Barcelona dimmed its lights with memorable moments during its grand finale. An iconic McLaren 1-2 yet again, with the thrill that kept fans on the edge of their seats.
The moments to watch, however, were the final 10 laps of the race. From unexpected wins to on-track battles, the race went out with a bang.
So let’s break down the BIG THREE from the Spanish Grand Prix.
1. Number 1 and 63 rekindling old rivalries
The closing laps of the Spanish GP saw chaos between old rivals.
Max Verstappen and George Russell, reignited their tug-of-war on track from the previous season.
With just a few laps to go, the safety car reeked havoc. Causing traffic, pit stops and confusing tire strategy at the Red Bull garage, tensions were high, and so were the emotions.
Verstappen was put on hard tyres, a confusion he voiced to his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase; strike one.
As the safety car lifted, Verstappen and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari had an ongoing battle for third position, which caused both cars to make contact at the wheels; strike two.
After which, Verstappen and George Russell made bold moves to secure fourth place. However, in a moment of high emotion, Verstappen made a bold move that resulted in contact between the Red Bull and the Mercedes; strike three.
Max forced George wide, pushing him off track at Turn 1 in an aggressive attempt to keep position.
Moments later, Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase radioed in:
“Max, can you let Russell through, please?”
A frustrated Verstappen responded:
“What? I was ahead, mate. What the f**k! He just ran me off the road.”
However, this raised scrutiny from viewers on the Dutchman’s aggressive driving style. And a 10-second time penalty from the stewards, bringing the Red Bull driver close to a race ban; total 11 penalty points.
Things changed, when the driver shared a candid statement on Instagram:
“We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.”
2. Hulkenberg bringing in the numbers
After giving the performance of his life, Kick Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg catapulted himself to P5 (after Verstappen’s penalty), scoring ten points for Sauber.
Points that were barely earned last season, now take up a place on the scoreboard, pushing the team above Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship.
What’s even more exciting? The driver overtook 7x World Champion Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, gaining a position above him.
Two contrasting images showing the abilities of a top-tier and midfield team; this comes after Sauber’s best qualifying of the season where both cars made it past Q1, with Hulkenberg making it into Q3.
3. Alonso’s bad luck streak comes to an end (Finally!)
Fernando Alonso wrapped his race in a pretty bow, as he said goodbye to his bad luck streak, and scored his first points of the season.
With 2 points to his name, the Spaniard achieved a P9 finish that concluded his home race in satisfaction, and a positive feeling about the future.
With a climactic ending, Barcelona waved the chequered flag as fans said goodbye to the iconic track and all its memories.