Impossible overtakes
Already in the past few days, after the free practice sessions, Max Verstappen had clearly expressed his dislike for the brand new Madrid circuit, the Madring, which this year became the venue for the Spanish Grand Prix. The city track built in the Valdebebas district, near the IFEMA exhibition center, may be interesting from a technical point of view, but it seems to lack personality and above all is completely devoid of overtaking points. Thus, except for the first lap and the Virtual Safety Car period – which ‘robbed’ Lando Norris of a probable victory – the rest of the race turned into a monotonous train.
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Ruthless Verstappen
However, Verstappen this time took advantage of the track’s characteristics because, despite a slower car, he managed to keep Lando Norris behind in the last laps of the race, preventing the reigning world champion from at least earning second place on the podium behind the winner Antonelli.
In the traditional post-race interviews with the top three finishers, Verstappen joked about his duel with Norris, not sparing what appeared to be a clear jab at the newborn Spanish circuit. “How did I keep Norris behind? Just keep the car in the middle [of the track]. Here that seemed to work well [this strategy]“, the Dutchman commented laughing.
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Not exactly the best for an F1 that at the start of the year, to celebrate the new regulations, counted overtakes like they were peanuts. Well, today that counter has almost run dry. And Verstappen is laughing about it.
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