Red Bull goes 1-2 in Spain

Nothing was going right for Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix: the wind had blown his car off course, his Red Bull was struggling, and top rival Charles Leclerc seemed headed for a sure victory. His fortunes turned when Leclerc lost power and his Ferrari suddenly sputtered to a near stop. Then Verstappen’s own Red Bull team intervened by ordering Sergio Perez to get out of Verstappen’s way. The reigning Formula One champion went from from minimizing damage Sunday to winning the race and reclaiming the points lead. “Not an easy start to the race, but we turned it around,” Verstappen said after his fourth win of the season, third consecutive. Then the Dutchman thanked Perez, who might have won himself but settled for second when Red Bull issued team orders. Perez took over the lead after Leclerc, who started from the pole and led the first 27 laps, lost power. But with 17 laps remaining, Red Bull told him to get out of Verstappen’s way. “It’s unfair but OK,” said Perez, who was denied the ability to race for his third career F1 victory. The stakes were too high for Red Bull and Verstappen, who trailed Leclerc by 19 points ahead of the race but now holds a six-point advantage in defense of his first world championship.