Lewis Hamilton needed no luck 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 straight forward
afternoon for the world championship leader, but the race got off to a crazy
start.
Hamilton kept out of trouble,
though, ultimately finishing an impressive 20s ahead of Bottas to lead the
first Mercedes one-two of the season, as Verstappen held his nerve to keep
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at bay. The other Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo endured
a lonely finale, coming home in fifth, while Haas secured a brilliant P6 with
Kevin Magnussen.
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 point’s finish for Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, who came tenth behind
Force India’s Sergio Perez.
Hamilton’s
victory means he now leads Vettel by 17 points in the drivers’ standings,
having leapfrogged his rival after Azerbaijan, with Bottas 20 behind the
Ferrari man in third. A one-two was the perfect result for Mercedes, who
dominated every session here in Barcelona – and they are now ahead of Ferrari
in the constructors’ championship. Red Bull will certainly be chuffed too,
securing their third Spanish GP podium in a row, but Ferrari have plenty to
think about after Raikkonen's DNF and a potential second-placed finish for
Vettel slipping away.
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