It was a good day for Red Bull as they extended their lead on the drivers’ standing and the constructor’s championship as Max Verstappen won his third race of the season.
Verstappen, who had to retire from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after crashing a wall, finished first after overtaking Lewis Hamilton at the penultimate lap. The Red Bull driver enjoyed the advantage of the pole position, although he had to contend with Hamilton as the race went on. Hamilton finished in P2, his best result in four races, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez came third.
The 2021 Formula 1 season is turning out to be the most competitive in a long while. The Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry has reached new heights. In the past weeks, we have seen Mercedes struggle to make the podium, something that was not a problem for them before. Hamilton’s goal for an eighth world championship is being stunted as he has lost points in the past week.
Verstappen has proven to be a worthy rival this season and he has had more podiums (6) than Hamilton (5) so far. Hamilton had overtaken Verstappen earlier in the race but a change of tyres enabled the Belgian driver to regain the lead at the 52/53 lap. Two Sundays ago, Verstappen did not even finish and a costly mistake denied Hamilton the lead, causing him to at 15th place instead.
Currently, Verstappen leads the Driver Standings with 131 points, while Hamilton follows with 119 points. Perez trails at third place with 84 points, Lando Norris has 76 points in fourth place, while Valtteri Bottas stays at fifth position with 59 points. In the Constructors Championship, Red Bull leads with 215 points while Mercedes follows with 178 points with McLaren at third place with 110 points.
After the match, Mercedes took the blame for Hamilton’s failure, as they have always done this season. Mercedes had earlier said that it was their duty to fix Hamilton with a good car. McLaren also had a good day on the track as Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished at fifth and sixth place respectively.
Written by: Leon Osamor
