Lewis Hamilton has performed the most dominant drive of 2018 at the Spanish Grand Prix to secure his second triumph in a row, the Briton cruising to victory with Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas second and Max Verstappen bringing his damaged Red Bull home for P3. It was a straightforward afternoon for the world championship leader.
The Mercedes driver was supreme at the front in a race that featured a heavy first-lap crash, two caution periods and a number of spins and collisions.
Defending four-time world champion Hamilton dominated from start to finish, save for a spell during the mid-race pit-stops, and clocked a series of record laps as he registered his second successive win.
The frenetic start saw Hamilton lead away from pole, with Vettel taking advantage of the slipstream to move on the outside of Bottas into Turn 1 to take second. The Red Bull pair of Verstappen and Ricciardo also kept their noses clean, but carnage occurred behind them.
As the car of team mate Magnussen struggled for grip immediately ahead of him, an unsettled Grosjean lost control of his Haas around Turn 3, spinning out of control before taking out the unfortunate pair of Hulkenberg and Gasly, ending all their races on lap 1.
Amid the chaos – which led to an immediate Safety Car period – Lance Stroll managed to climb from 18th to 12th on the opening lap for Williams and Leclerc also took advantage of his rivals' misfortune by moving up to ninth.
The Spanish faithful at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will go home happy too, with local heroes Carlos Sainz, who sealed seventh with Renault, and eighth-placed Fernando Alonso in the McLaren securing vital points for their respective teams. And it was another memorable points finish for Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, who came tenth behind Force India’s Sergio Perez. While there was plenty of action going on behind him, Hamilton was quietly going about his business - extending his lead over Vettel to 6.5s after lap 15.
Kimi Raikkonen’s race ended on lap 25 when he suffered a technical drama.
He was running in P2 before he attempted to come into the pits in a last-minute decision only to be told the team wasn’t ready for him.
Hamilton has extended his championship lead to 17 points as he strolled to victory by more than 20 seconds.
The Briton took a stunning pole position and then crushed the field on Sunday afternoon, crossing the line 20.5s clear of the pack in what was the largest winning margin of 2018 and the biggest in Spain since 2010.
Hamilton's win moves him into a 17-point championship lead, with title rival Sebastian Vettel.
“That’s more like it guys”. Lewis Hamilton was in party mood as he crossed the line to take a commanding victory in Spain. Ominously for his rivals, he said he felt the synergy between himself and the car for the first time in 2018.
Full race results for the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth round of the 2018 F1 season at the Circuit de Catalunya, Spain.
Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Full race classification
1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 66 laps, 1hr 35m 29.972s
2. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport +20.593s
3. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing +26.873s
4. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari +27.584s
5. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Aston Martin Red Bull Racing +50.058s
6. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team +1 lap
7. Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP Renault Sport Formula One Team +1 lap
8. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren F1 Team +1 lap
9. Sergio Perez MEX Sahara Force India F1 Team +2 laps
10. Charles Leclerc MON Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team +2 laps
11. Lance Stroll CAN Williams Martini Racing +2 laps
12. Marcus Ericsson SWE Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team +2 laps
13. Brendon Hartley NZL Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda +2 laps
14. Sergey Sirotkin RUS Williams Martini Racing +2 laps
Did not finish
Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren F1 Team 45 laps
Esteban Ocon FRA Sahara Force India F1 Team 38 laps
Kimi Raikkonen FIN Scuderia Ferrari laps 25 laps
Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault Sport Formula One Team 0 laps
Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 0 laps
Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team 0 laps.
The next race is the FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2018 Monte Carlo. Thu 24 May – Sun 27 May 2018.
0 comments:
Post a Comment