Max Verstappen felt that Red Bull lacked “pace to challenge” for victory at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen initially climbed to second on the opening lap after he cut the first chicane at the opening corner then overtook Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the exit of the second chicane at Turn 6, but conceded both positions on lap four to avoid a penalty for his first corner antics.
The former four-time champion however benefitted from a well-timed Virtual Safety Car at the end of lap 14 to make his pit stop and inherited net second place behind winner – Antonelli, which eventually became second at the end of lap 48 before he held McLaren’s Lando Norris off to the checkered flag.
Reflecting on the opening corner incident, Verstappen believed that he would of collided with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton if he hadn’t taken evasive action.
“At the start, Lewis clipped the kerb and jumped back onto the racing line, I had to go off track, otherwise both of us would have taken damage.”
Verstappen thought that he lacked the pace needed to fight Antonelli for the win after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had backed the Italian into his grasp by lap 47 on the alternate strategy – before the Monegasque pitted at the end of the following lap, but was glad to finish second.
“I don’t think we had the pace to challenge for the lead anyway, Kimi and Lando were faster than me throughout, so I’m happy with second. It’s a circuit that’s very difficult to pass on; if you position yourself in the middle, there isn’t really a way through, so I was able to hold off Lando until the end.”
Verstappen’s runner-up finish meant that he has finished on the podium in the last five races in which he saw the checkered flag – including in the latest double header at Monza and Madrid, which he feels is down to putting the car in a solid working window to deliver results.
“This double header has been a positive one. The car has been in a decent window both weekends, and we’ve been able to score consistently good points over the last few races. A podium is a nice way to end the European swing.”
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