"Verstappen read the situation perfectly and immediately stretched his elbows"
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- GPblog.com
Philipp Eng found the start of Max Verstappen very strong in the Spanish Grand Prix. The Dutchman outsmarted his rival Lewis Hamilton at the first corner to take the lead. Unfortunately, six laps before the end of the race, Lewis Hamilton came alongside to take his third win of the season.
"They both had great starts," Eng analyzes the first few meters of the past GP weekend. The BMW works driver continued: "Max then instinctively read the situation perfectly and immediately stretched his elbows. Max is known for being tough. He took away Lewis' space and executed the manoeuvre flawlessly."
Miscommunication at Red Bull
Things went wrong during Verstappen's first pit stop. Gianpiero Lambiase stated that the Red Bull Racing driver should come in for fresh on the next lap, but Verstappen thought he should drive straight into the pit lane. As a result, the Austrian team mechanics were not all ready immediately when the RB16B came to a stop.
According to Eng, the pit crew delivered a world-class performance by still completing the pit stop in just over four seconds."You have to give the mechanics all the credit for their masterful work. You have almost no time to react. That the stop could still be completed in about four seconds - hats off!"
Tyre grading Verstappen too high
In the end, Hamilton went for a two-stop and Verstappen's team opted to try and win the race with a one-stop. That didn't work out. "I also heard the radio message when they told Lewis that he would be on Verstappen's butt on the second to last lap. However, that happened much earlier. As a driver, you just hope for the best and that the tyre degradation is not too bad, but unfortunately, it wasn't Max," said the 31-year-old Eng.