Spanish Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins in Spain as Charles Leclerc retires

Max Verstappen fought back from an early spin to win the Spanish Grand Prix after title rival Charles Leclerc retired from a dominant lead.

And it gave him the championship lead for the first time in 2022 – Verstappen heads to the Monaco Grand Prix next weekend with a six-point advantage over Leclerc.

Mercedes’ George Russell took a strong third after a long and valiant attempt to hold Verstappen at bay early in the race.

And his team-mate Lewis Hamilton fought back to fifth place following a first-lap collision with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, which gave the seven-time champion a puncture and dropped him to the back of the field.

Hamilton moved into fourth behind Russell with a move on Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz around the outside of Turn One with six laps to go.

But Hamilton lost the position again after both Mercedes drivers were told to lift and coast entering corners in the final two laps, as they were overheating because of a water leak on the power-units of both cars.