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FACTS AND STATS: Verstappen’s third grand slam as he continues to rack up the Red Bull team records
Max Verstappen continued to rack up the Red Bull team records with his win in Spain, but there was good news for Mercedes too, with the Silver Arrows scoring their first double podium of the season. And there were plenty of other fascinating figures among those following them home.
• For the second time in the last three races there were no retirements, no yellow flags, no Safety Cars and no red flags.
• Verstappen has his third grand slam win (from pole, leading every lap and taking fastest lap).
• Verstappen’s 40th career win puts him one short of Ayrton Senna for fifth in the all-time list.
• Verstappen takes a hat-trick of wins following his victories in Miami and Monaco.
• Verstappen today reached the chequered flag for the 26th consecutive time, the longest run in Red Bull’s history (surpassing Daniel Ricciardo’s 25 in a row in 2015-16).
• Verstappen today passed Nigel Mansell (2,089) to move into sixth on the all-time laps led list.
• Red Bull cars have led every lap of the last three consecutive races – the last team to do that was Mercedes at the 2020 Tuscan, Russian and Eifel Grands Prix.
• With Lewis Hamilton second, Verstappen and Hamilton finished one-two in a race for the 35th time (Hamilton has won 20 of those, Verstappen 15).
• Today was Hamilton’s 11th podium finish in Barcelona, just one short of Michael Schumacher’s record.
• Hamilton’s last seven podium finishes have been for second place. His last win was Saudi Arabia 2021.
• Hamilton today took his 275th career points finish in his 317th race.
DRIVER OF THE DAY: Hamilton gets your vote for superb second in Spain
• With George Russell P3 behind Hamilton, Mercedes scored a double podium finish for the first time in 2023.
• It was Russell’s first podium finish of the year.
• Mercedes’ double podium means they move ahead of Aston Martin and into second in the constructors’ championship.
• After coming home in P4, Sergio Perez is now 53 points behind Red Bull team mate Verstappen – the equivalent of more than two race wins with fastest lap bonus points.
• Carlos Sainz took P5 for Ferrari and is the highest driver in championship – sixth – without a podium finish in 2023.
• Sainz maintained his 100% scoring record in nine Spanish Grand Prix starts, though he has never finished on the podium.
• With P6, Lance Stroll beat Aston Martin team mate Fernando Alonso in a race for the first time in 2023.
• Alonso’s P7 was the first time he’s finished outside the top-four this season.
• It was, nevertheless, Alonso’s best finish in his home race since 2014.
• At Alpine, Esteban Ocon’s P8 was his third consecutive points finish this season.
HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from the Spanish Grand Prix as Verstappen dominates to take victory
• Zhou Guanyu took P9 for Alfa Romeo, matching his best result of the season (he was also ninth in Australia).
• Alpine’s Pierre Gasly finished in the same position he started – P10 – after receiving not one, but two three-place grid penalties.
• Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc’s P11 result means he has failed to score in three of the first seven races this year.
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