BARCELONA: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sealed a dramatic victory at the 2022 Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix as his Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc retired from a dominant lead.

Verstappen’s triumph was his fourth out of the six races, which summarized his run of either winning or retiring this year.

Ferrari’s Leclerc, who was in the cruise control following Verstappen’s spin in the early moments of the race as the former was nearly 30 seconds in the lead. The Ferrari driver then stopped for fresh tyres on lap 21 and re-emerged six seconds in the lead and bettered it to 12.6 when his engine failed six laps later.

Red Bull, on the other hand, switched strategy in the 44th lap as they directed Sergio Perez not to hold Verstappen up, which allowed the Belgian-Dutch driver to take the lead a couple of laps later.

The victory at the Spanish Grand Prix has put Verstappen into the lead for the first time this season, having a six-point advantage over the previous leader Leclerc.

 

Mercedes’ George Russell attained a strong third after an enduring and valiant effort, also keeping the winner Verstappen at the bay in the early laps.

 

Russell’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, managed to take the fifth position following a first-lap collision with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, which gave the seven-time champion a puncture and dropped him to the back of the field.

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