Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton extended his Formula 1 World Championship lead with a dominant victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, while a late pit-stop cost rival Sebastian Vettel further ground in the title race.
Hamilton started the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from pole position and was in command throughout to lead home team-mate Valtteri Bottas for Mercedes’ first one-two finish of 2018.
Vettel’s race started well, with the Ferrari driver jumping Bottas for second at the first turn. But his fortunes faltered when he was the only frontrunner forced to make a second stop for fresh tyres. While he came in during a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period, he fell behind Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, finishing a subdued fourth behind the Dutchman.
Hamilton, who has now won two races in a row, leads Vettel by 17 points in the championship.
Here’s what else we learned from the Spanish Grand Prix.
Mercedes is back in front (for now)
While Hamilton stuck his car on pole for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Vettel had the edge on pace in that race, and Ferrari has had the edge in terms of race pace. But in Spain it was Mercedes locking out the front row and claiming the one-two finish.
“I hope it can be a turning point,” said Hamilton. “After five races we have a much better understanding of the car, or what we need to do to get it working – but we still have learning to do.”
Ferrari will be concerned by their inability to make their tyres last as long as their rivals. While the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers completed the race making just one stop, Vettel said his Ferrari’s tyre wear meant he had no choice but to make his disastrous second stop.
“It wasn't an option to stay out,” he said. “We were going through the tyres quicker than the others.”
Verstappen bounces back
After a string of incidents in recent races, Verstappen put in a strong drive to claim third, showing patience while stuck behind slower rivals and then holding off Vettel after the German’s late stop.
Still, perhaps inevitably his race wasn’t entirely devoid of incident: he tagged the lapped Williams of Lance Stroll shortly before the end of the VSC period, damaging his front wing.
