Max Verstappen drove very well to win the Spanish Grand Prix last Sunday but was perhaps a bit lucky that Charles Leclerc could not fight with him all the way home, as he retired with engine trouble.
Verstappen also had the handicap of a DRS system that stopped working. Some are lucky, some are not.
Sergio Perez won the award for driver of the day after fighting his way up to the front of the Grand Prix, only to be asked by the team to let Verstappen go past, to retake the lead in the world championship.
I thought that George Russell was also a candidate for driver of the day, finishing third after a very good showing of his skill and determination for the whole race.
He has really raised Mercedes’s hopes for better results to come.
Carlos Sainz had mixed fortunes but in the end recovered to beat Lewis Hamilton to the line by nine seconds.
They finished fourth and fifth respectively, with Valtteri Bottas close behind Hamilton in sixth place.
Bottas has really lifted the Alfa Romeo team with some excellent driving at virtually every race, eclipsing his team mate Zhou Guanyu in the process.
The two Alpine Renaults, which finished seventh and ninth, had a mediocre weekend with everyone expecting much more of Fernando Alonso at his home track.
He finished ninth after starting near the back of the grid for an infringement.
Sandwiched between the Alpines was Lando Norris after a very difficult drive with health maladies, he should be back near the top soon.
Yuki Tsunoda was in the last points scoring position just behind Alonso in his Alphatauri Honda.
The race had been very demanding on tyres due to high track temperatures and teams had to alter their strategies to, in most cases three stops.
The circus has a short hop to make across the land to Monte Carlo for the jewel of the racing season for the Monaco Grand Prix in just seven days’ time.
As usual in Monte Carlo, qualifying plays a vital role because overtaking is so difficult in the twisty confines of the round the houses circuit.
Concentration at very high levels for long periods without time to relax is the order of the day.
It all adds up to a momentous challenge where success is so highly cherished and prestigious.
I will be reporting from Europe for the next few races and am busy organising a press pass for Silverstone. I count myself a lucky man.
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