Lewis Hamilton Dominates 2020 Spanish Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton clinched a record-breaking 156th podium as he dominated the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix to take victory from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Hamilton got a great start from pole to hold onto the lead as he controlled the pace from Verstappen, before pulling away in his middle stint to eventually lap the entire field except for Verstappen and Bottas and clinch victory plus his record breaking 156th podium finish.

Speaking post-race on what he described as “incredible”, Hamilton said; “I was just in a daze out there, I didn’t even know it was the last lap in the end, that’s how in the zone I was. I can’t remember the last time I felt like that.”

Sergio Perez executed an one stop strategy to finish fourth on the road but a five second time penalty demoted him behind Racing Point teammate, Lance Stroll.

Carlos Sainz brought his McLaren home in sixth ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris who complete the top ten.

In terms of the drivers’ standings, Hamilton extended his lead over Verstappen to 37 points, as Bottas sits six points further behind in third.

Mercedes meanwhile lead Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings by 86 points as Racing Point leapt from fifth to third, ahead of McLaren and Ferrari as just two points separate those three teams. 

Embed from Getty Images

Hamilton got a clean start to bolt away in the lead as Verstappen moved up past Bottas, who lost third to Stroll until he regained the position into Turn One on lap five with DRS.

Verstappen soon settled into a consistent pace which was around 1.5 seconds off Hamilton, until his soft tyres began to give up which left Verstappen over eight seconds behind the Brit when he stopped on lap 22.

Mercedes then opted to double-stack Hamilton and Bottas on lap 24 but a mistake with Hamilton’s rear left cost Bottas who came out behind Verstappen and was unable to get close throughout the remainder of the race.

Further behind the field, Albon attempted a two stop strategy of hard then medium tyres but was undercut by Sainz who produced a stunning defence after stopping on lap 43 to eventually drive to a sixth placed finish after passing the one-stopping Vettel on lap 60.

Albon eventually held off Gasly and Norris for eighth as Ricciardo nearly made an one stop strategy of mediums to softs work, eventually having to settle for eleventh after failing to pass Norris in the closing laps. 

Charles Leclerc was the only retirement in this race after suffering an electrical issue following a spin on exit Turn 14 on lap 39 after locking his left-rear tyre, which caused the power unit to switch off briefly. 

 

Race Result

Position	Driver	Team	Laps	Time
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	66	1h 31m 45.279
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	66	+ 24.177
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	66	+ 44.752
4	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	65	+ 1 Lap
5	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	65	+ 1 Lap
6	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	65	+ 1 Lap
7	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	65	+ 1 Lap
8	Alex Albon	Red Bull	65	+ 1 Lap
9	Pierre Gasly	Alpha Tauri	65	+ 1 Lap
10	Lando Norris	McLaren	65	+ 1 Lap
11	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	65	+ 1 Lap
12	Daniil Kvyat	Alpha Tauri	65	+ 1 Lap
13	Esteban Ocon	Renault	65	+ 1 Lap
14	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	65	+ 1 Lap
15	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	65	+ 1 Lap
16	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	65	+ 1 Lap
17	George Russell	Williams	65	+ 1 Lap
18	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	64	+ 2 Laps
19	Romain Grosjean	Haas	64	+ 2 Laps
20	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	40	Electrical