Formula One landed in Spain and the first script change was experienced that ended the hegemony of Mercedes, in a grand prix that crowned the Dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull) as the youngest driver in history to win a race of the World.
Everything seemed that in the Grand Prix of Spain, the fifth round of the World Cup, the supremacy of the silver bullets would remain undisputed. Even more so after the double achieved in the qualifying session on Saturday, in which the British Lewis Hamilton and the German Nico Rosberg shared the two places on the first starting line.
But everything changed and the Barcelona-Catalonia Circuit witnessed a historic race and, without a doubt, the most vibrant so far this season.
At 18 years, 7 months and 15 days, Max Verstappen, who this weekend made his debut at the wheel of a Red Bull instead of the Russian Daniil Kvyat, demoted to Toro Rosso, silenced the voices that questioned the decision of the Austrian team and it took, against prognosis, the Great Prize of Spain.
Everything indicated that a Mercedes monologue would be seen again. He was looking for Hamilton, who started from pole, to argue the victory with Rosberg, winner until this Sunday of the first four races of the year. But everything changed when the red light went off and the German overtook his teammate, who lost the advantage traditionally given in Montmeló, starting from the first position.
However, everything was ruined in the third corner of the track, in which Hamilton tried to pass Rosberg on the right and, after stepping on the outside carpet, lost control of his car, which dragged his partner out of the clue. Both cars ended up stranded on the gravel of the back escape.
This caused the three-time world champion’s racing car to hit that of the World Cup leader, who at that time was commanding the race. In this way, Mercedes could not extend the streak of ten consecutive victories in the Formula One championship and the window was opened so that, at last, a precious fight between the Red Bull and Ferrari could be experienced.
One of the beneficiaries of the incident was the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso), who finished a great start by beating three cars, and with the entry of the safety car he came to occupy the third position, although he was quickly overtaken by the Ferraris and the Williams Valtteri Bottas, far superior in power.
The Spaniard, however, solidly defended sixth position until the end thanks to a two-stop strategy that allowed him to achieve the best result since making the jump to Formula One.
Precisely, the management of the stops was one of the keys to the Grand Prix. Vettel and Ricciardo bet on going through the pit-stop three times, while their teammates preferred to hold the tires with two stops.
The second option, the riskiest, was the winner. At the first tire change, Verstappen, unlike his teammate and the four-time world champion, opted for medium tires (lap 12). The same compound you used on the second and last stop (turn 34).
A choice that allowed him to take the lead on lap 43, closely followed by a veteran like Kimi Raikkonen, while Vettel and Ricciardo faced each other in a fantastic duel in the fight to reach the third box of the podium.
In these, the Australian sought to tickle the four-time World Champion, who complained on the radio about the aggressiveness of the Austrian team driver.
Finally, the Teuton kept the third position, after Ricciardo punctured the left rear wheel on the penultimate lap, something that, however, allowed him to maintain the fourth place, while his teammate, who just three weeks ago was driving a Toro Rosso, shouted with happiness, aware that he had made history.
Despite his youth, Verstappen showed a lot of personality in Barcelona, where he was unimpressed by the onslaught of Raikkonen, who finished just six tenths of the Dutchman’s precociousness.
If Verstappen was the face, the Spanish Fernando Alonso (McLaren) was the cross. The double world champion saw his progression slow down and ran out of points after his Honda engine said enough on lap 47 when he was in twelfth place.
History repeats itself for the Spaniard, who was unable to finish the home race last year due to a brake failure on his McLaren.
The Spaniard, who arrived in Spain optimistic after scoring his first points in Russia, did not quite find the pace of the race at any time, something that deprived him of being close to the cars that are fighting for points.
In this area, the performance of Mexican Sergio Pérez (Force India) stood out, demonstrating the step forward taken this weekend by finishing seventh and entering the points for the second consecutive race.
One step below – eighth – was the Brazilian Felipe Massa (Williams), who completed a meritorious comeback after losing sight of qualifying on Saturday and starting from eighteenth position.
For his part, the Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez (Hass) improved the sensations in the race and stayed eight seconds from entering the points zone closed by the Russian Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), who saw his worst nightmares come true with his substitute’s victory at Red Bull.
After the historic race lived in Spain, the Formula One circus does not move from European territory and in two weeks it will be installed in the urban curves of the Monaco Grand Prix, where Mercedes will seek to heal the wounds between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
Despite what happened this Sunday, the German continues to command the World Cup with 39 points ahead of Raikkonen, who has ousted Hamilton in second place, who, in this way, occupies the third position with 48 points, the same that adds Vettel. EFE
Verstappen makes history in Mercedes disaster
