Champion celebration. British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen.
Lars Baron, Reuters
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Hamilton captured his 100th pole position in Barcelona on Saturday, and although he lost the lead in the beginning, his triumph was decided by a well-timed strategy of two pit stops. Thanks to her, he got in front of Verstappen six laps before the end. The Dutchman at least won a premium point for the fastest lap in the race.
“I was just hunting. It was a great race in which we showed an excellent strategy. It was not easy to erase the twenty-second loss, but it paid off,” Hamilton said in a post-race television interview.
British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen. At the finish they had something to talk about.
Emilio Morenatti, Reuters
“We just lacked speed. I tried everything, but we’re not where we want to go. We have to squeeze in and catch up because we’re slower right now,” Verstappen complained.
The young Red Bull driver was only 36,000ths of a second apart from Hamiton in qualifying, but he had a better start to the race. In the first turn, he pushed in front of Hamilton and Brit had to brake at the last moment after a hard maneuver to avoid crashing with him. The third Bottas, who fell behind Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, subsequently paid for the slowing down of the reigning world champion.
In the ninth lap, Juki Cunoda’s car went out and a safety car drove off the track. During the break, Antonio Giovinazzi from Alfa Romeo came to change the tires, but the mechanics brought it the wrong rubber and the Italian fell to the last place after a curious situation.
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A Mercedes monopost driven by Lewis Hamilton at a pit stop during the Spanish F1 Grand Prix.
Emilio Morenatti, ČTK / AP
Verstappen remained in the lead even after the restart, however Hamilton did not let him go for more than 1.5 seconds. In the 25th lap, therefore, the Dutchman drove for new tires, and although his stop lasted 4.2 seconds due to a mechanical delay, he took advantage of the situation that Daniel Ricciardo, who was driving in front of him, also entered the pits. The Red Bull pilot didn’t have to stay behind him, and when Hamilton drove for the new tires, he already had a six-second blockbuster in front of him.
Although the Brit continued to show excellent speed and later got to Verstappen again in less than a second, but even with the DRS system he could not overtake his opponent. So Mercedes bet on an alternative strategy, in the 43rd lap he called Hamilton to the pits once again and the world champion started a big chase on fresh tires.
“At that moment, it was clear to me that it was done. I was already worried about the tires myself, and I could see how each Hamilton wheel approached. I could only sit and watch it,” Verstappen said.
Although the seven-time world champion lost 22 laps before the end from third place to the front for 23 seconds, in the rest of the time he quickly erased Verstappen’s lead. Thirteen laps before the end, he unexpectedly stayed behind his teammate Bottas, who reluctantly let him in front of him and, moreover, only after a few corners, but it no longer affected Hamilton’s ride.
Six laps before the end, the Mercedes driver easily got ahead of Verstappen, and all that was left was to try to get a premium point for the fastest lap of the race after replacing the softest tires. The Red Bull pilot also learned his lesson last week, when he lost his bonus due to a violation of the track limits, and this time he managed everything without the commissioners’ objections. The third Bottas did not change anything in his efforts.
Hamilton won in Barcelona for the fifth time in a row and for the sixth time overall, equaling Michael Schumacher’s local record. Identical riders lined up on the podium in the same order as last week in Portimao, Portugal. The next race in Monaco will take place on May 23.
| Spanish Grand Prix, Formula 1 World Championship race in Barcelona: |
| 1. Hamilton (Brit./Mercedes) 1:33:07,680 |
| 2. Verstappen (Niz./Red Bull) -15,841 |
| 3. Bottas (Fin./Mercedes) -26,610 |
| 4. Leclerc (Mon./Ferrari) -54,616 |
| 5. Pérez (Mex./Red Bull) -1: 03.671 |
| 6. Ricciardo (Austr./McLaren) -1:13,768 |
| 7. Sainz (Šp./Ferrari) -1:14,670 |
| 8. Norris (Brit./McLaren) -1 neck |
| 9. Ocon (Fr./Alpine) -1 kolo |
| 10. Gasly (Fr./AlphaTauri) -1 kolo. |
| Fastest lap: Verstappen. |
| Standings (after 4 of 23 races): |
| 1. Hamilton 94 b |
| 2. Verstappen 80 |
| 3. Bottas 47 |
| 4. Norris 41 |
| 5. Leclerc 40 |
| 6. Pérez 32 |
| Constructors’ Cup: |
| 1. Mercedes 141 |
| 2. Red Bull 112 |
| 3. McLaren 65 |
| 4. Ferrari 60 |
| 5. Alpine 15 |
| 6. AlphaTauri 10 |
| 6. Aston Martin 5 |
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