Verstappen and Red Bull will be thrilled with this victory, especially after a challenging weekend where they faced strong competition from Norris and McLaren, despite expecting to excel on this track. Verstappen has recognized that their early-season dominance has faded, making this hard-fought win even more satisfying for the team.
Barcelona is crucial for testing a car's aerodynamics, and Red Bull still has an advantage, though not as strong as earlier in the season. Norris could have won if he hadn't lost places at the start and got stuck behind Russell early on, showing McLaren is now almost on par with Red Bull in performance.
Verstappen has won seven out of ten races this season and secured his 61st career victory with a third consecutive win in Spain. While this year's title battle is tougher than last year's, Verstappen remains firmly in control of the championship race.
After ten races, Verstappen leads the drivers' championship by 69 points ahead of Norris, who has moved up to second place, overtaking Leclerc.
Russell made an impressive start from fourth, late-braking and sweeping around the outside to snatch the lead at turn one. Meanwhile, despite starting on pole, Norris lost out to Verstappen, a moment he admitted later had affected his race outcome.
Russell briefly led the race, but Verstappen quickly regained the lead on the second lap, knowing he needed clear track to preserve his tires. With Norris trailing behind Russell, Verstappen wasted no time in building a gap at the front.
During the first round of pit stops in the two-stop race, Norris chose to stay out longer to close in on Verstappen. Verstappen pitted on lap 17, while Norris and McLaren stayed out longer to gain an advantage with fresher tires later on. Norris eventually pitted on lap 23 and re-emerged in fifth place behind Carlos Sainz, while Verstappen continued to lead the race.
On fresher tires, Norris quickly overtook Sainz for fourth place on lap 27. He then charged past Hamilton on lap 31 to claim third. By lap 35, Norris was battling Russell fiercely, swapping positions three times in one lap before finally gaining the upper hand at turn six.
It was an exciting race as Norris chased down Verstappen, who held a nine-second lead with 30 laps remaining. Despite pushing hard after moving up to second place, Norris managed to close the gap quickly, consistently lapping over half a second faster than his rival.
Verstappen pitted on lap 44 with Norris closing the gap to just over four seconds, spurred on by setting the fastest lap. Norris aimed to stay out longer, pushing for a race win rather than settling for a podium finish.
Norris made a pit stop on lap 46, which was a bit slow and cost him time. He re-entered the race just ahead of George Russell, trailing Verstappen by eight seconds with 19 laps remaining. From there, Norris launched a determined sprint to the checkered flag.
Verstappen was informed that Norris was closing in, reducing the gap to just over five seconds. In response, Verstappen started matching Norris's lap times more closely.
Verstappen managed to hold on, but he faced intense pressure right up to the finish line. Norris finished just 2.2 seconds behind, highlighting how closely McLaren is matching Red Bull's performance.
Sainz finished sixth for Ferrari, with Piastri in seventh for McLaren, Pérez in eighth for Red Bull, and Gasly and Ocon rounding out the top ten for Alpine.
SOURCE: The Guardian