Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sealed an assured seventh victory of the season, having held off pole sitter Lando Norris in a charging McLaren to win the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday, June 23.

Norris put in a big shift in qualifying only to see his pole position start go to waste as Mercedes’ George Russell took the lead with an electric start as the lights went out in Barcelona. After dealing with the frustration of being squeezed by Norris in all the commotion of the race start, Verstappen overtook the young Brit in the papaya coloured car, and set his sights on Russell, overtaking him on just the first turn of the third lap.

The lead then changed hands multiple times as drivers dipped in for pit stops, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc even leading the race as the last man yet to pit. However, a determined Dutchman maintained control of the race.

Hindered by a slow pit stop of his own in the end, Norris missed out on victory despite the struggles of Verstappen, and had to settle for second place in Spain.

After a handful of dramatic on-track battles with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton took a deserved third place on the day, completing the podium for the first time this season. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Russell crossed the line in fourth place.

Meanwhile, Monaco’s own Leclerc managed a fifth place finish, ahead of Sainz in sixth. The result sees Norris leapfrog Leclerc in the driver standings by just two points.

The second race in this triple-header will take place at the Red Bull Ring, with the Formula 1 circus already preparing for the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg on Sunday, June 30.

Featured image courtesy of @F1 on X: Max Verstappen