Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen responded to his DNF at the Australian Grand Prix by finishing in first place in Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, as he keeps up the pressure on the Formula 1 championship leader, Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc.
After being amongst the front three for the majority of the race, Leclerc spun out in the 54th lap and subsequently saw himself drop down to sixth.
It was a good afternoon for Red Bull, as Sergio Perez managed to stay within touch of teammate Verstappen, who himself had a relatively straightforward race in testing conditions.
“Yesterday and the day before, we were on it and it was looking like a strong weekend,” said Verstappen.
“Today, you never know with the weather how competitive you’re going to be… as a team we did everything well and I think this one-two is well deserved.”
There was bad news from a Spanish perspective early on, with both Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, of Ferrari and Alpine respectively, finding themselves out of the race due to troubles with their cars.
The driver who was able to benefit most from Leclerc spinning out was McLaren‘s Lando Norris, who finished third as Red Bull secured a one-two finish.
The next race takes place in Miami on Sunday, May 8, with Leclerc‘s lead at the top of the championship standings cut to 27 points after Verstappen secured 34 points by winning the Grand Prix, the sprint race and setting the fastest lap.
Marca
