The rain was the great absentee of the Spanish GP 2024 after the weather services announced it as possible right before the start. The race took place in environmental conditions not dissimilar to those experienced in recent days: the asphalt temperature was 42°C, the air temperature was 24°C. Wind southwest at about 1.5 mph with a humidity of 66%.
Worth noting is the super start of George Russell who, starting from fourth place, tacks into first position at Turn 1. Verstappen takes very little to take first position, immediately opening a small gap on Mercedes n°63. In the early stages little changes behind the leading duo.
Around step 15 the pit stops begin. The first of the leading group to stop are Russell and Sainz who are on medium C2 tyres. Close behind are Hamilton and Verstappen also on average. Norris and Leclerc remain on track trying to define a different strategy. The Englishman pitted on lap 24 to fit yellow stripe tyres. Charles stops at the next step. He too opts for the medium.
Norris starts his furious comeback until he gets behind Verstappen. The match is played at the second pit stop. The ballet is started by Russell who stops at step 37 to put on rubber hard. Same tactic for Sainz. The others continue perhaps to avoid riding the hard tire which doesn't give great chronometric results.
Hamilton stops with 22 laps to go on red tyres. Verstappen follows the seven-time world champion's strategy and stops to install the soft. The Dutchman defended himself from Norris' arrival with a overcut.
Leclerc and Norris also stop on lap 48 and choose the red-band Pirellis. Little happens until the end with Max holding the lead ahead of Norris. The battle starts for third place which is contested by the two Mercedes. It is Hamilton who prevails in the internal duel.
Russell finishes in fourth place, ahead of the two Ferraris. Leclerc finishes in fifth place, keeping Sainz behind. Ferrari, which was clearly aiming for the podium, was the disappointment of the day. Of note is a good Alpine who puts two in top ten: Gasly eighth and Ocon tenth.
F1, Spanish GP 2024: the results
- Max Verstappen;
- Lando Norris;
- Lewis Hamilton;
- George Russell;
- Charles Leclerc;
- Carlos Sainz;
- Oscar Piastri;
- Pierre Gasly;
- Sergio Perez;
- Esteban Ocon;
- Nico Hulkenberg;
- Fernando Alonso;
- Guanyu Zhou;
- Lance Stroll;
- Daniel Ricciardo;
- Valtteri Bottas;
- Kevin Magnussen;
- Alex Albon;
- Yuki Tsunoda;
- Logan Sargeant.
Photo credits: F1, Formulacritica