George Russel takes victory after later drama in the Virtual Spanish Grand Prix, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Esteban Gutierrez.
George Russell started the event in good form, taking pole position after a stunning lap, clocking in at a 1:16.7. Esteban Gutierrez surprised many with a solid lap taking him to 2nd and Leclerc took the final top 3 spot, only just pipping teammate Fuoco by 0.1 of a second. Norris was due to start 8th but faced a 5 place grid penalty for a collision with Leclerc.
As the lights went out, Russell saw his qualifying effort being thrown away as he was swamped by 4 drivers off the start. Gutierrez led after lap 1 but was overtaken by Leclerc with a superb move the first corner. The race then became a game of strategy as Albon attempted to out manoeuvre the leaders with an ambitious 2 stop strategy. Russell, Leclerc and Guiterrez stuck with a 1 stop, but had significant trouble handling their cars at the end of the race. While battling Leclerc for first, Russell extended track limits on numerous occasions and gained a 3 second penalty, seemingly handing the race to Leclerc. Russell, however, kept pushing and took the lead with a composed overtake on lap 25. It then became a race for Russell to break Leclerc’s DRS advantage and attempt to build a 3 second lead. Russell managed to break the DRS gap with 2 laps to go but was destined for 2nd until Leclerc recieved a 3 second penalty on the penultimate lap for extending track limits. Russell held his nerve and took his first win since Abu Dhabi in 2018.
Sergio Aguero made his VGP debut and finished a very respectable 14th ahead of teammate Arthur Melo and golfer Ian Poulter.
Race result is posted below:
- George Russell
- Charles Leclerc +2.503
- Esteban Gutierrez +1.662
- Alex Albon +4.662
- Nicolas Latifi +5.639
- Anthony Davidson +5.069
- Antonio Giovanazzi +1.443
- Pietro Fittipaldi +12.407
- Antoio Fuoco +10.131
- Max Fewtrell +7.715
- Jimmy Broadbent +6.440
- Thibaut Courtois +0.761
- David Schumacher +12.909
- Serigo Aguero – N/A
- Nic Hamilton +1.065
- Vitantonio Luizzi – N/A
- Pirillo Andrea +2.223
- Ian Poulter +31.364
- Arthur Melo + 1 lap
- Lando Norris – DNF
Feature Image Credit: Formula 1