“Awesome, Lewis.” Nice to hear the old refrain echoing about the Mercedes pit wall once again. Not yet the victory, but at least there is hope. “Thanks guys, mega job,” Hamilton replied.
That new Mercedes kit unveiled in Monaco finally got to reveal its legs around Barcelona and, with George Russell tearing through the field from 12th to join Hamilton on the podium, showed itself to be superior than all bar Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
A 40th career victory took Verstappen to within one of Ayrton Senna’s total, the driver against whom all modern grand prix racers are measured. Yes, the Red Bull is the class of the field, but Verstappen is not the only one with the keys. Put it this way, you don’t need to consult ChatGPT4 to determine the likely outcome of a Formula One race.
Unless Verstappen falls asleep at the wheel, which three warnings for exceeding track limits whilst leading by a mile suggests is a possibility, there is no likely alternative for AI to consider. The distance between Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished fourth here, stands at 53 points after seven races.
It was clear to most that Verstappen was in Senna’s orbit when he made his F1 debut for Red Bull’s second team Toro Rosso aged 17 in 2015. Now in his ninth season Verstappen has indubitably matured into the class of the field and will not have to check his mirrors significantly until Mercedes complete their design overhaul with a chassis upgrade in 2024 and Hamilton under contract.
The new floor, sidepods and front suspension appear to have done for Aston Martin, Ferrari and, in Spain at least, the Red Bull of Perez. And it will get quicker, just not enough this term to trim the wings of the sport’s pre-eminent force. “It’s a big pleasure to drive a car like this,” Verstappen said in a perfunctory tone born of the difficulty of coming up with something new to say.
Hamilton, who has been turned into a world-class Moaning Minnie during the shattering downturn experienced by Mercedes under the new ground-force rules, is at least encouraged now the bleeding has stopped. More than any other circuit, Barcelona, with its fast, flowing corners, tests the capabilities of a Formula Car. The Mercedes laid down a marker here. “What a result for our team,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t expect that. The Bulls are still too quick at the moment, but we are working at it. We’ll keep chasing them down. I’m still flat out, no lifting.”
Spanish GP 2023 result in full
- 1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 3 George Russell (Mercedes)
- 4 Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- 5 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- 6 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 7 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 8 Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- 9 Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
- 10 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- 11 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 12 Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
- 13 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- 14 Nyck De Vries (AlphaTauri)
- 15 Nico Hulkenburg (Haas)
- 16 Alexander Albon (Williams)
- 17 Lando Norris (McLaren)
- 18 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- 19 Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
- 20 Logan Sargeant (Williams)
A difficult qualifying session dropped Russell to 12th on the grid. In race trim the car gave him a flying start. He tore past Perez off the line and twice chewed up Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as the race evolved to claim third. “Kudos to the team for giving me a great car. A sign of things to come hopefully. The car feels better. You are putting in those lap times and comparing them to what the Ferraris and the Astons are doing and we were quicker and quicker.”
Verstappen peeled off the line and was never seen again. Hamilton was clipped by Lando Norris in the McLaren after he passed him at the start and was in turn relegated by Lance Stroll, who capitalised on the incident. Seven laps later Hamilton had the place back, sweeping around the outside of Stroll into turn one to take back third position.
Hamilton was on the point of taking second when Ferrari boxed Sainz after 15 laps, much to their man’s disappointment. “Why?” he asked, and not for the first time this season. Hamilton stayed out for a further 10 laps on the same soft tyre, making Sainz’s point for him. “Tyres feel really good, man,” Hamilton said. When Hamilton did come in, Verstappen was 11 seconds down the road in a lane all his own.
At that juncture only rain could have brought Verstappen back to the field. On lap 28 Russell gave us hope with a report of precipitation at turn five. It proved false. “Has anyone else reported rain?” No George. “It must be the sweat inside my helmet,” Doh. “It was really annoying. I was sweating throughout the race. It was under my visor. I couldn’t wipe it.”
The biggest victim of the Mercedes rebound appears to be Fernando Alonso, who hitherto this season had been the quickest non Red Bull, recording five podiums in the first six races for Aston Martin. After damaging his floor in qualifying, Alonso finished seventh at his home grand prix, one place behind his team-mate Stroll.
“We didn’t have the pace, we were not fast enough with the softs or fast in the end with the hards,” he said. “I was one- or two-tenths faster than Lance but not quick enough to get to him. It was the same, sixth and seventh, seventh and sixth, so I said let’s bring it home.”
