Lewis Hamilton has won Spain’s Grand Prix at Formula One, a race in Catalonia (Barcelona), the second success for the British pilot of Mercedes.
A race dominated by the British pilot, who started it from “pole position” and did not let go to the end, thanks to a good strategy. Second place was his teammate Valtteri Bottas, while in third place was ranked Max Verstasppen with Red Bull, who even competed for more than 15 laps with a damaged car in his turf, managed to leave after Sebastian Vettel with Ferrari, the fourth.
A race that did not donate that spectacle like the last ones, with a bit overtaking and boring, dominated by Mercedes pilots, while Ferrari was very slim, not rivaling for victory, even for the podium. The wrong two-stop strategy of the “headache” made Vettel not climb the podium, being far from the head. A reborn Mercedes on Catalonia’s runway with its two pilots, while Red Bull was fast. The fifth was classified by Daniel Ricciardo with Red Bull, the only five pilots who closed the race with full laps, as others arrived at the finish with a lap time lag.
Spain’s race begins with a crash, as after some turns a Grosjean (Haas) outbreak raises panic, entering the runway with smoke-emitting tires. Chaos, as in the accident are included Gasley (Toro Rosso) and Hulkenberg (Renault), who clash hard with the car driver Haas, risking not least. The safety car enters the 7-lap track, with Vettel starting to parachute Bottas and climbs second behind Hamilton, who heads the race. This ranking does not change until the first blocks in the tire change pads, with pilots having different strategies.
Initially Vettel (two-stop strategy) and then Bottas and Hamilton switch tires, while a mechanical problem stopped Kimi Raikkonen with Ferrari, which closes the race very soon. The latest in the box are the two Red Bull riders (one-stop strategy), making the second part of the race interesting. An Ocon’s problem is that the “virtual security machine”, making Vettel perform the second stop, but does not bring anything new, even Germany loses second place.
The last lap is a monotone, with Hamilton running undisturbed and reaping a slight win, leaving behind Bottas and Verstappen, while Vettel ranks fourth behind him Ricciardo. In the “top-10” pilots who scored points were classified Magnussen (Haas), Sainz (Renault), Alonso (McLaren), Perez (Force India) and Leclerc (Sauber). In the overall standings of the pilots, Hamilton climbs 98 points, breaking away from Vettel, with 78 points for Bottas with 58 points. The next race, after two weeks at Montekarlo./Flashsport24
