Lewis Hamilton won for the fourth straight race in a row after winning the Spanish Grand Prix. Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg finished second but saw his championship lead taken by Hamilton who now leads by three points. Daniel Ricciardo finished third and took the final spot on the podium whilst Sebastien Vettel impressively moved up the grid and finished 4th after starting all the way back in 15th. It seems that Red Bull are getting closer to challenging Mercedes but the German constructors are proving to still be the top dogs on the grid.
My Opinion:
Mercedes - Hamilton (Winner), Rosberg (2nd). Perfect race result for Mercedes who claimed yet another one-two finish. Hamilton wins for the fourth time on the bounce which has taken him to the top of the championship and he currently looks unbeatable. Rosberg finished second but will most likely be gutted that he couldn't pass Hamilton to take the win. It is going to be a fascinating battle between the pair throughout the season but Hamilton has the edge right now.
Red Bull - Ricciardo (3rd), Vettel (4th). Red Bull enjoy their best race result of the season so far. Ricciardo finished on the podium for the second time this season although this time I would expect him to keep that result. Vettel was mightily impressive and climbed eleven places up the grid to finish behind his team-mate in 4th. That was more like it from Red Bull but they just can't seem to give Mercedes a proper challenge yet. They are the second best team on the grid and that result just confirms it.
Ferrari - Alonso (6th), Raikkonen (7th). Average result for Ferrari who aren't able to give Alonso and Raikkonen a fast enough car to challenge for a podium finish. Alonso managed to finish ahead of Raikkonen to finish in 6th but the team are not where they want to be.
Force India - Perez (9th), Hulkenberg (10th). Decent result for Force India as both cars pick up points. Perez was the more impressive driver after moving up three places into 9th but Hulkenberg can be satisfied with his drive which saw him move up one place and take the final point on offer. The team have enjoyed better results than this but I'm sure they will just be glad that both cars finished inside the top ten.
Williams - Bottas (5th), Massa (13th). Mixed result for Williams. Bottas has finished inside the top ten in every race so far this season and continued his brilliant form with a fifth place finish. Very impressive stuff which will get the attention of the bigger teams. However, Massa was unable to take advantage of a good day of qualifying after falling four places and finishing 13th. Disappointing for Massa who knows that he has a car capable of a top six finish.
McLaren - Button (11th), Magnussen (12th). Poor result for McLaren who failed to claim a single point. Button dropped three places to finish 11th whilst Magnussen climbed three to finish 12th. McLaren expect their cars to score points and today will be seen as a failure. The car is in desperate need of some upgrades as it just isn't up to scratch. Hopefully, better results are ahead for McLaren.
Toro Rosso - Kvyat (14th), Vergne (DNF, 24 laps). Poor result for Toro Rosso who endured a tough day of it. Kvyat fell one place to finish 14th whilst Vergne only lasted 24 laps out on track before retiring from the race. The team are capable of scoring a few points so the result will come as a disappointment to them. However, their fate had been pretty much sealed after their sub-par qualifying result.
Lotus - Grosjean (8th), Maldonado (15th). Points at last for Lotus. Grosjean converted a great qualifying result into finishing the race in 8th. Three places were lost from the start of the race but I'm sure a top ten finish would have improved the mood in that garage. Maldonado finished 15th which was a pretty average result for him this season. Encouraging signs ahead for the team and I'm sure they will score plenty more points this year.
Sauber - Gutierrez (16th), Sutil (17th). Disappointing day for Sauber. There were no improvements from qualifying as Sutil maintained 17th whilst Gutierrez fell two places to finish one place ahead of his team-mate. It hasn't been going well for Sauber since Melbourne so they will be desperate to have a strong result soon.
Marussia - Bianchi (18th), Chilton (19th). Marussia beat Caterham. Chilton failed to hold onto 18th place after being passed by Bianchi who finished ahead of his team-mate for the second time in a row.
Caterham - Ericsson (20th), Kobayashi (DNF, 34 laps). Caterham were the slowest team on the grid. Ericsson was the last car to cross the finish line whilst Kobayashi retired from the race after 34 laps.
Key Moments during the Race:
Start: Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas (up 1), Ricciardo (down 1), Grosjean, Raikkonen, Alonso, Massa (up 1), Hulkenberg (up 1), Gutierrez (up 3).
Lap 1: Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Raikkonen, Alonso, Massa, Hulkenberg, Perez (up 1). Contact between the cars of Magnussen and Vettel.
Lap 8: Kvyat moves into 11th after passing Gutierrez.
Lap 9: Button moves into 12th after passing Gutierrez. Vettel moves into 13th after passing Gutierrez.
Lap 10: Maldonado receives a 5 second stop and go penalty for causing a collision with Ericsson.
Lap 11: Maldonado moves into 18th after passing Bianchi.
Lap 14: Magnussen moves into 13th after passing Gutierrez.
Lap 15: Vettel moves into 19th after passing Kobayashi.
Lap 16: Ricciardo moves into 9th after passing Button.
Lap 17: Ricciardo moves into 7th after passing Kvyat. Grosjean moves into 13th after passing Sutil.
Lap 18: Ricciardo moves into 4th after passing Perez.
Lap 19: Hamilton makes a pit stop which means Rosberg takes the lead of the race.
Lap 22: Rosberg makes a pit stop which means Hamilton retakes the lead of the race.
Lap 23: Gutierrez moves into 17th after passing Kobayashi.
Lap 24: Vergne OUT.
Lap 25: Raikkonen moves into 5th after passing Grosjean.
Lap 26: Alonso moves into 6th after passing Grosjean.
Lap 30: Maldonado moves into 15th after passing Gutierrez.
Lap 34: Kobayashi OUT.
Lap 37: Alonso moves into 7th after passing Magnussen. Vettel moves into 9th after passing Massa.
Lap 38: Vettel moves into 8th after passing Magnussen.
Lap 41: Massa moves into 8th after passing Magnussen.
Lap 44: Hamilton makes a pit stop which means Rosberg take the lead of the race.
Lap 46: Rosberg makes a pit stop which means that Hamilton retakes the lead of the race.
Lap 52: Magnussen moves into 12th after passing Kvyat. Perez moves into 9th after passing Hulkenberg.
Lap 57: Vettel moves into 5th after passing Raikkonen.
Lap 64: Alonso moves into 6th after passing Raikkonen. Vettel moves into 4th after passing Bottas.
Lap 66/Finish: Hamilton wins the Spanish Grand Prix. Rosberg finishes second and Ricciardo claims third.
Race Result:
Winner: Hamilton (Mercedes) 25pts
2. Rosberg (Mercedes) 18pts
3. Ricciardo (Red Bull) 15pts
4. Vettel (Red Bull) 12pts
5. Bottas (Williams) 10pts
6. Alonso (Ferrari) 8pts
7. Raikkonen (Ferrari) 6pts
8. Grosjean (Lotus) 4pts
9. Perez (Force India) 2pts
10. Hulkenberg (Force India) 1pt
11. Button (McLaren)
12. Magnussen (McLaren)
13. Massa (Williams)
14. Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
15. Maldonado (Lotus)
16. Gutierrez (Sauber)
17. Sutil (Sauber)
18. Bianchi (Marussia)
19. Chilton (Marussia)
20. Ericsson (Caterham)
21. Kobayashi (Caterham) Retired after 34 laps.
22. Vergne (Toro Rosso) Retired after 24 laps.
Fastest Lap of the Race: Sebastien Vettel (Red Bull) 1.28.918
Driver of the Day: Sebastien Vettel (Red Bull)
Team of the Day: Mercedes
Driver Standings:
1. Hamilton (Mercedes) (+25) 100pts
2. Rosberg (Mercedes) (+18) 97pts
3. Alonso (Ferrari) (+8) 49pts
4. Vettel (Red Bull) (+12) 45pts
5. Ricciardo (Red Bull) (+15) 39pts
Constructor Standings:
1. Mercedes (+43) 197pts
2. Red Bull (+27) 84pts
3. Ferrari (+14) 66pts
4. Force India (+3) 57pts
5. Williams (+10) 46pts
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