International press: 'Verstappen didn't lose focus, Mercedes' masterstroke'

Marca

According to the Spanish sports newspaper, Hamilton was unstoppable after another masterclass at Circuit de Catalunya. "Lewis Hamilton is unstoppable, no matter how hard he is pressed and how bad the race looks. At the Spanish Grand Prix, everything seemed to be stacked against him after the first stop of Max Verstappen, who had overtaken him flawlessly at the start, but the Englishman held on to his second set of tyres to make up ground and put everything on the line for a second stop, eventually closing in on his opponent. In just 18 laps, he put 22 seconds behind him to secure the third win of 2021 and the 98th of his career."

La Gazzetta dello Sport

The Italians saw a spectacle in Spain in which Verstappen never lost his edge. Mercedes' masterstroke helped Hamilton to the win. "A Grand Prix played on the edge of thousandths, with Lewis Hamilton then in the DRS zone and then again not, in pursuit of a brilliant Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, at his 100th GP with Red Bull at the same circuit where he took his first victory in that daring 2016 Spanish GP, started from second place and therefore from the "dirty" side of the track. But he immediately attacked the British driver at the first corner, took the lead and dictated his own pace."

"Max didn't lose his edge, even when his mechanics made a mistake at the pit stop, with one of the tyres not ready and recording a time (unusual, for Red Bull men) of 4.2 seconds. A nerve-wracking challenge that increases exponentially when Lewis Hamilton opts for a second pit stop and mounts another yellow set of tyres."

Sky Sports

The British saw a tactical race, which just needed to be driven out by Hamilton. "Lewis Hamilton recorded a brilliant win over Max Verstappen in the GP of Spain. In the final laps of Barcelona he caught up with his rival at Red Bull to extend his lead for the world title."

"Hamilton was overtaken by Verstappen at the first corner of the race. Hamilton and Mercedes had their hands full for their fifth win in a row at a Spanish circuit notorious for tricky overtaking. So the world champions rolled the dice on strategy with a second pit stop for fresh tyres with 23 laps to go to try and set up a spectacular finish. Their seven-time world champion did the rest."

Auto, Motor und Sport

Just as Red Bull Racing and Mercedes' engineers said during the race, AMuS also thought back to the Hungarian Grand Prix two years back. "The race in Spain was reminiscent in its drama of the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix. Then, as now, Mercedes cheated its arch-rival with a second tyre change. But Red Bull did nothing wrong. Lewis Hamilton was simply in the faster car in the fourth race of the season."

"Lewis Hamilton was unstoppable in Spain thanks to his team. The 98th win was the reward for a masterful drive with masterful tactics."

L'Équipe

According to the French, the race in Spain lasted only six laps too long for Verstappen. "Leading until six laps from the end, but Max Verstappen (Red Bull) could not counter the return of Lewis Hamilton, who achieved a 98th success thanks to a daring strategy from his Mercedes team."