F1: Lewis Hamilton unlocks Max Verstappen and Red Bull's secrets during Spanish GP win

Sir Lewis Hamilton did not consider his stunning win at the Spanish Grand Prix the best outcome of the day, but it was how much he learned about the man he was following for most of the race – Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver took the lead on the opening lap after making a good start from second place on the grid. But he was never able to get away and build on it as Hamilton kept him close company throughout the first stint.

After failing to make an impact on the track after the first round of stops, Hamilton and the team decided to go in for an early second stop that caught Red Bull by surprise. Despite the stop putting the reigning world champion over 22 seconds behind, he was able to chase down the Red Bull and overtake him with six laps remaining and take his third win of the season.

After race, Hamilton was less focused on the win but rather chose to reveal that he had unlocked some of Red Bull and Verstappen's secrets after spending a good amount of time being just a second behind the Red Bull's gearbox.

"It was actually a really good day," Hamilton said after taking the win, as quoted on the F1 website. "I learned a lot about Max today and perhaps more than all the other races probably put together."

"Not particularly, no [laughs]. It was just... when you're with people on track... you get to see different things and you can follow closely," the Briton said when probed further about his findings. "Obviously I was following relatively closely and I learned a lot about his car and learned a lot about how he uses it. So that was a good race in that respect."

Hamilton's new-found information could spell trouble for Red Bull going forward or it could simply be a bit of gamesmanship by the seven-time world champion, especially since it is now clear that Verstappen is a genuine threat to his crown this season.