Formula 1
FERRARI GOES KABLAMO PEREZ IS A GOOD NUMBER TWO AND MAX WITH DRS FAILURES WINS IN ESPANA!
Leclerc had built a massive championship lead after just three races, the kind that could have been the beginning of a season running away with a driver’s championship unchallenged. He gave up a significant chunk of it when he fell from second to sixth late at Imola. He gave up another handful of points when he finished second to Max Verstappen at Miami. Today, an early issue for his title rival had him looking ready to extend that lead mid-race.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – MAY 22: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 22, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
Then his car suddenly lost power, forcing him to retire from a significaLeclerc had built a massive championship lead after just three races, the kind that could have been the beginning of a season running away with a driver’s championship unchallenged. He gave up a significant chunk of it when he fell from second to sixth late at Imola. He gave up another handful of points when he finished second to Max Verstappen at Miami. Today, an early issue for his title rival had him looking ready to extend that lead mid-race. Then his car suddenly lost power, forcing him to retire from a significant on-track lead. In just three races, his championship lead is now gone entirely.
MAX VERSTAPPEN, Finish Position: 1st, Start Position: 2nd
“It’s great to finish the race today alongside Checo with a first and second place, it was a difficult beginning but a good end! I went off in turn four, I completely lost the rear and they said on Team radio that it was a big gust of wind. I lost a few positions through that and as soon as I wanted to attack, my DRS stopped working. It was upsetting at the time but then I calmed myself down and focussed on the bigger picture.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – MAY 22: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 22, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
It was a tough battle with George Russell, especially without the DRS, I didn’t want to take too much of a risk as we were fighting for the lead, I had to be patient. As for the DRS, I’m not sure why there’s an issue, we’ll look into it and at the end of the day nothing was lost. We are on a good trajectory and we can be proud of that as a Team, but as you can see, some things are fragile and we need to keep on working hard, we have to be on top of everything.”
BARCELONA, SPAIN – MAY 22: Second placed Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 22, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
SERGIO PEREZ, Finish Position: 2nd, Start Position: 5th
“It’s a great result, we are leading the Constructors Championship so, although I obviously want to win, I have to be realistic and I am happy with the Team result. My frustration on the radio was in the heat of the moment but I need to speak with the Team to understand a few bits from the race. Sometimes when you are driving you can’t get the full picture, so it is a normal thing to debrief things to understand the race. The Team momentum couldn’t be any better here, it is a great Team and we are very united.
It wasn’t about Team orders today, what really changed my race was going onto different tyre strategies and that worked better for Max and, at the end of the day, the Team because we managed to both get past George. I could have won today but making the two-stop work was difficult and it turned out that the three-stop was the better strategy. I think we had a very strong race today, the race pace and management from us was great today and it was important not to make mistakes. Hopefully we continue this momentum on to Monaco and are strong next weekend too.”