2024 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2024 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 June 2024, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the tenth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship. Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing took victory ahead of polesitter Lando Norris of McLaren, who was closing in on Verstappen during the final stages of the race. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes took third, his first podium of the season. This would be Verstappen's last win until the São Paulo Grand Prix, 11 races later, marking his longest winless streak since 2020.
Background
The event was held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló for the 34th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 21–23 June. The Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the 54th running of the Spanish Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.Championship standings before the race
Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 194 points, 56 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in second, and 63 ahead of Lando Norris in third. Red Bull Racing, with 301 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Ferrari and McLaren, who are second and third with 252 and 212 points, respectively.Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. Oliver Bearman drove in the first free practice session for Haas, in place of Nico Hülkenberg.Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.Penalties
Sergio Pérez of Red Bull Racing carried a three-place grid penalty for failing to leave the track with serious mechanical difficulties after significantly damaging the rear wing at the preceding Canadian Grand Prix.Track changes
The DRS zone leading in to turn 1 was shortened by.Practice
Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 21 June 2024, at 13:30 local time, and was topped by Lando Norris of McLaren ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari. The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 17:00 local time, and was topped by Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes ahead of Sainz and Norris. The third free practice session was held on 22 June 2024, at 12:30 local time, and was topped by Sainz ahead of Norris and Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc. During the session, Leclerc and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin impeded Norris and Hamilton in separate incidents. Leclerc and Stroll cut across Norris and Hamilton, respectively, with contact occurring in both cases. Leclerc and Stroll were both reprimanded for "erratic driving".Qualifying
Qualifying was held on 22 June 2024, at 16:00 local time.Qualifying report
Logan Sargeant impeded Lance Stroll during the first segment of qualifying, with the former receiving a three-place grid penalty as a result. Oscar Piastri's lap of 1:12.542 during the third segment of qualifying was deleted for exceeding track limits at turn 10. In Q3 McLaren's Lando Norris beat championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing to pole position by 0.020 seconds.Qualifying classification
Notes- – Sergio Pérez received a three-place grid penalty for failing to leave the track with serious mechanical difficulties after significantly damaging the rear wing at the previous round.
- – Alexander Albon qualified 19th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane due to power unit changes made during parc fermé.
- – Logan Sargeant received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lance Stroll in Q1. He gained a position as Alexander Albon started the race from the pit lane.
Race
The race was held on 23 June 2024, at 15:00 local time, and was run for 66 laps.Race report
Pole-sitter Lando Norris almost pushed second-placed Max Verstappen at the start, allowing fourth-placed George Russell, who had a great start, gained the lead onto the first turn. At the back, Fernando Alonso almost ran into the back of Oscar Piastri, which caused Alonso to leave the track and in the run-off area. Verstappen overtook Russell for the lead with DRS on lap 3. On the same lap, the Ferraris collided with each other, scraping Charles Leclerc's wing endplate, with home hero Carlos Sainz Jr. up to fifth, despite overtaking Leclerc off-track. No further action was taken. 2 laps later, Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda battled for position, with Magnussen initially taking the position before Tsunoda took the place back, a few laps then later. Tsunoda, heading to turn 1, was forced off-track by Magnussen, no other further action was taken as well.On lap 19, Lewis Hamilton and Sainz made minor contact, the third time that no further action was taken due to the battle. Norris, now in 3rd on lap 35, overtook Russell, and in the closing laps, the Ferraris swapped positions, with Leclerc in fifth and Sainz in sixth. The race was won by Verstappen, in which was his seventh victory of the season, second would be pole-sitter Norris, with Hamilton taking the final podium place, with his 198th podium. This would be Verstappen's and Red Bull's last win until the São Paulo Grand Prix, 11 races later, marking his longest winless streak since 2020.
Race classification
Notes- – Includes one point for fastest lap.
- – Nico Hülkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda both received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Their final positions were not affected by the penalties.
Championship standings after the race
As a consequence, Verstappen extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 69 points over Norris, who overtook Leclerc for second place in the standings, by two points. In the Constructors' Championship, the top five remained unchanged, with Red Bull moving to 330 points, extending their lead over Ferrari to 60 points. McLaren was 33 points behind Ferrari in third.;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standingsNote: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.