It was another dominant display from Lewis Hamilton as he extends his championship lead. Max Verstappen managed to finish ahead of Valtteri Bottas and this gives the Dutchman a solid points gap over the other Mercedes driver. It was a strong race for Racing Point, taking best of the rest status in Catalyuna, while Sebastian Vettel tasted redemption with a brilliant 7th place.
Report
It was a strong start for Lewis Hamilton, but his team-mate struggled immensely off the grid. Valtteri Bottas was swamped by Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll and was unable to pass for the majority of the first stint. Alex Albon was the first to pit, appearing to attempt a one stop strategy by going on to the hard compound tyre. During this time, Verstappen was keeping within touching distance of Hamilton ahead. However, the Briton pulled out some stunning laps at the end of his first stint, pulling him away from the chasing pair.
Max Verstappen’s frustrations became apparent before his first stint, taking to the radio on numerous occasions to complain about his tyres. Red Bull finally conceded and let Verstappen pit, putting him out in a strong position to challenge for the lead. However, this would come to no avail. The lead three would finish in formation without any trouble for the rest of the race, yet Hamilton would manage to pull out a 20 second gap, stamping his authority on the race and, more importantly, the championship.
Behind this, however, a tense midfield battle was taking place. The Racing Points stayed mainly in formation, securing best of the rest status, but Lance Stroll would eventually take 4th after his team-mate Sergio Perez suffered a 5 second penalty for ignoring yellow flags. Carlos Sainz kept his nose clean and managed to bring home some impressive points for McLaren at his home Grand Prix.
However, the action seemed to be taking place between the final points paying positions. After appearing to manage his race well, Charles Leclerc had a surprising spin through the final corners on lap 35. There was no official explanation, but it is assumed that this led to his eventual retirement a lap later. However, this gave his Sebastian Vettel the opportunity to shine. Tip-toeing around the track on tyres that were almost completely canvas, the German driver managed to cross the line in 7th place. A result the former 4 time world champion will have been looking for. Alex Albon was yet again not able to match his team-mate, coming a disappointing 8th. This followed his strongest qualifying session and raises more questions about the young driver. The impressive Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris rounded out the points on a relatively uneventful race.
After the excitement of the last Grand Prix, Mercedes have clearly come back in to control. At this point, Lewis Hamilton has amassed an incredible amount of points from his nearest competetor. And yet, this isn’t even his team-mate. Perhaps this race is the clearest indication so far that 2020 does not belong to Mercedes, but to Hamilton.
Featured Image Credit: Formula1.com
