<p>MONTMELÓ, Spain &mdash; Track violations were not Max Verstappen’s undoing this time. </p>
<p>Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton was simply too fast at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday and his Mercedes team too cunning for the 23-year-old Dutchman to handle.</p>
<p>After his great start to take the early lead from Hamilton in pole, Verstappen’s euphoria slowly vanished as lap after lap the Mercedes driver bore down on his Red Bull.</p>
<p>A second pit stop by Hamilton for new tires was the turning point.</p>
<p>“I could see it coming,” Verstappen said. “When they went for another stop, I knew it was over. We could see them getting closer and closer. I was a bit of a sitting duck.”</p>
<p>Red Bull had tried to go the distance with one pit stop on a track known to be tough on tires, even when Mercedes shook the race up by changing its initial plan and calling Hamilton in a second time on lap 43. That trip to pit lane left Hamilton more than 20 seconds behind the Dutchman.</p>
<p>Hamilton’s faster tires soon let him chew through the difference, and Verstappen was defenseless when the Silver Arrow blew past him with six laps remaining.</p>
<p>“It shows that there was not much I could do out there,” Verstappen said after his 100th race with Red Bull. “It is a good result, but you always want more.</p>
<p>“We tried everything. I got ahead at the start, and it looks good when you lead for so long. But we are lacking a little bit of pace in the race, as it has been all year.”</p>
<p>Verstappen has closed the gap with one win and three second-place finishes to Hamilton this season, but the British driver is still favored to win a record-setting eighth world championship. Hamilton’s fifth consecutive win in Barcelona increased his lead over Verstappen to 14 points, ahead of the next race — the Monaco GP on May 23.</p>
<p>Verstappen could be even closer if not for track violations in two previous races. </p>
<p>In Bahrain, he passed Hamilton but was ordered to cede the better position for overtaking off the track. His wide-open racing cost him twice in Portugal. Verstappen had a lap time that was good for pole position deleted for going off course, and during the race he had a fastest lap time that would have earned him a point, but it too was voided for a track violation. Hamilton took both races, while Verstappen won in Italy.</p>
<p>This time Verstappen did not have the rulebook to blame.</p>
<p>“It shows that we are not where we want to be. But compared to last year, it has been a big step,” Verstappen said. “We just need a faster car. It is very simple.”</p>
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