Max Verstappen took advantage of the difficulties to overtake on the Madring to resist Lando Norris and secure an unexpected second place in Madrid.
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Max Verstappen did not miss the opportunity to send a new jab at the Madring after his second place at the Spanish Grand Prix. Under heavy pressure from Lando Norris in the final laps, the Red Bull driver managed to keep his position despite a much faster McLaren.
Asked after the race how he managed to hold off the reigning world champion, Verstappen gave a response as simple as it was ironic: it was practically enough to place his car in the middle of the track. A remark that directly echoes the many criticisms made by the Dutchman about the Madrid circuit since the start of the weekend.
An unexpected second place for Red Bull
Starting third, Verstappen had a particularly eventful start to the race. After cutting a section of the circuit on the first lap in his battle with Lewis Hamilton, he found himself second behind Norris after also overtaking Kimi Antonelli.
Red Bull, however, asked him to give back the positions gained. Despite a particularly strong reaction on the radio, Verstappen finally let Antonelli and then Hamilton pass, dropping back to fourth place. The retirement of the Ferrari driver due to brake failure then allowed him to quickly regain third place.
The turning point in his race came with the virtual safety car caused by the immobilization of Lance Stroll. Verstappen was able to make his pit stop under neutralization, unlike Norris, who had just missed the pit entry. This circumstance allowed the Red Bull driver to pass the McLaren and find himself in an excellent position to secure a podium.
Norris much faster at the end of the race
Norris, however, was quick to come back. After being relegated to fifth place by his stop, the Briton took advantage of the strategies of George Russell and Charles Leclerc to regain third position before closing in on Verstappen.
With fresher tires and a particularly fast McLaren, Norris gradually erased his deficit. In the final laps, he was directly in the slipstream of the Red Bull but never managed to find a real opening.
Verstappen readily admits that second place is therefore a result beyond Red Bull’s expectations.
“When you look at our race pace, it’s an excellent result for us. Lando was unlucky with the virtual safety car, so finishing second is incredible.”
The Dutchman also does not hide that Norris had more pace.
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“You could see how fast he was coming back on me, but it’s impossible to overtake here. So I managed to keep him behind.”
“You just have to stay in the middle”
This difficulty in overtaking was precisely one of Verstappen’s main criticisms even before the start. The four-time world champion notably regretted the design of several braking zones on the Madring, considering that they do not allow drivers to truly prepare an attack.
The race seems to have confirmed his fears. Despite an obvious pace difference and fresher tires, Norris never managed to launch a real offensive. When Verstappen was asked how he managed to defend his second place, his answer was therefore particularly revealing.
“You just have to keep the car in the middle of the track.”
An extremely basic defensive strategy which, according to him, works perfectly on the new Spanish circuit.
“It works quite well here. Then, you just had to try to keep grip in the tires, which was the hardest part of this stint.”
Verstappen confirms his criticisms of the Madring
This second place therefore has a special meaning for Verstappen. Red Bull did not seem to have the pace necessary to beat Mercedes or McLaren in Madrid, but the race circumstances and the characteristics of the circuit ultimately played in his favor.
The Dutchman had already requested changes to the layout before the race, even discussing with the FIA certain zones he considers poorly designed to promote on-track battles. He notably felt that several braking zones should be rethought to offer more attacking opportunities.
His duel with Norris now provides him with an additional argument. The Briton was faster, had fresher tires, and had managed to get back in his slipstream, but Verstappen ultimately only needed to defend his line smartly to keep second place.
An unexpected podium for Red Bull, but also a new demonstration, according to Verstappen, of the main flaw of the Madring: following an opponent is possible, overtaking is a whole different story.
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