Verstappen Details Opening-Lap Clash with Hamilton at Spanish Grand Prix
Max Verstappen has given his assessment of the near-miss with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix, an incident that saw the Dutch driver reluctantly concede the position after running off track.
Turn 1 Incident Forces Position Swap
As the lights went out at the Madring circuit, Hamilton surged ahead while Verstappen cut the first corner and maintained his starting slot of third place. The move prompted immediate calls from the British driver for Verstappen to return the place. The Red Bull driver was adamant that Hamilton almost shunted into me
and initially resisted team instructions to yield, especially after he had also passed Kimi Antonelli to claim second. He eventually complied, allowing both Antonelli and Hamilton through, but swiftly returned to the top three when Hamilton began to struggle with brake issues.
Verstappen Explains Defensive Decision
Addressing the clash, Verstappen pointed to the circuit layout as a contributing factor.
“It’s just a bit the nature of the track,” Verstappen said when questioned on the clash. “When you have that track layout with so much tarmac, people of course risk [going] for a move, and I saw what happened – Lewis clipped the kerb so he was going to run wide.
“I think if I would’ve stayed on the track, you touch and there’s a big risk of damage. I decided to drive next to the track, and then of course the team told me to give the position back, which I did. After that, I just tried to do my race.”
Virtual Safety Car Timing Benefits Red Bull
Verstappen capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car period to minimize time lost during his pit stop—a strategic advantage that McLaren’s Lando Norris missed due to unfavorable timing. The sequence ultimately elevated Verstappen to second place while Norris finished third.
Podium Finish Viewed as Strong Result Despite Pace Deficit
Although the four-time World Champion acknowledged he lacked the outright pace to challenge either Norris or race winner Antonelli, he expressed satisfaction with the weekend overall, securing his sixth podium of the season.
“Looking at the race pace, I think it’s a great result,” he said. “Of course, we know that Lando got unlucky with that VSC, so for us I think P2 is an incredible result because you could see how much Lando was catching me.”
He later added further context on the competitive hierarchy during the stint.
“I think it was quite clear that Lando and Kimi were a lot faster. Once everyone was a little bit clear, it was again the same thing where Kimi was a bit faster than me, Lando was faster than all of us, but I could keep him quite easily behind me.”
