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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Liam Corless

Max Verstappen wins Spanish GP to take championship lead after Charles Leclerc retires

Max Verstappen moved to the summit of the drivers' standings for the first time this season as he won the Spanish GP in Barcelona following Charles Leclerc's retirement.

Leclerc was in pole position to extend his 19-point lead in the drivers' standings but a loss of power caused him to withdraw from the race, and he now sits six points behind the defending champion.

Sergio Perez and George Russell completed the podium, with second and third places respectively. Lewis Hamilton recovered from a tough start to finish fifth, behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton dropped from sixth to 19th following an opening-lap collision with Kevin Magnussen. Hamilton held the racing line through Turn 4, but Magnussen drove into the side of the British driver's Mercedes.

Magnussen ran through the gravel, while Hamilton limped back to the pits for new tyres. "Lewis knew what he was doing he just rammed me," said Magnussen. The incident was noted by the stewards but no further action was taken.

Verstappen won in Barcelona (2022 Getty Images)

Hamilton delivered an impressive comeback to charge his way through the field to fifth - robbed of fourth when he was told to "lift and coast" due to Mercedes' reliability concerns in the closing laps and Sainz made his way back past.

Following the early collision with Magnussen, Hamilton said over the team radio: "I would save this engine guys if I were you," seemingly ready to retire from the race.

But the Briton was told to continue. "Lewis we still feel we can achieve points here today," said Hamilton's race engineer, Peter Bonnington. "Eighth or maybe better."

Back up front and Hamilton's team-mate Russell found himself in second on the ninth lap when Verstappen slid through the gravel at Turn 4.

The young Briton was soon under intense pressure from the world champion, but he was pulling out all the stops to keep a DRS-less Verstappen in his Mercedes mirrors.

The action came to ahead on lap 24 when Verstappen towed Russell's Mercedes at more than 200mph before jinking to the inside at the opening left-hander and appearing to make the move stick.

But Russell kept his nerve and foot on the gas to move back ahead at the ensuing left hander. Verstappen switched to Russell's left through the right-hander Turn 3 and on the run down to Turn 4 the pair went wheel to wheel, but the Mercedes man held firm.

Leclerc was driving a faultless race when engine gremlins cruelly struck on lap 27. A space was cleared in the Ferrari garage for the Monegasque's wounded machine.

Leclerc's failure elevated Russell to the lead, but Red Bull moved quickly to bring Verstappen in for fresh rubber providing the Dutchman with clean air and a number of speedy laps followed.

By the time Russell stopped on lap 36, and then Perez the next time around, Verstappen was in the lead. Verstappen stopped for tyres a third time with 22 laps remaining, emerging in second before Perez was ordered out of his way.

Verstappen finished 13.072 secs clear of Perez to move six points clear of Leclerc in the championship race ahead of next Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

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