The delivery of the prodigy Max Verstappen, who became the youngest winner of a Formula One race when he triumphed in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, brought an iridescence to a sport that for too long has laboured in the single colour of the silver Mercedes.
Everyone apart from the stricken people at Mercedes appeared to be joyous. And it felt as though it was the shortest race in history. The early crash between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, which removed both men from the contest, had so dominated the first hour of proceedings, with constant replays, quick-fire post-mortems and the assessment of consequences, that the race itself felt like a backdrop to weightier issues.
Verstappen’s victory represented a great day for him and his team, Red Bull, who had not won a race since Spa in 2014. But it was a wonderful occasion for Formula One too.
When Verstappen made his F1 debut for Toro Rosso as a 17-year-old last year he was so young that the concerned people at the FIA changed the rules; now you have to be 18. Verstappen was actually only 16 in 2014, when it was first announced that he would be driving in F1. Many sagacious voices said he was too young but there can be no doubts now.
He crossed the winning line aged 18 years and 228 days, beating Sebastian Vettel’s previous record by two and a half years – Vettel was 21 and 73 days when he won in Italy in 2008.
Verstappen led from lap 44, which was roughly the time everyone started concentrating on the race. He was the beneficiary of a split strategy from Red Bull. The team decided to give their other driver, Daniel Ricciardo, a three-stopper (Verstappen had two) to cover the threat from Vettel, who they thought would be the fastest driver in the race after the removal of the Mercedes.
But this is to take nothing away from Verstappen, who resisted a long and persistent challenge from Kimi Raikkonen to win the race on his debut for Red Bull. He joined Red Bull this month because the team were unhappy with the start to the season made by Daniil Kvyat.
Verstappen, who also became the first Dutch winner of an F1 race, also had a spot of luck, of course, when Hamilton and Rosberg collided.
Hamilton took the lead from pole but Rosberg went past him on the outside on the first corner. But coming out of the third bend, Hamilton saw a gap in Rosberg’s defence and attempted to overtake him on the inside.
Rosberg moved over and squeezed Hamilton on to the grass. The world champion went into a spin and clipped Rosberg’s car as he did so, putting both cars out of the race, leaving the field clear for Red Bull and Ferrari to battle it out for glory.
Rosberg appeared to be over-aggressive but you are allowed to make one block to defend your lead. Hamilton, possibly piqued after making yet another indifferent start, may have had a rush of blood and was determined to get straight back at his team-mate. But there was a gap, and he was travelling much faster than Rosberg, whose engine was in the wrong mode.
It was a terrible day for both drivers but Rosberg, with a 43-point lead from the first four races, clearly came out of the situation the better.
The day, however, belonged to Verstappen. Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, said: “It’s been an unbelievable performance, from the moment Max stepped into the car until the chequered flag he’s been exemplary. He’s not put a wheel wrong. He’s been quick, measured, mature. He’s defended incredibly well against a seasoned pro like Kimi. To score his first grand prix victory, becoming the youngest victor, on his debut for the team is fairytale stuff.”
Horner, enthusing in the unexpected spotlight, added: “The biggest aspect of his performance has been in calmness. He’s obviously got a lot of capacity when he’s driving the car. We were all getting tense with five laps to go because the tyres were at the end of their life and he had Kimi breathing down his neck.
“But he calmly came on the radio and said please could we ask Charlie [Whiting] to deal with the blue flags swiftly. There was no agitation in his voice, no panic, no tension. He was a young man completely in control of what he was doing. And that’s what he’s done from the moment he stepped in the car.”
Horner thought it was “uncanny” how Verstappen reminded him of Vettel. “There are an awful lot of similarities. The mechanics were telling me that even the way he gets in the car is similar, the same side, the way he pulls his knee up to get in the chassis. But he’s his own man as well. He’s a very together young guy. You’d never think he was 18. He’s the first driver I’ve had that legally I could be his father.”
The man of the moment said: “It’s amazing, I couldn’t believe I was leading. I was looking at the pitboard, saw my name with 10 laps to go, then started to watch the board.
“I was thinking: ‘Don’t look at it, focus on the tyres and bring it home.’ It’s a great feeling. I absolutely didn’t expect this.”
In the general excitement it was scarcely noticed that Carlos Sainz, the man Verstappen left behind at Toro Rosso, finished sixth, his best result. He must have had mixed feelings.
O piloto  Max Verstappen conseguiu hoje fazer historia no domingo (15) na história do automobilismo mundial, ao ser o piloto mais jovem ao ganhar em uma carreira da Fórmula 1, ao triunfar o Grande Prêmio da Espanha 2016, disputando no Circuit de Catalounya (Circuito da Catalunha). Verstappen tornou-se o mais jovem piloto da história a vencer o primeiro Grande Prêmio da Fórmula 1 com apenas 18 anos, 7 meses e 16 dias (ou 18 anos e 227 dias) de idade.

Além disso, Verstappen conseguiu ser ao mesmo tempo, o mais jovem a liderar em uma volta, pontuar, chegar ao pódio em uma corrida da Fórmula 1 e estrear a primeira corrida de sua carreira em nova equipe (Red Bull Racing), ao ser promovido da equipe júnior da Red Bull, Scuderia Toro Rosso. Também é o primeiro piloto holandês ao ganhar uma carreira de F1 e é a primeira vitória da Equipe Red Bull desde a vitória de Daniel Ricciardo no Grande Prêmio da Bélgica em 2014.

Antes de fazer este histórico, Verstappen foi promovido na Red Bull pouco antes do início do Grand Prix espanhol e substituiu o ex-piloto da Red Bull, Daniil Kvyat que posteriormente retornou a Toro Rosso, a quem ele dirigiu por volta de 2014. Na corrida, o piloto holandês aproveitou o incidente que deixou afora aos dos Mercedes de Nico Rosberg e Lewis Hamilton na primeira volta e depois de várias estratégias de detenções nos pits, manteve a raia nas últimas voltas contra a Ferrari de Kimi Räikkönen com uma vantagem de 6 décimos de segundos para conseguir este triunfo.

Depois de debutar a temporada passada com Toro Rosso, Verstappen havia começado as primeiras quatro datas da temporada 2016 com a equipe italiana, porém a partir deste Gran Prêmio foi promovido pela equipe Red Bull, intermudando lugares com Daniil Kyvat, que condugiu para Toro Rosso. Isto foi debido a aliviar a pressão sobre Kvyat após as críticas por sua polêmica atuação pelo acidente com Sebastian Vettel na primeira volta na data passada, o Gran Prêmio de Rússia e para acalmar as águas no Toro Rosso pela tensão permanente que havia entre Verstappen e seu companheiro de equipe Carlos Sainz Jr.

Verstappen passou a ganhar o Grande Prêmio da Espanha de ter qualificado em quarto lugar, um lugar atrás de novo companheiro de equipe, Ricciardo após a sessão de qualificação no sábado. Hamilton, da Mercedes-Benz estava na pole para a corrida ao lado do companheiro companheiro de equipe, Rosberg. A corrida começou mal para a Mercedes como os dois pilotos caiu no colo da corrida de abertura depois de fazer contato uns com os outros. O ponto alto da corrida foi a batalha pela grade posição um e quatro, que foi travada entre Red Bull e Ferrari. Ambos os conjuntos das equipes ganharam e perderam posições em intervalos regulares, mas foi Max Verstappen, da Red Bull, que teve a vitória em meio a imensa pressão a partir da Ferrari de Kimi Räikkönen em segundo lugar. Verstappen levou para os últimos 32 voltas da corrida e terminou com um tempo de 1:31,684. Segundo e terceiro lugar foram para Raikkonen e Vettel da Ferrari com Ricciardo, da Red Bull terminando em quarto lugar.

Ferrari completou o pódio com um 2-3 de Kimi Raikkonen e Sebastian Vettel, respectivamente. Quarto foi Ricciardo (Red Bull) que na última parte da carreira tentou passa-lo o Vettel, porém no pôde. Posteriormente tevo que parar a falta de uma volta, por um neumático pinchado. Completaram os primeiros 10 lugares, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz Jr., Sergio Pérez, Felipe Massa, Jenson Button e Daniil Kyvat.

A vitória de Max Verstappen o viu ganhar 25 pontos e levou-o para a sexta posição na classificação do condutor com um total de 38 pontos. O Grande Prêmio da Espanha foi a quinta corrida da temporada 2016 Formula One. A próxima corrida é o GP de Mônaco do Circuito de Mônaco, em Monte Carlo em 29 de maio.

O grande perdedor da jornada foi, sem dúvidas, Mercedes, de ser 1-2 na classificação a abandonar na quarta curva da volta e não pontuar com os carros. O polesitter Hamilton perdeu a liderança na curva 1 com seu companheiro Rosberg ao adentar-lo por afora. Porém, quando estavam para ingressar na curva 4, Hamilton quis pasar-lo Rosberg, porém este último fechou a porta. O piloto britânico perdeu o controle de sua monoplaça, levando-se posto ao líder do mundial.

Apesar de que se acabacam sua racha de 7 vitórias consecutivas na Fórmula 1, Rosberg segue como líder da temporada com 100 pontos. O segundo lugar é agora para Kimi Raikkonen com 61, por adiante do Hamilton com 57.

File:Max Verstappen 2017 Malaysia 1.jpg|Max Verstappen
File:F12019 Schloss Gabelhofen (18).jpg|Daniel Ricciardo
File:Lewis Hamilton 2016 Malaysia 2.jpg|Lewis Hamilton