Verstappen overtook Norris at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, which he considers a crucial moment that ultimately led to his victory in the Formula 1 race.
Starting in second position, Verstappen made a strong start, positioning himself alongside Norris and gaining an advantage on the inside line, despite being pushed onto the grass by his rival.
However, George Russell took advantage of the long straight to Turn 1 and the slipstream of the two leading drivers, allowing him to overtake both Verstappen and Norris on the outside and take the lead.
However, Verstappen managed to overtake Norris and then overtook Russell in the first corner of the third lap, establishing a seven-second advantage in the early stages of the race.
With Norris making a final push and finishing just 2.2 seconds behind Verstappen at the checkered flag, the Red Bull driver admitted that his maneuver at the start was decisive.
Verstappen stated, “It wasn’t an easy race. The start was quite critical, especially in hindsight. At the time, you just try to do what you think is best and see how things unfold.”
He also emphasized the importance of overtaking Russell, allowing him to build a lead. Verstappen also praised the team’s strategy and pit stops.
Reflecting on the start of the race, Verstappen said, “It was good. The first start was decent. I managed to stay a bit alongside Norris. I had to go onto the grass a bit, but George had a double slipstream and executed the overtake well on the outside. The three of us dealt with it well going into Turn 1.”
Norris expressed disappointment at losing position to Verstappen on the first lap, believing he missed an opportunity to win the race despite having the faster car.
When asked about Norris’ evaluation, Verstappen acknowledged that Red Bull needs to find more speed to keep up with McLaren’s performance gains.
He admitted: “From my point of view, we are struggling a bit with pure speed. It also seemed like we didn’t have the best tire life compared to Lando. It seemed like he was able to push more in certain corners. We were also a bit off with the tire strategy at one point because he went longer in the first stint. We optimized everything, but we need to find more performance.”
