Only tepid expectations preceded this year’s edition of the Spanish Grand Prix. Most expected the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya's painful adherence to conventional track design to suit the Red Bulls perfectly, given the team had laboured with literal and metaphorical bumps in the road.
Although the predictions were largely right as Max Verstappen chalked up another win to add to his impressive tally, it was by no means a trademark run-and-hide victory as McLaren and Lando Norris put the Dutchman under pressure. Sure, time ran out for Norris to get onto Verstappen’s gearbox, but it was nonetheless a statement that Red Bull’s previous advantage over the rest of the field has eroded away.
