FAIRLY straightforward and supremely dominant is probably the best adjectives with which to describe Lewis Hamilton’s latest race victory.
Seemingly without too much effort the Mercedes driver racked up career win number 88 by leading every one of the 66 laps of the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position.
So dominant was Hamilton that not even Max Verstappen could get close. Eventually, the Red Bull driver finished roughly 24 seconds adrift in second. It was another day in which the Dutch driver delivered the best result possible, which keeps him, somewhat, within touching distance in the points standings.
Elsewhere, Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes after a strange lack of pace on the quicker soft tyre in the closing stage of the race.
The call to put the Finn out on the soft compound was done with the expectation that he would be able to cruise up to the back of Verstappen, on the medium compound, and take second place off him. However, the pace never materialised and Bottas now sits a rather uncomfortable, and probably insurmountable, 43 points behind Hamilton.
Racing Point delivered a good haul of points with an impressive drive from Lance Stroll in fourth and masterful tyre management from the one-stopping Sergio Perez in fifth. Carlos Sainz delivered a sixth place for McLaren at his home race but the driver of the day was unquestionably Sebastian Vettel. Normally, seventh place wouldn’t seem all that impressive in a works Ferrari, but it was on this occasion.
The Ferrari’s lack of pace meant that Vettel started the Spanish GP from 11th on a circuit notorious for lack of overtaking. It’s been clear that the relationship between Vettel and Ferrari has deteriorated to the point of no return.
As on several other occasions throughout his tenure at Ferrari, Vettel was again forced to take the reins on strategy in Sunday’s race.
The lack of care and attention to Vettel is not only indicative of the relationship between the two but also of a team in serious crisis. Somehow, without any help from the team, Vettel ran the soft tyre for nearly 40 laps to finish seventh.
In eighth was Alex Albon, whose gamble to opt for the hard tyre at the first round of stops didn’t pan out. Pierre Gasly scored two points in ninth for Alpha Tauri while Lando Norris claimed the final point for McLaren. Charles Leclerc, who ran in sixth for most of the race, was the only retirement with a suspected electronic issue.
When Hamilton jumped out of the car, after winning his fifth Spanish GP, he looked as if he could probably run 100 more laps, so little effort had he expended. The only driver with the car to challenge Hamilton is Bottas, but he simply isn’t championship-winning material.
