Verstappen beats Norris to F1 Spanish GP win

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took his seventh win of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship with victory in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Starting second on the grid, Verstappen outdragged polesitter Lando Norris of McLaren at the start, but was nevertheless beaten to the first corner by the fast-starting Mercedes of George Russell, who vaulted from fourth to first.

Undaunted, Verstappen dispatched Russell on lap 3 to take the lead, and though Norris closed on the Dutchman on fresher rubber in the closing stages, Verstappen managed the gap effectively to remain unthreatened until he crossed the line some 2.5s ahead of Norris.

"I think what made the race was the beginning. I took the lead and then had a buffer in that first stint and could eke out a gap," said Verstappen, whose win was his third in a row at Barcelona.

"After that we had to drive defensively. Lando and McLaren were very quick. I think we did everything well. I am very happy to win here.

"It was about managing the tyres. They get very hot around here so you are sliding around quite a lot."

Behind the top two, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton rounded out the podium places, with teammate Russell fading from a bright start to finish fourth.

The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz took fifth and sixth, with Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri seventh.

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez endured another underwhelming run to eighth, with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon rounding out the top ten to score some useful points for Alpine.

With his latest win, Verstappen leads the Drivers' Championship with 219 points. Norris moves up to second with 150 points, and Leclerc is now third on 148.

In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull still lead with 330 points. Ferrari remain second on 270 points, with McLaren third on 237 points.

The 11th round of the 2024 F1 World Championship is the Austrian Grand Prix on June 30th.