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Live updates: Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix

Formula 1 embarks on its seventh round this weekend in Barcelona, the second leg of a double-header after last weekend's trip to Monaco.

Max Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull by beating Ferrari rival Carlos Sainz and McLaren's Lando Norris.

Verstappen will look to extend his 39-point lead in the standings over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who missed out on a Q3 berth following an off in qualifying and will start 11th.

Also out of position is George Russell in 12th, after a struggles with porpoising on his Mercedes W14, and last year's polesitter Charles Leclerc who starts from the pitlane after being eliminated in Q1.

The race starts at 3pm BST.

By: James Newbold, Sam Hall

Summary

Summary

  • Max Verstappen wins the Spanish GP by over 24 seconds from Lewis Hamilton and George Russell
  • Red Bull continues 100% winning record in 2023 with poleman Verstappen never headed after seeing off front row starter Carlos Sainz into Turn 1
  • Mercedes moves into second in constructors' standings with first double podium of the year
  • Yuki Tsunoda drops from ninth to 12th with five-second penalty for pushing Zhou Guanyu off track
  • Charles Leclerc unable to recover from pitlane start and finishes 11th, while Lando Norris ends up 17th after lap one clash with Hamilton damages his nose

Leaderboard

  1. Verstappen, Red Bull
  2. Hamilton, Mercedes
  3. Russell, Mercedes
  4. Perez, Red Bull
  5. Sainz, Ferrari
  6. Stroll, Aston Martin
  7. Alonso, Aston Martin
  8. Ocon, Alpine
  9. Zhou, Alfa Romeo
  10. Gasly, Alpine
Status: Stopped
Thank you as always for joining us today. We'll be back next week with a live text blog from the Le Mans 24 Hours bringing you all the action from the Centenary edition of sportscar racing's biggest test - see you then!
Here's the full report from the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix as Max Verstappen led from lights to flag: https://autosport.com/all/news/f1-spanish-gp-verstappen-dominates-from-hamilton-and-russell/10478564/ 
It probably won't be remembered as a classic, but the 2023 Spanish GP is in the books and concludes the first European double-header of the season. It's a one week break next (unless you're going to Le Mans, that is) before F1 reconvenes in Montreal, then a relentless run of four races in five weekends in July.
He's likely not thinking about it too much at the moment, but only Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have now won more times in Spain than Verstappen. He levels Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Mika Hakkinen with three.
The two points Zhou scores for ninth may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it's only the third time all season that Alfa Romeo has troubled the points scorers and brings it level with Haas in the constructors' standings as each now has 8 apiece.
So what's the verdict on the revised Barcelona layout then? Did the faster final corner make for better racing? We'll be sure to find out from the drivers as our team of journalists scour the paddock in the coming hours.
After Chelsea footballer Mason Mount handed Verstappen the Pirelli Pole Award yesterday, there's no sign of him on the podium to present the winning prizes as the usual local dignitaries are wheeled out.
Elsewhere it was a disappointing day for Norris, who is classified 17th after his lap one tangle with Hamilton wrecked what had until that point looked set to be a promising day. As with Leclerc, a day to forget.
Comfortably Mercedes' biggest score this season moves it above Aston Martin to second in the constructors' standings. Despite both cars scoring, its haul of 14 points was the lowest Aston has mustered all season. To put that into perspective, its best haul from last year was 12!
Meanwhile it's the first double podium for Mercedes since the team finished 1-2 in Interlagos last year. A positive outcome for its much upgraded car, as this was really the first true test of its capabilities after the outlier that is Monaco.
Verstappen also gets the bonus point for fastest lap which extends his championship lead over Perez to 53.
Verstappen celebrates win number five of 2023 with his team, which has won all seven rounds of the season so far.
One would suspect that Leclerc won't be able to get out of Spain quickly enough, finishing P11.
Behind the Aston Martin pair, Ocon, Zhou, and Gasly round out the points-paying positions. Tsunoda was P9 on the track but drops down the order with his five-second penalty.
Perez comes up 3.4s short of Russell in his podium quest, with Sainz falling back from second to fifth in his outgunned Ferrari. Stroll and Alonso, who had enough capacity to wave to the crowds at Turn 12 on his final lap, complete the top seven in formation for Aston Martin.
Verstappen's winning margin at the flag is 24s over Hamilton as Russell completes the podium.
As he closes on the raging battle for 11th, Verstappen crosses the line to win the Spanish Grand Prix for a third time in a crushing performance.
Final lap now for Verstappen, who can stroke it home from here.
Verstappen has now inched his lead out north of the 20s mark over Hamilton. But it's still looking like a fine result for Mercedes to have both cars on the podium, considering Russell started 12th.
Leclerc is within half-a-second of Gasly and if he can make the move, due to Tsunoda's penalty, would score a single point for his troubles.
Perez is 4s shy of Russell, and it appears too little too late for his podium hopes.
True to his word, Alonso hasn't attempted to mount an assault on Stroll for sixth place and has dropped back to almost 2s behind.
The fastest lap goes to Verstappen on a 1m16.330s. "Okay, now can you bring it home within the white lines?" asks Gianpiero Lambiase.
Tsunoda gets a five-second penalty after his defence against Zhou was deemed to have been beyond acceptability. Currently, that would drop him from P9, out of the points.
Russell is doing a good job of stemming the tide to Perez, stabilising the gap at 5.2s. The Red Bull man is told "all out now, all out". It's now or never.
"What's my fastest lap?" asks Verstappen. He's informed by the team that due to his precarious track limits status that "we can't afford anything".
The stewards are now looking at the Tsunoda defence against Zhou for forcing another driver off the track.
Alonso has closed on Stroll, but informs the team to tell the Canadian he's not shaping up for a move but wants to build his gap over the cars behind in the event of rain.
Out in front Verstappen has the gap at 18s over Hamilton, but gets a black and white flag for his third track limits strike. Perez has the fastest lap currently, but hasn't the luxury of thinking about saving his tyres for a push to secure the bonus point at the end. Will Verstappen try and nab it from him?
Perez has the gap down to 5.7s with eight laps to go. Will he run out of time to catch Russell?
Zhou attempts a move around the outside of Turn 1 and complains that he was forced off the track. Ocon will enjoy that relief with some breathing space granted.
Stroll is 2s ahead of Alonso in what is shaping up nicely to be an intra-Aston battle for sixth.
The closest battle currently in the lower order is between Tsunoda and Zhou for P9 with the pair closing on Ocon ahead. Ocon currently is one-tenth clear of conceding a DRS advantage.
Russell's hopes of nabbing second appear forlorn now, as Hamilton has been quicker the last few laps. Can he keep enough life in his tyres now to see off the looming challenge of Perez?
Verstappen and Hamilton both set personal bests last time around, one tenth apart. But there's still a full 16s between them.
Perez has 8.5s to make up on Russell ahead to get onto the podium. It's a tall ask, but if you'd bank on any car making up that ground it would be a Red Bull. He has the fastest lap of the race currently, a 1m16.666.
Change for fourth! Perez was rapidly closing on Sainz with the benefit of his softs, and makes a pass stick into Turn 1. With his hard tyres, Sainz didn't really try and fight that one.
In comes Verstappen from the race lead to switch over to softs. Its a routine one.
In one lap, Alonso has now pulled two seconds clear of Ocon. Tsunoda is now closing up on the Alpine driver's gearbox.
Verstappen isn't happy with his hard tyres "sliding everywhere". Expect a pitstop soon for the race leader to ward off the potential threat of a safety car.
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