Max Verstappen’s ‘demoralising’ defeat in Spain makes challenging Hamilton a tough task

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Max Verstappen continues to drive the wheels off his Red Bull in 2021. But in Spain he ended up on the losing end of the bargain when he was caught and passed by Lewis Hamilton, who once again denied the Dutchman the race win.

Verstappen started Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in barnstorming fashion as he outmuscled polesitter Hamilton into Turn 1 and established a healthy lead over his rival, who was able to match the Red Bull for pace, but couldn’t do enough to close the gap.

At the time, Verstappen and Red Bull looked in great shape for a race win as they continue their quest to take the title fight to Hamilton and Mercedes.

But, as the race unfolded, it became apparent that Mercedes’ race-day package was the vastly superior setup, as Hamilton went long with his stint on the soft tyres, then showcased his dominance by wiping out the Dutchman’s 22-second advantage before eventually passing him with six laps to go to claim the victory.

It meant that Hamilton took his third win from four Grands Prix so far this season, with two of those victories seeing him passing Verstappen in a markedly faster car in the closing stages of the race.

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Hamilton winning once again will undoubtedly have dealt a further blow to Verstappen and Red Bull as they try to keep pace with the Mercedes team at the sharp end.

But the manner in which Hamilton reeled in Verstappen before blasting past to claim the victory will have left a particularly bitter taste, with the Dutch racer left to rue the fact that, no matter what level of performance he puts in, his big rival always seems to have the extra performance when it matters.

Speaking to BBC Sport’s Chequered Flag podcast, former F1 driver-turned-columnist and broadcaster Jolyon Palmer said the way the race unfolded will have been a gut punch to the Red Bull team, and Verstappen, in particular.

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“It will be how the Spanish Grand Prix unfolded, that will be demoralising for Verstappen,” he said.

“He could see it in the mirrors that Hamilton was able to stay so close for so long, do whatever he wanted on strategy and basically win convincingly in the end.

Palmer also stated that the fact that Verstappen seemed so in control for so much of the race before Hamilton overhauled him will only further frustrate the Dutchman as he continues to chase Hamilton in his quest for his first F1 Drivers’ Championship.

“That’s tough for Verstappen, who has been toe-to-toe with Hamilton the whole time,” Palmer continued.

“This one I think was a bit harder to take.

“When you lead the race for so long, fundamentally not winning, it is tough.”

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