Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton takes Spanish Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix with a commanding victory from pole and in doing so has extended his lead in the Formula One world championship. In a strong race for Mercedes, his team-mate Valtteri Bottas was second, with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in third. 

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel could manage only fourth after his team took a second pitstop for the German behind the virtual safety car that lost him track position. Hamilton now leads Vettel by 17 points in the title race.

The win is Hamilton’s second of the season and one he will believe is fully deserved. He inherited victory at the last round in Baku but in Spain, having claimed pole with a superb lap, he converted it with clinical efficiency that exploited the performance he has sorely lacked from the Mercedes in three of the four previous rounds. This 64th career victory is his third in Barcelona.

“This is more like it guys, let’s keep this up,” a buoyant Hamilton said.

The victory will be hugely pleasing and of some relief to the British driver and his team. Mercedes has not been able to get the most from its car since the opening round in Melbourne and has been repeatedly out-paced by Ferrari. However, it was hooked up in qualifying and then proved to have the race pace to match, concluding with its first one-two this season.

Mercedes will be optimistic that it is getting to grips with the issue of putting its tyres in the correct operating window that has seen it struggling for performance thus far. The thinner tread on the rubber Pirelli have supplied this weekend in response to the blistering during testing in Barcelona certainly seems to work to its advantage and the same type of tyres will be used at the French and British GP’s. Victory here will have given the defending champion the impetus he has felt has been lacking for the past three races.

Hamilton held his lead from lights out but Vettel made up a place on the drag race down to turn one passing Bottas for second. But racing was immediately interrupted by the safety car when Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly were collected by Romain Grosjean in the Haas who went off and spun back across the track through the third corner.

All three drivers were unhurt but it was an exceptionally dangerous incident and why Grosjean kept his foot on the gas as he span, causing smoke that unsighted the following drivers, seems inexplicable. Racing resumed on lap seven, with Hamilton holding his lead through the restart.