Yesterday, Lando Norris claimed a pole position after a wait of 1000 days. He described it as the perfect lap and the best one of his career. We knew then and there that the race today would be no less than a thrilling showdown and it was! It all began when in Lando Norris’ quest to drive Max Verstappen off the track allowed George Russell to take the lead of the race from P4, leaving the viewer’s jaw dropped. The race saw drivers like Sergio Perez fighting to stay in points to Lewis Hamilton, finally getting the redemption he deserved to Ferrari drivers’ much public back and forth. Here are the top moments of the race. Let us take a look.

“that ruined everything”: Lando Norris rues over missed opportunity as Max Verstappen steals the win

When asked about his race, Max Verstappen explained how he won the race. It was the lead he took over George Russell on lap 2. Though he described his first stint as a defensive one, he still managed to pull a remarkable lead over his competitors. It was obvious that on a track where all cars were expected to be exposed of their development standings, Red Bull wasn’t the fastest one. Yet Lando Norris’ folly catapulted error-free Max Verstappen to a win. Lando wasn’t too happy with the second place.

When asked if he could have won the race, Lando said, “Not could [have won], should have done. I got a bad start. The car was incredible today, for sure we were the quickest. Lots of positives, and one negative, but that ruined everything. Big thanks to the team, as the car was amazing.” He further added, “I need to look back at the review [at the start]. I don’t know what I did wrong. Fair play to Red Bull and Max, but a shame we lost it at the same time, very frustrating. Austria and Silverstone are two of my favorite tracks. I just need to tidy up a few bits.” Though Lando and McLaren’s step forward has put him second in the driver’s championship but just a second-place finish isn’t enough for the young Britton anymore. But the oldest Britton on the grid found some respite.

Lewis Hamilton’s ”bad start” couldn’t stop him from redemption

Lewis Hamilton became the driver with the most podium finishes (198) after he made a comeback from a “bad start” at the Spanish GP. Guess whose record he beat? His own! Interestingly, this weekend, Toto Wolff and company were accused of sabotaging Hamilton’s races deliberately but, Hamilton’s result this weekend proved quite the opposite. Quite pleased with his performance and the machine underneath, Hamilton overtook his teammate to finish P3.

Lewis said, “Like Lando, I had a really bad start, so lost ground to the Ferraris. I don’t know if we could have held onto the guys ahead, but we wouldn’t have been as far behind. It was never an option to run the hard tire for me today.” He further elaborated, ” It’s been a really great weekend. It’s been a minute since I had a result like this, so I’m really happy.”

With the race pace showcased in Canada and Spain, it appears that the German Team is back in the mix and they look well ahead of Ferrari in the developmental pace.

“Charles wasn’t happy with me?”: Carlos Sainz and Leclerc’s tense moments in the Spanish GP culminate into a media spat

All doesn’t look too well at the Maranello. Things have been on and off at the Red Team, but on most accounts, the drivers have tried to portray a united front. However, the radio exchange of the drivers with their race engineers gave a preview that the debrief behind closed doors might not be a pleasant one. Ferrari had been Red Bull’s closest competition before McLaren stole the development race title from underneath their nose. And not from the past two races. Add Mercedes to that mix as well. Frustrations are brewing. Charles and Carlos, who have both won a race each this year, haven’t been too pleased with how things have panned out for the team in the past two races. But at the latter’s home race, they ended up being not too pleased with each other.

After the heated exchange on the radio, Charles Leclerc let it all out about the contact with Sainz. He said, “We were told to save the tires at the start. I braked at the same time as him, then he made the turn as if I wasn’t there. I had damage on the front left. I lost a few points at the front. We lost time there.”

When the media told Carlos Sainz what Leclerc had said, he was ready with a befitting reply. He said, “Charles wasn’t happy with me? For me, it was clear that we had a new soft, and we had to attack. I don’t know what happened to him in the first lap, but I couldn’t stay behind him all my life. I don’t know what he’s complaining about this time.”

All in all, the race today was definitely an eventful one. What was your favorite moment of the race?