Spain – Race: Lewis Hamilton, Untouchable from Start to Finish

For this race in Barcelona, the temperatures were unusually cool as it was only 15°C in the air and the track was at 34°C, which is 8°C less than during free practice 2 on Friday. One of the big questions of this race was whether the rain would come and disrupt its course.

Grosjean cracks again, Vettel passes Bottas at the start

At the lights out, Sebastian Vettel is able to take the lead over Valtteri Bottas thanks to the slipstream. But behind, the Haas cars caused chaos: as Kevin Magnussen struggled with grip in the third corner, Romain Grosjean spun to avoid him. However, he also triggered a massive burnout, which obscured the view for all the drivers coming behind him. Consequently, he was hit by Nico Hülkenberg’s Renault and Pierre Gasly’s Toro Rosso, who could do nothing to avoid the wayward car.

With carbon debris scattered across the track, the safety car had to come back on track. In this chaos, Charles Leclerc managed to make the most of the situation as he was able to climb to 9th position after starting 14th on the grid. The beasts were unleashed on lap 6. This time, there was no incident to report.

In the aftermath, Lewis Hamilton was able to build a very comfortable lead as by the 17th lap, he was already seven seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who had Valtteri Bottas following at a reasonable distance. It was at this moment that the Ferrari driver made a pit stop. Valtteri Bottas was then ordered to give everything to try to overtake the Ferrari. But when the Finn made his own stop two laps later, he saw Sebastian Vettel dive inside the first corner, also overtaking the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.

The overcut should have worked for Mercedes, but Bottas spent 1.2 seconds longer in the pit lane than Vettel’s Ferrari, which caused him to rejoin behind.

Räikkönen betrayed by his mechanics, Vettel uninspired: bad pick for Ferrari

A few minutes later, Ferrari lost its second car on the 25th lap when Kimi Räikkönen found himself crawling at the entrance of the pit straight. Although he was able to bring his car back to the track very slowly, he was forced to retire again, after the Scuderia had changed its engine unit as a precaution following issues seen in free practice 2. Vettel remained alone on track for the reds, chasing Lewis Hamilton and the two Red Bulls, who delayed their first pit stop. Far from the leading positions, Esteban Ocon lost the opportunity to score points after a disastrous pit stop on the 30th lap, due to a stubborn wheel nut on his Force India.

The Red Bulls finally went through the pit lane on laps 33 and 34, ensuring they could go to the end of the race with those tires. There was still uncertainty for Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas. That’s why the pit wall informed Verstappen of the Scuderia driver’s pace, to maintain the pressure.

Further on, Esteban Ocon’s race ended on the 41st lap when his car’s mechanics failed him. The retirement of the last French driver on the track led to the deployment of the virtual safety car. Sebastian Vettel then dove into the pit lane, but his stop was very slow, which caused him to rejoin the race behind Max Verstappen, in fourth position.

When the race resumed, Max Verstappen hit the back of Lance Stroll, who was being lapped. His front wing was damaged, but he was able to continue. Surprisingly, the winner of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix even managed to keep Vettel’s Ferrari behind him. The German once again lost significant points with a strategy change during a safety car intervention.

However, Fernando Alonso showcased his race craft by immediately taking advantage over Charles Leclerc when the lights went green again. The Spanish veteran then attempted to catch up with his young compatriot, Carlos Sainz, in seventh position. Behind, the Monegasque also had to give way to Sergio Perez’s comeback, who was on a two-stop strategy. Nevertheless, he managed to secure another entry into the points by finishing in 10th place.

Imperial, Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line as the winner of the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas’s second place celebrated a great day for Mercedes, securing their first one-two finish of 2018. Max Verstappen, for his part, steps onto his first podium of the season!

From our special correspondent in Barcelona