Spain – Race: Max Verstappen triumphs, Mercedes collide

The weather conditions were once again perfect at the start of this Spanish Grand Prix: 22°C in the air, 39°C on the track. The big question was whether Lewis Hamilton would be able to lead at the first corner. But the verdict at the start was quite different. Indeed, the triple world champion did not have the best take-off, sweeping the track from left to right and then from right to left, he lost the lead at the first braking to Nico Rosberg, who dove inside.

But the German hardly benefited from the lead in this Grand Prix. Aggressive, at the exit of the third turn, Lewis Hamilton tried to reclaim his position. But as a fierce defender, Nico Rosberg closed the door on him, pushing him towards the outside of the track. Forced to go onto the grass to avoid his teammate, Hamilton went completely off course before the fourth braking point. He took his dear teammate down with him: both Mercedes were eliminated on the first lap!

The debrief between the two drivers promises to be very heated, especially since Niki Lauda was quick to blame the British driver. Guaranteed atmosphere…

It is therefore the Red Bull drivers who took advantage of this dramatic turn of events to take control of the race. Max Verstappen found himself in second position for his first race with Red Bull. Carlos Sainz also managed to make the most of the situation, taking third place during the restart.

But the Spanish driver was not able to resist the comeback of the two Ferraris driven by Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen for long. They took advantage of their DRS activation to overtake the Toro Rosso driver at the end of the straight. Then it was Daniel Ricciardo who was the first to enter the pit lane, as early as lap 12. He was followed in the subsequent laps by his three closest rivals.

On lap 22, Nico Hülkenberg was forced to stop at the side of the track due to a fire starting on his Sahara Force India, while the German driver was in 12th place. The difficult start to the season continues for “Hulk.”

On the 29th lap, Daniel Ricciardo was once again the first to go through the pits. The Australian was attempting a strategic move by switching to soft tires. Sebastian Vettel then aligned his own strategy with his former teammate by following on the next lap, also switching to soft tires.

On the other hand, Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen chose to take another option by staying on track. When they decided to pit, both drivers opted for medium tires. Sebastian Vettel took advantage of this to take the second place from Max Verstappen. But surprisingly, the German Ferrari driver quickly pitted again for new medium tires, which placed him back in fourth. However, when Daniel Ricciardo pitted on lap 44, he found himself six seconds behind Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari.

Three laps later, the Spanish public had to witness their favorite, Fernando Alonso, being betrayed by his car once again, abandoning his ailing McLaren at the side of the track.

LAP 47/66: 📺 “No power, no power” @alo_oficial grinds to a halt and is OUT! #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/pn7wegJx15

— Formula 1 (@F1) 15 May 2016

In the last ten laps, the fight was intense, and there were two very tight duels, first between Verstappen and Räikkönen, then between Vettel and Ricciardo. The duel between the former teammates was very close: Daniel Ricciardo was giving it his all to climb back onto the podium. On the 59th lap, the Australian cleared at the end of the straight to attempt a move on Vettel under braking. But he went wide, and Sebastian Vettel was able to regain his position.

LAP 59/66: What a battle! RIC gets past VET before the German retakes third #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/1nx37E05Yw

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 15, 2016

But finally with two laps to go, Daniel Ricciardo had to stop his attacks, suffering a puncture! Fortunately for him, his lead over Valtteri Bottas was so large that he was able to take the time to go back through the pits and keep his 4th place!

Valterri Bottas finished 5th, just ahead of Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, and Felipe Massa, who started 18th! Jenson Button scored two additional points, just ahead of Daniil Kvyat. The young Russian managed to pass Esteban Gutierrez in the very last laps, benefiting from Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo overtaking the Mexican driver.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

History made as @Max33Verstappen becomes youngest ever winner of an #F1 race #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/NjizUc3zpF

— Formula 1 (@F1) 15 mai 2016