Spanish Grand Prix 2020
The 2020 Formula 1 season may just be six races old, but it looks as though Lewis Hamilton is set to win his record seventh world championship after another dominant drive to win the Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton led from start to finish and was a massive 24 seconds ahead of his biggest rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished in second to split the two Mercedes on the podium.
The Briton has won four of the first six races of the season and is now 37 points clear atop the drivers’ standings.
Meanwhile, it was another frustrating race for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc retiring due to an engine problem and Vettel — who didn’t sound too pleased on the team radio — was a distant seventh, which is actually one of his better results of the season.
Highlights of the game
Mercedes have been dominant once again at the start of the season, but they looked unusually vulnerable in back-to-back races in Silverstone. Due to the warm temperatures, Mercedes had major problems with their tyres, which allowed Verstappen to win last week’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
The temperature in Barcelona figured to be fiery hot once again, so there was a sense that Mercedes could potentially have more tyre problems in Spain, which could once again open the door for Verstappen.
Hamilton — the pole-sitter and still favourite according to the Spanish Grand Prix 2020 odds — had no problems early, though, as he made a great start to hold on to the lead.
Team-mate Valtteri Bottas, on the other hand, had a disastrous opening lap as he immediately lost two places after being overtaken by both Lance Stroll and Verstappen, who made Spanish Grand Prix 2020 highlights by jumping up to second.
Verstappen did his best to keep Hamilton within reach; the Mercedes’ lead was only 1.5 seconds after the first 10 laps. But the Brit quickly increased that advantage in the next handful of laps as he tightened his grip on the lead.
By lap 17, Hamilton was nearly five seconds ahead of Verstappen and over 30 seconds ahead of the two Ferraris, Leclerc in ninth and Vettel in 11th. The Prancing Horses had a miserable qualifying and were nowhere close to competing for a podium spot.
By lap 21, Verstappen was already complaining to his team about his tyres as Hamilton built up his lead to over 10 seconds.
Red Bull finally brought Verstappen into the pits moments later. But despite a quick stop, Verstappen still couldn’t take the lead from Hamilton, who was still five seconds ahead after making his own stop.
With his new medium compound tyres, Verstappen kept within striking distance of Hamilton, but it was still smooth sailing for the world champion.
The same couldn’t be said for Ferrari, though. First, Charles Leclerc — who was battling for 11th place — suddenly stopped on lap 41 with what looked to be an engine failure. He still made it back to the pits, but his race was done.
Then, Vettel — who was impressively up in fifth — remained unhappy with his team and was heard spewing some harsh words to them over the radio.
Meanwhile, Hamilton looked to have the win all sewn up as he had a comfortable 13-second lead over Bottas and was over 30 seconds ahead of Verstappen in third with 20 laps to go.
But Bottas jumped into the pits on lap 49 to send Verstappen back to second. Hamilton then made his second stop shortly thereafter but still re-entered with a 13-second lead over Verstappen.
With 10 laps to go, it seemed clear Bottas would be unable to steal second from Verstappen. Likewise, Hamilton’s lead was much too big for the Red Bull driver to overcome.
And so it proved, as Hamilton cruised to the chequered flag to complete an absolutely dominant win in Catalunya.
Key statistics
Hamilton continues to capture more all-time records. He’s now overtaken Michael Schumacher for the most career podium finishes with 156. He also won his 88th career race and is just three wins away from tying Schumi’s all-time mark of 91 Grand Prix victories.
Hamilton has now won four consecutive Spanish Grands Prix, the third time in his career that he’s won a single race four straight times.
On the flipside, Sebastian Vettel’s 7th place for Ferrari was his worst Spanish GP result since 2008, where he retired on the first lap.
Meanwhile, 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen has claimed the record for the longest distance raced in Formula 1 history. The 40-year-old has now driven 83,846km (52,099 miles) in his F1 career.
What’s next?
The Formula 1 season is set to take another break this weekend before it returns for the Belgian Grand Prix on Aug. 30.
Ferrari will be eager to continue their winning streak at Spa. Sebastian Vettel won in 2018, while Charles Leclerc took the chequered flag last year.
However, SBOBET odds will still fancy Hamilton, who owns three wins at Spa, with his last win coming in 2017.
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