MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: Verstappen made contact with Russell and Leclerc – but why were they racing each other in the first place?

With six racing laps to go at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Safety Car pulled into the pits and the field prepared for a restart headed by the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull lined up next, having taken the battle to the McLarens with a bold three-stop strategy.

But Verstappen’s race was about to go badly downhill. The three-stop meant that he had used up all his available sets of medium C2s and soft C3 tyres. All the frontrunners had pitted for new rubber under the Safety Car. But Verstappen had been obliged to take a set of hard C1s.