'Verstappen is doing everything he can, but that Red Bull is too slow'

Once again Max Verstappen had to settle for second place. In Spain he finished behind reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton for the third time this season and again he had to battle it out with Mercedes on his own.

Second stop not an option

Hamilton owes his victory in Spain for a large part to the strategy of his team. By bringing the British driver in for a second stop, Hamilton was able to overtake the Dutchman in the final stages of the race on his fresher tyres. According to Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner, this was the maximum he could achieve in Barcelona and Verstappen would have lost the race even with a second pit stop.

Carrera Cup driver Rudy van Buren agrees with Horner. " If they had brought Max in for a second stop Hamilton would have kept driving and you could see that he was significantly better on the those tyres." Van Buren analysed the race for the NOS Formula 1 podcast and explained that "even if they had both made a second pit stop Hamilton would have eventually passed. It was moping with the tap on."

Red Bull too slow

Van Buren praised the intelligent driving of Hamilton. After Verstappen's overtake at the start, he remains calm. "Hamilton is smart enough that he doesn't force it. He obviously had the confidence that it would come right. Mercedes is just capitalising on that."

Van Buren then draws the conclusion that the "Red Bull is too slow. Max is doing everything he can, but there is a maximum to this story." And then there's the fact that Verstappen still has to battle it out with Mercedes on his own. "Because Perez doesn't drive on you have no chance of stopping Hamilton. As long as there's no second car from Red Bull Racing in the picture, it's free play."