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Round six of the 2022 Formula 1 season was supposed to have been, given how the practice sessions and the qualifying results unfolded , a dream race for Ferrari. Instead, it were Red Bull who jumped atop the Spanish caravan to drive a sensational weekend.
With Verstappen sealing the top spot and Perez, often the underrated- if not the star-driver making it to second, Christian Horner's team demonstrated dominant form at Catalunya, Barcelona.
In some ways, you could say the agony for Ferrari, given Leclerc's sudden retirement siding power unit issues, turned into ecstasy for Max Verstappen.
But as Red Bull reigned supreme and Sainz, the only other Ferrari functioning in the Grand Prix, collected a seemingly banal P4, there was a lot that happened on Sunday that made news and excited fans.
SportsTiger presents you the key talking points from the Spanish Grand Prix of 2022!
Heartbreak for Leclerc
Before setting foot in Spain, it was being said that the driver who'd have loved to collect a race win, was none other than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
This was no fanspeak, but a statement that carried a hint of urgency.
Having not won a single Grand Prix since his dominant win at Australia, Leclerc found himself undone somewhat by Verstappen at both Emilia Romagna as well as the Miami race, the latter a first for F1.
Therefore, the onus was on Leclerc to respond strongly at Spain and he did pretty much everything right (and in his might) to correct the recent low-key form by setting great pace in the practice sessions before finally clinching the pole on Saturday.
But, just when it seemed that a fifth win from pole was around the corner, since Leclerc had been driving so beautifully from the start, in came the sudden and heartbreaking run in with ill-luck.
On Lap 28, Leclerc, comfortably ahead out in the front, encountered a sudden power unit issue in his Ferrari, which slowed him down. He'd retire seconds thereafter, thus finding his hopes to convert what was his maiden pole at Spain into a race win dashed to the ground.
Verstappen continues dominant run of form
Max Verstappen, the matador of the bulls, ensured he collected a fine, hard fought and ultimately, well-deserved win in Spain.
Though none of that may have happened pretty smoothly given that in front of the commanding race pace of Charles Leclerc, Verstappen would surely have faced a hard time, which ultimately, wasn't meant to be given the Ferrari's retirement before the race reached its halfway stage.
But Verstappen, who's faced his own share of reliability problems, didn't suffer any of that on Sunday as he seemed the keener and abler of the drivers out in the front to claim victory at the very venue where he reached his first-ever win in 2016.
Showing great temerity and race control, things sorted themselves out as the flying Ferrari of Leclerc was out of Verstappen's way.
The famous Dutchman, currently the defending champion, kept pushing and pushing hard and executed some brilliant moves such as the one on Russell, a few laps before the checkered flag, to keep the nose of his Red Bull out in the front.
Though, importantly speaking, what win #24 does for Verstappen, who's also 24 by the way, is that it hands the Red Bull driver the numero uno spot with Leclerc having been usurped thanks to the Ferrari's DNF.
Max now has a 6-point lead over Leclerc, his arch rival for 2022.
Lewis Hamilton the quiet hero of the field
There are, if not more, then two ways to examine Lewis Hamilton's 2022 Spanish Grand Prix. The first is that the just-completed 66-lap race marked an end to a stellar run of form Hamilton enjoyed here; he claimed five consecutive race wins here from the onset of 2017 to 2021. That's a seriously good record- is it not?
But the other is that, despite having felt dejection (or somewhat) at having not won the Barcelona-bound race, the true legend of the current grid, claimed a fighting fifth. Which was not only an improvement from the sixth place start he collected during qualifying but an effort that was embellished by some very convincing and clear overtakes that suggest that there's fight left in the king.
Consider this. The driver who fell down to nineteenth on the grid after featuring in the slightest of touches with Haas' Magnussen, in the end, executed some incredible overtakes.
On Lap 58, he'd move on to the outside of the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and storm ahead to claim fifth. But previously, he'd pass none other than Carlos Sainz on the main straights; swooping past the noted Spaniard as he'd go on to the outside to manufacture an effortless but commendable move.
Moreover, that Hamilton was setting the fastest lap times during the closing stages of the contest was no mean feat either. On lap 51- he'd set the-then fastest lap- a 1:25:106, an effort that he'd immediately better the very next lap by setting another belter of a lap time: 1:24:253.
Not a bad race at all, Hammertime!
Not a terrible drive for Alonso
Fernando Alonso entered the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix desperately looking for points. All that he scored with five races done so far before the caravan hit Spain, was his P9 finish at Bahrain, the season-opening Grand Prix.
And guess what?
In Spain, the driver who's a true titan of the sport, finished exactly in ninth, thus replicating his Sakhir effort. But in so doing, he not only got two points in the end, but also finished ahead of the fighting duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Sebastian Vettel, the latter whom he'd pass in an incredible fashion even before the race reached its halfway stage.
El Nino should be happy about the Alpine offering him some fighting race pace thanks to which he was able to challenge the likes of Aston Martin as well as the Alpha Tauri.
Sainz struggles but scores points
Carlos Sainz Jr. may truly have thought to himself upon the completion of the high-octane Saturday-bound Spanish GP qualifying that it'd have been ideal if it were he- not teammate Leclerc- to take the pole sitter award, which was being given by his own father- Carlos Sainz, a true racing legend of Spain.
Alas, that wasn't to be. Though, truth be told, it wasn't all that hard for Sainz, who claimed a P3, on Saturday.
But just when he'd have liked to attack from the word go, the famous Spanish driver instead found himself just a touch slow to react at the race start.
This meant that he'd be immediately passed by both Russell and Perez, with the Ferrari down in P5.
But there was more drama to come; at around turn 4 on lap 7, Sainz, arguably encountering a sudden gust of wind spun out and went into the gravel, thus nosediving further to seventh.
From that point on, it was clear that the only Ferrari that was on the grid could do one thing and one alone: damage control.
And Sainz executed just that to absolute perfection in finishing fourth in the end. But that's how far Ferrari could get in Spain, where they didn't quite experience an utterly enjoyable outing.
Having said the above, what Carlos Sainz clearly needs- as also asserted by Martin Brundle- are a couple of solid races up ahead.