Sebastian Vettel loses the race thanks to strategy
Sebastian Vettel was in the lead for most of the race, but finally had to concede defeat to Lewis Hamilton, who was not helped by his strategy. As for Kimi Räikkönen, his race came to a halt at the first corner following a tangle with Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.
After missing the pole position by only 0.51 seconds, Sebastian Vettel thought he had done the hardest part by taking the lead at the first corner. He then had no trouble widening the gap, putting him safe from Lewis Hamilton. But it was indeed the Ferrari driver who chose to stop first to not leave the door open to his rival.
Nevertheless, Mercedes’ strategists quickly realized that their second driver, Valtteri Bottas, was far enough in the standings to block the advance of their rival of the day. This strategy worked to a large extent, as Sebastian Vettel regretfully noted: « My second stint was also quite good. I managed to get closer to Valtteri who was having a lot of trouble with his tires. He blocked me. I managed to pass him but I lost a lot of time. »
Then Ferrari also decided to shorten this second stint to cover Lewis Hamilton’s strategy and switch to medium tires. But the Mercedes driver’s soft tires were able to make a difference, especially with the help of the power boost allowed by the pit wall.
Sebastian Vettel can still be satisfied with retaining the lead in the championship, but this Spanish round has once again shown that strategy is not the strong point of the Scuderia. It is also not helped in the Constructors’ title race by Kimi Räikkönen’s retirement on the first lap.
He clearly placed the responsibility for this collision on his compatriot, Valtteri Bottas: « I got a good start, but I was blocked on the straight by Bottas. I decided to lift off and move slightly to the left to give him room. But I don’t know how he hit me on the right rear. My car jumped and I ended up in Verstappen. I couldn’t do anything, just like Max. When you’re hit from behind like that, there’s nothing you can do to prevent a collision. I’m sure Valtteri had enough space. Unfortunately, my race ended there. »
There was then nothing left for the Finnish driver but to comfort one of his young fans, in tears after his collision. To console him, the team invited him into their motorhome to meet his idol. Enough to bring a smile back to his face.
