The rain forecast is not there for the start of the 2024 F1 Spanish Grand Prix race. The sky remains sunny and cloudy, with a risk of rain during the event still estimated at 20%, but it is on a dry track heated to over 40°C that the drivers must set off.
For the second time in his career, Lando Norris starts from first place on the grid, after beating Max Verstappen to the wire. Behind them are, lined up in pairs, the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. When starting the formation lap, the starting tires of the 20 starters are revealed: all the drivers choose to start on soft tires (red) except Alexander Albon, who starts from the pits.
Russell goes outside at the start
VIDEO – George Russell makes an excellent start at the Spanish GP
At the start, while Norris tries to contain Verstappen who wants to go inside, Russell takes advantage of the fight to position himself on the outside and take control in front of the Dutchman and the McLaren who slightly touched each other in the first corner. Author of a less good start than his teammate, Hamilton still retained fourth position against the Ferraris, notably passing Leclerc on the outside in turn 2.
From the start of the third lap, Verstappen seized the opportunity offered by DRS and overtook Russell on the outside in the first corner to take the lead. And quickly, the three-time reigning World Champion works to widen a second gap. Sainz, for his part, overtook Leclerc to climb into fifth position, at the cost of contact between the two drivers, without damage, and the Spaniard going off the track.
After 6 of 66 laps, Verstappen gradually widened the gap and was 1.4 seconds ahead of Russell, 2.5 over Norris and 3.5 over Hamilton. Sainz, Leclerc, Gasly, Piastri, Ocon and Hülkenberg complete the top 10. A fight begins between Gasly and Piastri, even if the Alpine driver resists, while Sainz returns to the Hamilton DRS zone and shows himself at the first corner of the 11th round, unsuccessful. Pérez, for his part, entered the top 10 by overtaking Hülkenberg at turn 1 at the start of the 12th lap.
The waltz of stops begins
Ninth, Ocon is the first driver in the top 10 to go through the pits on the 14th lap, to put on mediums, followed in this process by Pérez, who starts again on softs. Meanwhile, Verstappen extends his lead to four seconds over Russell, five over Norris and six over Hamilton/Sainz. At Alpine, Gasly stopped on the 15th lap but his stop went badly: he lost four seconds in the process and saw Ocon pass in front of him at the exit.
Russell and Sainz chose to stop on lap 16 to mount mediums. The Briton’s stop also went badly, he lost three seconds and saw Sainz restart alongside him in the pitlane but retained the advantage. Hamilton goes through the pits on the next lap, his stop goes well but he comes out behind the two men, also on mediums. On the 18th lap, it was the leader who came through the pits, with a very well executed stop; he leaves fourth, in mediums, and leaves provisional orders to Norris.
At the start of lap 19, Hamilton passed Sainz on the inside at the first corner, with light contact between the two cars. At the front, the top 3 has still not stopped: Norris is 4.8 seconds ahead of Leclerc, 13.4 over Piastri and 14.6 over Verstappen. The Dutchman quickly erased the Australian on the 21st lap, the latter stopping at the end of this lap.
The battle for the podium
On lap 24, Norris dived into the pit lane to exchange his very worn tires for mediums. Logically, he comes out fifth, behind Russell, Hamilton and Sainz, but with a clear tire advantage. Leclerc did the same on the next lap, coming out seventh, behind Norris and Gasly.
VIDEO – Battle between Norris and Russell at the Spanish GP
At the start of lap 27, Verstappen was six seconds ahead of the Mercedes. Norris, for his part, easily overtook Sainz, while Leclerc for his part took the advantage over Gasly’s Alpine, who had overtaken Ocon a few loops before. On the next pass, Piastri took ninth place from Pérez in DRS on the main straight.
Norris soon became a threat to Hamilton and found himself in the Mercedes’ exhausts at the start of the 30th lap. He then only needs one lap to overtake his compatriot, using DRS on the straight. Pérez, for his part, overtook Ocon for ninth place before stopping.
After 33 of 66 laps, Verstappen is eight seconds ahead of Russell and Norris. The McLaren driver wasted no time in attacking the other Mercedes. Russell defended his skin dearly throughout the first sector of the 35th lap but eventually gave in, allowing Hamilton to get back on his heels. The driver with number 63 decides to go through the pits on the 37th lap, to put on hard tires; behind him, Sainz does the same. In the same sequence, only the Alpine follow suit in the top 10.
Various strategies for finishing
On lap 40, Verstappen saw Norris come back to less than six seconds. Hamilton is on his side at 11 seconds and Leclerc at 14. On the 43rd lap, Hamilton goes through the pits and comes out on soft tires. During the next loop, it was leader Verstappen who dived, also to put on soft tires. Hamilton was quick to come back and pass Sainz in DRS on lap 46, just as Russell took fourth from Piastri, who pitted at the end of the lap.
Norris held the lead for a few laps before stopping on lap 48, as did Leclerc. The McLaren comes out on softs and just in front of Russell, despite a slightly slow stop, but takes advantage of its tires to maintain its position and try to get closer to the leading Red Bull. At the same time, Hamilton is getting closer to Russell but seems to be stalling.
After 51 laps, Verstappen is six seconds ahead of Norris while Hamilton takes the advantage of Russell for third position from the outside at the first corner. The gap between the two leaders is decreasing and the three-time World Champion is therefore instructed to stop delaying in the face of the papaya threat. At the start of the 55th lap, the instruction was given to Sainz to let Leclerc pass into fifth place, who also finished on soft tires.
With ten laps to go, Verstappen has a margin of five seconds on Norris, 14 on Hamilton and 16 on Russell. The gap at the top continues to narrow but the Dutchman holds off the return of his rival. The closest fight in the top 5 is that between Russell and Leclerc, with the Monegasque less than three seconds behind with five laps to go.
Despite Lando Norris coming back to two seconds, it was Max Verstappen who won the 61st victory of his F1 career, ahead of the McLaren driver and Lewis Hamilton. Behind, George Russell also managed to resist Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Sergio Pérez, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon complete the top 10 in a race without retirement.
2024 Spanish F1 Grand Prix
