Verstappen secures third consecutive victory at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

The World Championship leader racked up his 198th podium today, while Lando Norris provided the thrills by hunting Verstappen down and Lewis Hamilton was back on the podium after a twelve-race drought.

29 June, 2024 | Formula 1

Max Verstappen celebrated on the top step of the podium at the FORMULA 1 ARAMCO GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 2024 for the third consecutive year today in front of 125,210 fans, having secured the win on a track where he first tasted success in 2016. Although much has happened since then, such as the Dutchman appearing on no less than 198 podiums, the most in F1 history, Max Verstappen’s impeccable performance remains unchanged.

The current champion did not, however, get off to the best start, with Mercedes driver George Russell taking an early lead by sweeping past Norris and Verstappen on the outside as the two jostled for position. The crowd went wild in appreciation of Russell’s overtaking skills, although the glory was short-lived as Verstappen took over at the front two laps later.

Norris, who started first after scoring pole position yesterday, kicked himself for making a bad start or, at the very least, not the one he had planned. Despite that, the McLaren man tucked in behind the Red Bull and Mercedes to stay in the fight. Meanwhile, a fourth-placed Sainz engaged in a thrilling duel with Charles Leclerc, with the Spanish driver coming out on top.

The Spaniard from Ferrari, in fact, was getting dangerously close to Hamilton when the drivers headed into the pits for the first time. Although in the end his challenge was not on the track and Sainz passed Hamilton with a spectacular undercut as they were leaving the pit lane on fresh rubber, with tyre choice and pit stop strategy playing a fundamental role in the end result of the Barcelona race.

Norris, Leclerc and Piastri delayed their stops the longest, which seemed like a mistake because it left them with a lot of ground to make up. However, their superior pace guaranteed an exciting second half of the race.

Lando Norris and George Russell treated the crowd to a spectacular dogfight for second place, with multiple overtakes on five different corners of the same lap, from which Norris emerged the victor and went on to secure the second step of the podium. In the end, Russell could not hold on to third either, with Lewis Hamilton looming in to rain on his parade. The British driver swept past him on Lap 52 of the 66-lap race to clinch himself a place on the podium, his first since Mexico 2023.

With just a few laps to go before the chequered flag, Carlos Sainz, running on the hard compound tyres, obeyed Ferrar’s orders to let Charles Leclerc pass on the soft tyres. The Maranello team drivers finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren finished in seventh place. These results show the improved performance of the Mercedes team, able to stand up to Ferrari, and the strength of the McLaren team, which continues to rack up podiums this season.

It was a disappointing race for Fernando Alonso, who had been frustrated by his Aston Martin’s lack of pace since Friday, depriving him of a top 10 start and ultimately seeing the two-time world champion finish twelfth.

Spanish Grand Prix winner, Max Verstappen:

“We’re not the fastest on the track right now, but we performed the best today. It hasn’t been the easiest day either, but we managed things well. I’m really happy and pleased with the result.”

Jak Crawford victorious in Formula 2 Feature Race

Jak Crawford (DAMS) took the win in the long F2 Feature Race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The 19-year-old American started from second place on the grid, behind overall Championship leader, Paul Aron (Hitech Pulse Eight), who he managed to pass after the pit stop. Franco Colapinto (MP Motorsport) crossed the line second, 1.4 seconds behind the winner. Third place went to Juan Manuel Correa (DAMS), who worked his way up through the pack from eighth on the grid, employing the opposite tyre strategy to the first two, opting for the hard compound for the opening laps and finishing on the soft.

The rain may not have made an appearance but a variety of different tactics made for an action-packed race nonetheless. Aron led the opening laps but lost out to Crawford, Colapinto and Correa after the pit stops to finally finish fourth. Even so, he managed to come in just ahead of Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing) and therefore retains his top spot in the championship standings, with 100 points, 9 more than the French Campos and Red Bull driver.

Lindbland takes the win and Fornaroli emerges as the new Formula 3 Championship leader

Arvid Lindblad (Pulse Racing) won the long Feature Race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The 16-year-old British driver, who lined up second on the grid, took the lead from Polesitter Christian Mansell (ART Grand Prix) on Lap 5 and crossed the finish line 4.4 seconds ahead of the chasing pack. The closing laps of the race provided some edge-of-the-seat action when it started to rain, with Leo Fornaroli (Trident) overtaking Luke Browning (Hitech Pulse Eight) on the final lap to finish third, a result that moves him to the top of the leaderboard as the new F3 championship leader.

Oliver Goethe (Campos Racing) also overtook Browning on the last lap to take fourth. In a dramatic battle to finish in the points, Saturday’s winner Mari Boya (Campos Racing), having maintained his tenth starting position throughout the race, fired his way past two cars on the penultimate lap to cross the line eighth, taking advantage of the battle raging in front of him between Laurens Van Hoepen ( ART Grand Prix) and Martinius Stenshorne (Hitech Pulse Eight), which saw both forced to retire with a puncture.

Chloe Chambers secures a brilliant victory in the second F1® Academy race of the weekend

An impressive Chloe Chambers (Campos Racing) scored a stunning win in the second F1® Academy race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The American, who stormed past championship leader Abbi Pulling (Rodin Motorsport) at the start, managed her tyres impeccably and dominated from start to finish, finally taking the chequered flag almost seven seconds ahead of her British rival. As such, Chambers scored herself and the Campos team their first victory of the season, topping off an excellent weekend, which also saw her on the third step of the podium yesterday.

In a hard fought battle for the remaining podium positions, Pulling fought tooth and nail to hold onto second place. Nerea Martí (Campos Racing), who had started fourth, moved up to third off the start but was finally overtaken by a brilliant Hamda Al-Qubaisi (MP Motorsport). The Valencian driver, who finished Saturday’s race in second place, held off Al-Qubaisi’s challenges for several laps but finally conceded the place she had won and crossed the line fourth.

A sustainable event

Under the 3C (Conscience, Commitment and Coherence) management philosophy – which integrates social, economic and environmental aspects – the Circuit works to act responsibly in its mission, “Driving for a better future”, within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

As a highlight, this year’s Grand Prix, which is ISO 20121 certified, will have an important new feature: the largest public self-consumption photovoltaic installation in Catalonia, which became operational last October, providing the Catalan circuit with a total of 2,319 solar panels, which generate 50% of the energy consumed.

Other actions underway at the circuit are the rental of low-emission generators, the donation of surplus food, the range of km0 and organic food outlets, the provision of drinking water fountains in public areas, the improvement of the biodiversity of green areas, collaboration with companies with social value, the recovery and recycling of waste, the promotion of sustainable mobility, the promotion of the circular economy and many others.