ROUND 10: 🇪🇸 Spain
FORMULA 1 ARAMCO GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 2024
Circuit stats
- First Grand Prix: 1991
- Number of laps: 66
- Circuit Length: 4.657 km
- Race Distance: 307.236 km
- Lap record: 1:16.330 Max Verstappen (2023)
- 2023 winner: Max Verstappen
Track Map
We’re watching Lando and George finally getting a taste of fighting at the front and learning how to race one another in machinery that’s more evenly matched. I’m loving it.
I haven’t watched the post race interviews yet but my guess would be Lando will regret giving too much focus to Max at the start and positioning himself poorly to defend from anyone else. A lesson learned for next weekend.
Merc seems to have genuinely taken a step in either understanding or developing their car finally. Right now they are still a step behind McLaren but I suspect that will ebb and flow depending on the tracks and conditions.
Lando was calm and collected on team radio all race, and showed the progress the team has made when he confidently chose to chase Max instead of looking behind. The car, team, and driver are harmonizing and it’s wonderful to watch.
Ferrari, of course, refuses to get out of their own way. The inter team battles should be fun to watch for the rest of the season.
Oh, and Alpine got camera time that wasn’t just the cars banging together! Bravo!
Russell with the moves on the first lap…only to have the bad strategy of the day and ending up in fourth has got to sting even though realistically he only had a real shot at 3rd. Great action though!
His fight with Norris was the overtake of the race for sure (or overtakes!)
Hamilton’s move on Sainz was pretty sweet as well
Sainz could do with winding his neck in a bit and doing some racing and I say this as a fan
Hearing Max a little bit stressed on comms was refreshing, even if the win wasnt in doubt -
When George got his hole shot, I settled in thinking it was going to be good. But, when the Red Bull went past a lap later I knew it was the same old thing. The Red Bull is still the quickest on the grid.
I’m not sure it’s that cut & dry. I think Max & Redbull just edged out Mclaren today, but it was close, Max didn’t totally run away like I also thought he might after he took the lead. Still dominant, but it’s getting the closest it’s been in a long time, the front drivers & teams all have to be on top form to have a chance, & the slightest mistake by any of them could effect the podium. We might actually have a fairly interesting season (for once!), even if it seems like Max will likely still win this year with the lead he already has. Come on Lando, keep that pressure up…
It’s closer than it has been, I’ll grant that. But, Max just walked away after regaining the lead. It takes a lot of development work to get those extra tenths out of those cars. I don’t anticipate things changing much through the year.
Max just walked away after regaining the lead.
What do you mean. Lando was only 2 seconds behind him. One slightly slower stop (2.9 seconds instead of the 1.9 second stop that he had at the 1st stop) and Lando would have been on him at the end. I understand that people are traumatized by Verstappen’s dominance but he did not walk away from anybody. Infact like in 2021, it could argued that both Red Bull and McLaren are so close now that the faster car varies from stint to stint
2 seconds is a long time. Max was out of DRS range in a lap. Zack Brown even said the Red Bull was faster.
If 2 seconds is a long time, then what is the 20+ second Verstappen was winning by earlier¿? 2 seconds over 66 laps is just 0.03 seconds a lap - a difference so small that wind, dirty air or track temp will have a larger effect.
The gap that red Bull had was so marginal that I don’t think Verstappen could have overtaken Norris if he had been behind Lando after lap 1
It really doesn’t work that way. When in front, you only go as fast as you need to most times.
If that was true, Verstappen would have taken the fastest lap like he did last year. He was clearly pushing hard and couldn’t do that this year because he didn’t have the car under him
