner described as "fairly robust racing".
Verstappen knew he needed to pass Russell as soon as possible, which he did on lap three, allowing him to ease clear and build a buffer.
"I think what made the race was the beginning," he said. "I took the lead ... and made that first stint where I could eke out a gap a little bit. After that we had to drive kind of a defensive race. Lando and McLaren were very quick today ... I think we did everything well, we drove quite an aggressive strategy but luckily it played out to the end."
Norris drove a longer first stint, hoping to use strategy to close the gap, despite a slow first pitstop costing him valuable time, and began to close on Verstappen, who was told to push until the end because the McLaren was not saving its tyres.
Verstappen's win was his seventh in ten races this season and his 61st overall.
He now has 219 points to Norris's 150 and Leclerc's 148, while Red Bull have 330 to Ferrari's 270, and McLaren are third with 237.
SportsLigue