Max Verstappen produced yet another utterly dominating performance in the Spanish Grand Prix, as he not only won the race but also led every lap and clocked the fastest. The Dutchman clocked in the race’s quickest lap even though his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, begged him just to bring the car home.
Lambiase had requested Verstappen not to push hard as the 25-year-old had got a black and white flag for exceeding track limits on three occasions. This meant that if Verstappen exceeded track limits again, then he would have received a five-second penalty.
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Verstappen exceeds track limits for the third time this afternoon and is given a black and white flag.
One more excursion out of bounds and it’s a five-second penalty for the race leader#SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/fECaU3hRVG
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 4, 2023
However, Verstappen wanted to establish utter dominance. Hence, the Dutchman immediately went for the fastest lap after his race engineer warned him and successfully managed to grab the extra point.
“We cannot afford anything“: Verstappen defies Lambiase’s request
Even though it seemed almost certain that Max Verstappen would win the race and comfortably extend his lead in the championship over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, this was not enough for him. The Dutchman wanted to lay down a marker, and he did exactly that by defying Gianpiero Lambiase’s request.
When Verstappen asked his race engineer about the fastest lap, Lambiase replied, “We cannot afford anything. Don’t worry about it“. Despite getting this advice from Lambiase, Verstappen ignored it and registered the fastest lap on the next lap.
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On seeing Verstappen do so, Lambiase once again requested the Dutchman to manage the pace by telling him, “Bring it home within the white lines now, thank you,” In reply, the Red Bull driver hilariously said, “Yeahh, yeah.”
Max Verstappen extends his championship lead over Sergio Perez
Other than the start, Max Verstappen did not face any threat from any of his rivals. The Dutchman had such a dominating win that he now extends his championship lead to 53 points over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
The Spanish Grand Prix was the Dutchman’s fifth win of the season and the third in a row. And even when Verstappen has failed to win, the least he has finished is second so far. However, the same cannot be said for championship rival Perez, who continues to be inconsistent.
After a strong start to the season with two wins and two second-place finishes from the first five races, Perez has failed to finish on the podium in the last two races. The Mexican finished a disastrous 16th in Monaco last weekend and fourth in Spain. If Perez is to fight for the championship, he must rediscover his form pretty soon, or else he may fall behind even further.
