Red Bull in trouble

Verstappen perplexed: “We are no longer No. 1!”

Max Verstappen

(Bild: AFP/Hector RETAMAL)

It was a highly unusual sentence for Max Verstappen to utter on Sunday. "I don't think we're number one anymore," said the three-time Formula 1 world champion and dominator of recent years after his triumph at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Although the Red Bull driver crossed the finish line first in Barcelona for the seventh time in the tenth race of the season, Lando Norris' McLaren was the faster car in the end.

 "We're not the fastest on the track!"
Verstappen finished exactly 2.2 seconds ahead of Norris, with the Briton running out of laps after a race to catch up on fresher tires. "We are not the fastest on the track. McLaren was also stronger in terms of tire wear, so we have to work," Verstappen emphasized on ORF ahead of the Austro racing team's home race in Spielberg this weekend. The victory in Barcelona was possible because his team chose a good strategy and he drove a good race, added the Dutchman.

Verstappen "66 laps at the absolute limit"
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko took a similar view, who, when asked about the sovereignty of the victory, only emphasized Verstappen's performance. The Styrian described it as "sovereign", Verstappen had driven "66 laps at the absolute limit". RB team boss Christian Horner also praised the world championship leader. "He is so determined in big moments," said the Brit, referring to what was probably the decisive overtaking maneuver on the third lap against George Russell.

"Lando has a similar speed to us!"
Even though Verstappen has extended his championship lead over his new number one rival Norris to a comfortable 69 points, the threat in papaya orange is looming ever larger in the Red Bull rear-view mirror. "Lando has a similar pace to us," said Horner, emphasizing, "When it's this close, there's no room for error." Verstappen made no mistakes on Sunday, while pole-setter Norris fluffed the start.

McLaren team boss: "Could have won the race!"
"We could have won the race, Lando had spinning tires at the start," said McLaren Team Principal Zak Brown. It was an exciting race, but Max doesn't make mistakes, emphasized the American. It currently seems unlikely that Verstappen will be able to drive to his fourth world championship title without any danger, as he has done in the past two years. In addition to McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes also want to compete for victories again as soon as possible.

Mercedes boss Wolff: "The progress is good!"
In Barcelona, the "Silver Arrows" Lewis Hamilton and George Russell lined up behind the leading duo, with a gap of 17 and 22 seconds respectively. "The progress is good," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after the second podium finish in a row. There were still "a few tenths" missing on Verstappen and Norris, emphasized the Viennese. "If we had held out until the end and not taken the throttle out, we might have been ten seconds behind. But ten seconds is ten seconds, that's still missing."

Ferraris drive a little behind
After the double retirement in Canada, the Ferraris were also a little behind in Spain, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz having to settle for fifth and sixth place. "We still need to take a few steps forward compared to McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes. We must not be blinded by Monaco," said Leclerc, who had triumphed on the street circuit in his home country.

The Scuderia is currently further away from victories than McLaren or Mercedes. On top of that, there are also arguments between the two Ferrari drivers, mainly due to a contact on the second lap. "It's a bit unnecessary, but I also understand that it's his home race and an important moment in his career. So he probably wanted to do something spectacular. But I probably wasn't the right person to do it," said Leclerc.

Sainz, who will have to vacate his Ferrari cockpit for Hamilton at the end of the season, reacted angrily. "I think he complains too often about something after a race," said the Spaniard towards Leclerc. "I went past Charles because I didn't know if he made a mistake or if he just wanted to control his race a bit too much."