Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, pinpointed the performance of Red Bull’s number one driver, Max Verstappen, following the tenth round of the championship in Barcelona.

The 2024 Spanish Grand Prix was great and disappointing for the Red Bull Racing F1 team at the same time. While Max Verstappen managed to snatch the victory, the Austrian team didn’t have the fastest car.

The track in Barcelona is often used as a benchmark for the performance of all the cars on the grid, and it tends to offer a good prediction of what will happen during the following races in Europe.

Consequently, not having the fastest car at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya might mean that the team from Milton Keynes could be in trouble.

What allowed Max Verstappen to win the Spanish Grand Prix was how he managed the situation during the first three laps of the race.

The 26-year-old got ahead of Lando Norris, and while he lost one position to George Russell, he managed to retake it very quickly and then open up the gap to Norris, which he retained until the end. Marko wrote in his column for Speedweek.com:

“In Spain, Max Verstappen didn’t have the fastest car and he didn’t start from pole position, but he still managed to win, and he did it thanks to the incredible overtaking of George Russell on lap three.”

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“This allowed him to be in the lead and he showed once again how well he feels and reads the race. That was the foundation for the win.”

The triple World Champion really showed in Barcelona why he is paid the big bucks. He executed a perfect race and brought home the victory despite not having the fastest car.

“McLaren currently has the car that works with every tire on every race track, and more or less straight away. But Max once again made the difference, taking the win with a car that wasn’t the fastest.”

Although the 81-year-old said Verstappen made the difference, he also credited Red Bull’s pit stop crew with sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and the strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz. At the end of the day, Verstappen won by a mere +2.219, so every single detail contributed.

“I can’t remember the last time we messed up a pit stop. Praise goes to sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and his motivated crew of mechanics. They are a well-coordinated and well-trained team. Hannah Schmitz also deserves praise; she always makes clear decisions.”