Spanish GP update: Lewis Hamilton gains place as furious Max Verstappen ordered to give position back

Lewis Hamilton gained a position over Max Verstappen in the opening stages of the Spanish Grand Prix after Red Bull instructed the Dutchman to give back the advantage he had gained by leaving the circuit during their first-lap fight.

The decision produced an immediate and furious response from Verstappen, who insisted he had only gone off track because Hamilton would otherwise have made contact with him. Despite his objections, Verstappen followed Red Bull’s instruction and allowed both Kimi Antonelli and the Ferrari driver through, dropping from second to fourth.

Lewis Hamilton questions Verstappen’s first-lap advantage

The incident developed during the opening battle for third position. Hamilton was unhappy that Verstappen had cut the first chicane while the pair fought for track position and argued that the Red Bull driver needed to surrender the places he had gained.

Verstappen viewed the situation very differently. Over the radio, the four-time world champion said Hamilton had arrived at the corner out of control and claimed that avoiding the Ferrari had been necessary to prevent an accident.

“Lewis almost shunted into me. He was out of control. If I didn’t move, he just shunted into me. I would have been ahead,” Verstappen told Red Bull.

At that point Hamilton was running fourth, behind Antonelli, while Verstappen occupied second position. Race control then noted Verstappen for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, increasing the risk that Red Bull could face a formal stewards’ decision if the situation was left unresolved.

Red Bull orders Max Verstappen to let Hamilton through

On lap four, race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase informed Verstappen that he needed to let Hamilton regain the position. The complication for Red Bull was that Antonelli was now between the two drivers, meaning Verstappen would also have to allow the Mercedes through in order to restore Hamilton ahead of him.

Verstappen reacted angrily to the instruction and continued to argue that remaining fully on the circuit would have resulted in contact.

“Mate, what the **** are you guys talking about? He would have shunted,” Verstappen said. “Like what are you guys talking about. If I just stay on the track, I am out of the race.”

His objections did not change Red Bull’s decision. Verstappen slowed and allowed Antonelli and Hamilton to pass, leaving Antonelli second, Hamilton third and the Red Bull driver fourth.

Ferrari gains from early Spanish GP flashpoint

For Hamilton and Ferrari, the outcome restored the track position the seven-time world champion believed should have been his after the opening-corner confrontation. Crucially, it happened without the need to wait for a possible stewards’ penalty later in the race.

For Verstappen, however, the sequence proved particularly costly because resolving the Hamilton dispute required surrendering two positions rather than one. His radio reaction made clear that he believed his move off the circuit had been defensive rather than an attempt to gain an advantage.

The episode therefore became one of the first major flashpoints of the Spanish Grand Prix: Hamilton immediately challenged the legitimacy of Verstappen’s position, race control took notice, and Red Bull chose to act before the stewards reached any further decision.