Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid speaks about the mentality going into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
While Formula One has achieved a bit of parity when it comes to qualifying, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen is still king on the actual race day.
For now.
After Lando Norris became the fourth different driver to earn pole position over the past four races, Verstappen secured an early lead in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix en route to his seventh victory of the season.
The three-time reigning world champion now holds a 69-point advantage at the top of the drivers’ standings.
If there’s a silver lining for Norris, who settled for his fourth runner-up result of the year, it’s that the McLaren driver leapfrogged Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in points and sits in second overall for the first time in his career.
Norris had a taste of victory when he scored his first-ever win last month in Miami and merely stepping on the podium is no longer enough to quench his thirst.
“We should have won today,” Norris said after the race. “We had the quickest car.”
Norris qualified on pole for just the second time — the first coming at the Russian Grand Prix in September 2021 and served as a lesson learned as the team pitted a tad too late under wet weather conditions and slipped to a seventh-place finish.
This time Norris looked to cover Verstappen on the inside right after the lights went out, however, that opened the door for Mercedes driver George Russell to use a double slipstream behind both drivers to slingshot around the outside and into the lead. Norris couldn’t fend off either Russell and Verstappen and got pinched out to drop to third.
Verstappen swooped by Russell into the first turn of Lap 3 and only relinquished the lead upon pitting. Norris inherited P1 by staying out late during his first stint — what was that about a lesson learned — but the overcut was unsuccessful as he exited the pits not only behind Russell but the other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as well.
While Norris managed to outmanoeuvre all three — including a dicey back-and-forth jostle with Russell — that only allowed Verstappen to extend his lead.
With Verstappen struggling on his tires and his team telling him to go faster, Norris came close — and set the fastest time on Lap 51 of 66 to score a bonus point — but ended up 2.219 seconds short once the checkered flag fell.
McLaren and Norris have cut a huge deficit in short order as Red Bull and Verstappen are no longer winning by massive margins of 13 and 21 seconds and are fighting for every victory.
HAMMER TIME
Fancy seeing you on the podium: Hamilton upended Russell on Lap 52 — a role reversal from the Canadian Grand Prix a fortnight ago — to come home in third place.
The upgrades continue to deliver for Mercedes as Russell reached his first podium of the season in Montreal while Hamilton has now secured his first in 2024.
The next step will be fighting for wins as Hamilton still finished 17.790 seconds back of Verstappen and even 15.571 seconds behind Norris for that matter.
Although Hamilton was ahead of both Ferraris — you know, the team he’s planning to join next year — the seven-time world champion isn’t having any doubts about his future move.
“Firstly, I love Mercedes. And my job this year is to work as hard as I can with the crew that I have and the people back (at) the factory to try and move in the right direction,” Hamilton said after the race. “My job will start next year with the other team, who I think are doing a great job. I can’t tell you what is wrong with that car and why they are the position they are in today. (…) But it doesn’t make me second-guess my decision at all.”
The 39-year-old Hamilton has also now earned a podium in 18 consecutive seasons.
Recommended Story For You :
FINALLY DUNK LIKE A TOTAL BADASS...
7 quick and easy things to INSTANTLY IMPROVE YOUR BALL STRIKING.
AVOID A SCAM BY ORDERING A HIN LOOKUP
Get Vehicle History You Can Trust
The ONLY Swing Designed Specifically For Senior Golfers
An URGENT Message For Golfers Who Want More Distance
Premium Quality Laser Rangefinder
You'll NEVER get to the top of your game on your own
Why The OTI Method Is So Effective
0 Comments