The two Mercedes drivers collided on the first lap of the Spanish Grand Prix, with both retiring from the race on Sunday.
Advertisement
The spectacular victory – the first ever by a Dutchman in F1 – comes with Verstappen almost three years younger than the previous youngest victor, Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 when he won for the first time.
That milestone beats Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettelrecord, Verstappen eclipsing the former Red Bull star’s benchmark by nearly three years.
“By continuing with the approach of letting them race it was clear that eventually this could happen”. While Hamilton was on pole, it was Nico Rosberg who took the race lead with a commanding move into the first corner.
Mercedes’ head of motorsports Toto Wolff said it was the “work of the whole team that finished in the gravel trap”.
“I’m gutted, not just for myself but for the whole team”, he said.
“It’s very special to win your first race and today is his day”.
Verstappen, who broke Sebastian Vettel’s record of being the youngest ever GP victor, crossed the chequered flag at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 1:41:40.017, while keeping 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen behind him in the process.
“I’m going to go with what the experts say, that it was a racing incident”.
He eclipsed the performance of his father, Jos Verstappen, who was on the podium twice in 1994, in Belgium and Hungary, but never won a Grand Prix. His two-stop strategy proved a victor but he finished just 0.6 seconds ahead of Raikkonen, who put him under sustained pressure.
“I was very surprised that he went for it”. Rosberg moved over and squeezed Hamilton on to the grass. The gap was there and, if you’re a racing driver, you go for that gap.
Wolff, meanwhile, allayed fears that the crash could cause Mercedes to end its current policy of allowing the drivers to freely race.
Former driver Nick Lauda, Mercedes’ non-executive chairman, said Hamilton was more at fault for the “completely unnecessary” incident.
Ricciardo, victor of three races in 2014 when, like Verstappen, he moved up from Toro Rosso to the main Red Bull team, had led after Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided on the opening lap.
“And we will continue to let them race”.
Unfortunately, the two Mercedes drivers were forced to retire because of the crash.
“He defended incredibly well against a seasoned pro like Kimi”, the Red Bull race director told ESPN.
“Lewis was too aggressive”, he said. Until Barcelona, Red Bull had considered that classic race their best chance of winning this season.
Advertisement
Valtteri Bottas in his Williams was fifth, followed by Carlos Sainz Junior, who put in a great drive in the Toro Rosso, and held down third spot for the first nine laps, much to the embarrassment of Ferrari.
