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The cars filter back onto the grid. We're moments away from lights out.... -- The formation lap is underway. -- Big call between a two-stop and a three-stop today. I think Daniel Ricciardo accidently gave away his strategy earlier on during an interview, saying he is doing a two stop. I think most guys will be hoping to complete a two-stopper as the longer runs seemed to be alright during practice. Will the Mercedes split its drivers' strategies? That might be what Rosberg needs to get back in front of Hamilton. -- Great to see so many fans in attendance, they are packed out above the paddock and around the circuit. Alonso was given the reception of a rockstar on the drivers' parade earlier today, which is to be expected, but I'm afraid to say the home fans will need something rather spectacular to see their hero on the podium today. He starts seventh. -- So much up for grabs at this first corner today. Rosberg will clearly want to get past Hamilton as early as possible, having watched his team-mate disappear into the distance in Malaysia and after failing to get by him in Bahrain. Less than five minutes to go now. --
-- Vettel tells his team "something seems wrong" with his Red Bull on his way round the circuit. He mentioned something about his front left locking up, and mentions how it is similar to an issue suffered in Turkey several seasons ago. His weekend is going from bad to worse.
-- Bernie Ecclestone on the grid, not distracted by his ongoing trial it seems. This weekend he met some of the grand prix promoters about how to promote the sport well. Getting the promoters to watch a repeat of the Bahrain Grand Prix might be a good start, Bernie. -- The weather looks good today, the sky is clear. The cars are arriving on the grid as we pass the 20-minute mark before the start of this race. Unlikely we will see rain today but wind will be worth keeping track of, due to the way it can cut across the track, especially at Sector Three. We know McLaren needs very specific temperatures to work properly - will today count? There's no doubt the team needs a good result today after back-to-back disappointments. -- Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona. Today looks likely to be a battle between the two Mercedes up front, but with the teams across the grid bringing upgrades we can expect a fascinating battle for that final podium position. Another second today could represent a massive psychological blow to Nico Rosberg, who is yet to beat Lewis Hamilton over a race distance in 2014. Is that reason for concern at Mercedes? Niki Lauda certainly thinks so.
Yesterday the Mercs were a full second a lap quicker than its nearest rival, so third seems to be the best anyone else can hope for, and qualifying set up a great contest between Daniel Ricciardo and Valterri Bottas. Red Bull looked like the best of the rest over the weekend but Williams' pace was hard to gauge. Felipe Massa looked quick in FP2 so it appears there is some pace there. Romain Grosjean took fifth on Saturday, which is a huge achievement given how far behind Lotus started this season. Whether it has the pace to stay in that position over the race remains to be seen, but either way this weekend has already shown that Lotus is on a charge back towards the front. |
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Lap 1 |
Great start from Hamilton who gets clear of Rosberg, who immediately comes under pressure from the fast-starting Bottas after jumping Ricciardo off the line. Alonso having a look behind Raikkonen but he's not close enough to make a move. Grosjean managed to hold on to fifth, for a moment into Turn 1 it looked like he could challenge Ricciardo for fourth. Magnussen runs wide at the chicane and nearly collects Vettel as he rejoins the track! |
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Lap 2 |
Fastest lap from Hamilton as he extends his gap to 1.6 seconds. At the back, Bianchi is all over the back of Sutil in the battle for 16th. Marussia was not lying when it said catching Sauber is the new target. |
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Lap 3 |
Magnussen asks "how is my front wing?" after his little off during the first lap. He's clearly concerned about contact with Vettel. DRS is now enabled as Massa starts pressurising Alonso. I'm sure that will be a battle he will enjoy if he can get by his old team-mate. Out in front his team-mate Bottas is six tenths up on Ricciardo in third, now we will see what the Red Bull has in the locker. Vettel has only made up one place since the first lap, and is still 14th. Maldonado and Ericsson run wide at the end of the lap as it all gets a little messy in the battled for 20th. |
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Lap 4 |
Hamilton is out of DRS range, with that gap now edging up to two seconds. Rosberg must already be thinking about the best strategy to catch his team-mate. Hamilton sets another fastest lap, a 1:31.913, and its already looking rather ominous for Rosberg. Ricciardo clearly making gains on Bottas during the corners but can't catch up during the long straight, even with the DRS open. Still losing so much from that Renault powerunit. |
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Lap 5 |
The incident involving Maldonado and Ericsson is under investigation. Appears Maldonado was the one who flicked into Ericsson. Ricciardo has narrowed the gap to Bottas to four tenths and he looks a lot closer, but he may struggle to get by with that straight-line speed deficit. |
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Lap 6 |
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Lap 7 |
Ricciardo has a sniff going into Turn 1 but just didn't have enough to get by Bottas. He's getting closer so surely he just needs to be patient. |
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Lap 8 |
Ricciardo not close enough this time around, even after the DRS zone. The Red Bull has either lost time somewhere or dropped back, which would make sense if he wants to cool the tyres in preparation for another pop at the Williams. Bottas currently doing everything he needs to. Rosberg keeping Hamilton honest at the moment, that gap is still 1.8s. Ricciardo gets on the radio to confirm he's going to drop back for a couple of laps, proving my assumption to be correct. |
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Lap 9 |
Kvyat and Button sweep past Gutierrez, and then Vettel then sees himself an opportunity as the Sauber locks up and he passes at Turn 10. Good driving from the world champion. Five second stop/go penalty for Maldonado. Dear oh dear Pastor. |
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Lap 10 |
Fastest lap from Lewis Hamilton, a 1:31.776. The gap is still around two seconds. Alonso is creeping closer to Raikkonen, he's now seven tenths down but will be wary of that lurking Williams of Massa behind him. |
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Lap 11 |
Quiet race for Force India at the moment but both drivers are currently in the points.
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Lap 12 |
Bottas a massive 14 seconds behind Rosberg after 12 laps. That, more than anything else this weekend, shows you how much of a gap is still left to overhaul. Personally I don't think anyone can do it this year. Vettel is now all over the back of Jenson Button, defending 12th place. Vettel and Ricciardo having contrasting afternoons at the moment, that much is fair to say. There must be concerns for McLaren as both drivers have slipped back to where they were in China. Vettel dives into the pits, the first man to do so today. The mediums come off and the hard tyres come on, so he'll be preparing for a longer run. |
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Lap 13 |
Ricciardo creeping back towards the Williams of Bottas now. The gap is back down to half a second, the Red Bull has cooled everything down and looks to be setting up another attempt at the Williams. The gap between the Mercedes' has increased to 2.6 seconds. |
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Lap 14 |
Ricciardo nowhere near coming into Turn 1 as Rosberg tells his pit wall the option tyres aren't graining and that they still feel "nice". Perhaps Rosberg is having second thoughts about what appears to be a three-stop strategy? |
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Lap 15 |
Ricciardo follows suit of his team-mate and dives into the pits for a new set of medium tyres. Red Bull will be hoping to undercut Bottas as Ricciardo slots in ahead of Button. Good, slick stop from Red Bull. |
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Lap 16 |
Activity down in the pit lane now as Grosjean and Massa come in. We should expect to see Bottas in now so this next lap is crucial for the man currently running third. Both stay on the medium compound.
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Lap 17 |
Ricciardo makes short work of Button coming into Turn 1 for ninth. Maldonado comes in to serve his stop/go penalty, before getting a fresh set of medium tyres. Alonso pits, before Raikkonen despite not being the lead car. I wonder if that's written in his contract somewhere as Raikkonen is clearly coming in for this next lap. |
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Lap 18 |
Hamilton is told it "won't be long now" and that he needs to push. That gap is just 1.6s. Raikkonen dives into the pits and comes out ahead of Alonso, so whatever ploy that was from Alonso doesn't appear to have worked. Ricciardo breezes past Perez for fourth. |
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Lap 19 |
Hamilton pits for a fresh set of medium tyres. Rosberg takes over the lead and now we will see if he can find any time on his team-mate. Seeing a replay it appears Raikkonen and Alonso was much closer than I thought, with the Finn just about holding Alonso off going into Turn 1. Alonso must be rather frustrated but he's still looking at his team-mate's gearbox. |
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Lap 20 |
Seeing a replay, Hamilton's pit stop didn't seem the smoothest. Rosberg stays out and then sets a fastest lap, 1:31.667. He knows how important these next few laps are - the gap is now around 20 seconds. Rosberg getting more out of the older tyres at the moment. |
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Lap 21 |
Still no stop from Rosberg, but Hamilton sets a fastest lap, a 1:31.214 as the heat comes into his medium tyres. Has Rosberg stayed out too long? Bottas comes out in fourth, so Ricciardo's pit strategy has elevated him into third. |
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Lap 22 |
Rosberg takes on the hard tyre, the opposite to Hamilton. This sets up a Bahrain situation again, as he'll be on the 'faster' tyre in that final stint. Race very much on at the front.
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Lap 23 |
Hamilton sets another fastest lap, a 1:30.804. Hamilton is told he needs to finds about four seconds over the next 20 laps, while Rosberg is told he needs to close the gap by two seconds at the end of this stint. Mercedes still letting its drivers race. |
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Lap 24 |
Raikkonen gets by his former team-mate Grosjean for fifth coming into Turn 1, but Grosjean is having none of it and battles back and reclaims the position. Seemed like Kimi overcooked it a bit coming into Turn 1 and Grosjean was able to pass again on the undercut. |
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Lap 25 |
Vergne is told to bring his car into the pits to retire, which will be our first of the race. Raikkonen gets the move done on Grosjean in the DRS zone again and this time makes it stick through Turn 1. Alonso now gaining on Grosjean. |
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Lap 26 |
Appears to be an exhaust problem for Vergne. Grosjean has Alonso all over the back of him, it looks like the Lotus has a big problem at the moment. Very easy for the local hero. |
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Lap 27 |
At the moment Hamilton not doing much in terms of increasing that gap. It's still just under three seconds as Rosberg is told the gap looks good from his perspective. |
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Lap 28 |
Hamilton asks for help as he's suffering with oversteer. Crucial few laps for both Mercedes drivers now. Toro Rosso confirms it was an exhaust problem for JEV:
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Lap 29 |
At the moment Bottas is doing a good job if he's on a two-stop strategy. Massa comes in and swaps to the hard tyre. |
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Lap 30 |
That gap up front now is up to 4.3s. A big few laps from Hamilton,though backmarkers may have held Rosberg up a bit. Massa rejoins in 14th place, and sets a fast time with the hard tyre, so it looks like they are starting to work well. |
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Lap 31 |
Martin Brundle said "Immodium is good for that" when Hamilton complained about his rear end being everywhere.
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Lap 32 |
Still very little between the Mercedes guys despite the different tyres, which suggests Rosberg may not have that much of an advantage after the next pit stop. |
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Lap 33 |
Fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:30.763 - hard tyres coming into their own. That gap is still just 4.1s and this one is so hard to call as we reach half distance. Further down the order there's not much to report, Raikkonen is six seconds down on Bottas, while Vettel is chipping away at Grosjean in seventh but only marginally. |
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Lap 34 |
Bottas 11 seconds behind Ricciardo which at the moment, as he is stopping one lap left, would suggest he's on for a maiden podium here. Vettel pits, Red Bull completes the stop in 2.3 seconds, and he comes out ahead of Maldonado, which is 14th place, and into some clear air. |
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Lap 35 |
Vettel switched onto the medium rubber, by the way. Grosjean comes into the pits. |
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Lap 36 |
Reuben says: "It seems to be set then, Rosberg vs Hamilton for championship..... Red bull vs Williams vs Ferrari vs force India.....Mclaren vs the rest..." Kobayashi goes over the gravel at Turn 1 but manages to recover his car. Alonso pits, again before Raikkonen - let's see if that works for him this time around. |
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Lap 37 |
Alonso just emerges ahead of Massa, putting him 11th on track and crucially giving him some clean air. Rosberg locks up through Turn 6, though he's cut the gap down to 3.7s. Sebastian Vettel sets a fastest lap, a 1:29.774. Alonso passes Magnussen into Turn 1 but very nearly overcooks the corner too much. Expect Kimi to pit any time now. |
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Lap 38 |
Vettel dives past Massa at Turn 5 and then gets past Magnussen. Vettel starting to absolutely fly now. Ericsson under investigation for ignoring blue flags with Raikkonen behind him - will this play into Alonso's hands now? |
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Lap 39 |
Perez and Maldonado pit for fresh rubber. Kobayashi retires due to a front-left brake failure. Hamilton asks Peter Bonnington, "where have you been for the last couple of laps, man?" after being told he is currently 3.6s ahead of Rosberg. It's all heating up a bit at the front. |
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Lap 40 |
So hard to call the battle for victory here... neither man appears to have done anything decisive in these last few laps. |
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Lap 41 |
Massa sweeps by Magnussen into Turn 1 for eighth. Williams clearly making more of its Mercedes power at the moment than McLaren. |
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Lap 42 |
The gap at the front is now 3.8s. Ricciardo has got that gap up to 13 seconds, but it seems he's moved onto that two-stop strategy... which would suggest he has wrestled that podium initiative away from Bottas for the time being. Still not pit stop from Raikkonen... Movement at Mercedes though. |
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Lap 43 |
Hamilton told to box but seems to go straight through - I wonder what's going through his head. Either the call was too late or he didn't hear it. The plot thickens again. That gap is 3.8s as the tyres go back into the blankets, but the mechanics stay out there. |
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Lap 44 |
This time Hamilton pits. That gap was just over four seconds and now Rosberg leads. Hamilton takes on the hard tyres, that pit stop all looked a bit sluggish for Hamilton again. Two rather slow stops for Hamilton and that could be costly.
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Lap 45 |
Appears the delay was for a front wing adjustment. Hamilton sounding a bit frustrated on the radio at the moment, he's clearly feeling the pressure. Rosberg complains of graining as Raikkonen pits and swaps to hard tyres. Where will he join in relation to Alonso? |
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Lap 46 |
Rosberg losing huge time to Hamilton on this lap and he jumps into the pits. Hamilton sweeps by into first and Rosberg rejoins behind, with a little bit of traffic separating them. So now Rosberg has the faster tyres, Hamilton has the track position. How much there is to be gained from the mediums remains to be seen though, it didn't seem that big in Rosberg's last stint. Ricciardo puts and gets out ahead of Bottas, and Williams now seem to be covering off Ferrari with its stops rather than Red Bull. I can tell you Raikkonen came out behind Alonso. |
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Lap 47 |
Hamilton asking how much time he lost in the pit stop, but is told Rosberg lost as much in traffic. Hamilton sounding more stressed than we've heard him so far this season - but the onus is still on Rosberg to catch and then, crucially, pass his team-mate. Massa pits, releasing Grosjean who has two Force Indias in close contention. |
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Lap 48 |
Rosberg starting to close the gap and he has got past those two back markers. Ricciardo a huge 35 seconds down on Rosberg. Alonso now up to fourth after his pit stop... game, but only two seconds ahead of Vettel. |
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Lap 49 |
Hulkenberg and Perez have been separated by about a second for most of this race, but Hulkenberg refusing to budge just yet. Keep an eye on Vettel now - if he can chip away at Alonso he may fancy at least fourth today if he can make these tyres work until its conclusion. |
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Lap 50 |
Hamilton responds to all of his radio talk with a fastest lap, a 1:29.759. |
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Lap 51 |
Fastest lap from Rosberg now, a 1:29.247. The gap is down to 3.1s, this is very much race on between thesr two. That's a huge chunk of time from Rosberg. |
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Lap 52 |
Another fastest lap from Rosberg cuts the gap down to 2.3 seconds! Rosberg is flying now, Hamilton is going to have his team-mate all over him in a few laps at this rate. Kvyat and Magnussen having a great battle for 11th, while Perez breezes past Hulkenberg on the outside through Turn 1. |
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Lap 53 |
The gap is now exactly two seconds now. He still has to get past Hamilton, though, which as we saw in Bahrain is no easy feat. Rosberg told to make sure he is looking after his tyres for the fight with Hamilton at the end of the race. Vettel pits from fifth. |
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Lap 54 |
Well then, the gap now up to 2.7 seconds as Hamilton sets his personal best of the race. I imagine the fingernails in the Mercedes garage are starting to get a little slimmer now. This is all set up perfectly for the final few laps. |
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Lap 55 |
Alonso pits as Raikkonen flashes by the pit stop, but most worryingly he also emerges behind Vettel. Alonso on the hard tyres and Vettel on the mediums so a brilliant bit of work from Red Bull. Vettel sets a fastest lap and he must fancy a good finish now - I wonder what he could have done without that gearbox penalty? Raikkonen and even Bottas look like possible targets for Red Bull. |
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Lap 56 |
Huge first sector from Rosberg, going four tenths quicker than Hamilton. He has 10 laps to catch and pass his team-mate. Another fastest lap from Vettel and he's only seven tenths down on Raikkonen now. Bottas a further 20 seconds up the road but Vettel is flying. |
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Lap 57 |
Hamilton asking is there's any more he can do, the gap is now down to 2.1s. Hamilton doing well of making the most of clean air when he has it at the moment. Vettel sweeps past Raikkonen down the inside of Turn 10 to earn fifth position. Great move from the world champion with the DRS, he caught Raikkonen napping. |
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Lap 58 |
Gutierrez has something flapping off the front wing of his Sauber. The gap up front is now down to 1.8s and Hamilton looks to be struggling on that slower tyre. Replays show something fell off the Sauber down the pit straight. Vettel told he can catch Bottas - who is five seconds up the road. This would be a remarkable result for Vettel if he could indeed get fourth. |
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Lap 59 |
Rosberg cuts the gap to 1.4 seconds. Seven laps left and Hamilton must be concerned that he just doesn't have the front tyres to keep Rosberg behind him. |
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Lap 60 |
The gap is tumbling - Rosberg is now less than a second behind Hamilton. That's DRS range.It looks like it's Turn 3 and 4 where he is losing time but Hamilton has gained a couple of tenths during the lap to keep Rosberg out of DRS zone. |
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Lap 61 |
Alonso catching Raikkonen but just doesn't have enough road to take him into Turn 1. Hamilton extends the gap to 1.3s now, don't write him out just yet. Hamilton finding something in that lap he had been lacking for about four or five before that. |
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Lap 62 |
Fights all over the circuit now - Alonso thinks about a move on Raikkonen into Turn 1 but again is too far back. Hamilton's lead now down to 1.2s, while Bottas is holding off Vettel by a second at the moment but the Red Bull is flying. Perez also all over the back of Grosjean. Button three seconds off tenth - another miserable afternoon for McLaren. |
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Lap 63 |
Alonso still not close enough to take Raikkonen into Turn 1 - Kimi clearly getting a bit on Alonso through the final sequence. Hamilton's lead now 1.102s. Bottas now has the world champion all over his gearbox - Bottas defending fourth position, which would be his career best finish. Surely Vettel just needs to be patient as the Williams will be a sitting duck int he DRS zone.
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Lap 64 |
Vettel too far behind - Red Bull just does not have the straight line speed. Raikkonen moves to the inside and Alonso can't get by, he still has a chance coming through Turn 2 and 3 and finally Alonso makes it work through Turn 4! Super driving from those two world champions there - Alonso was made to earn that. Vettel passes Bottas for fourth! Hamilton runs wide and Rosberg is now within seven tenths. Rosberg is back into DRS range but will he run out of laps now? |
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Lap 65 |
Rosberg just seven tenths down and not close enough going into Turn 1. Two laps and this is Bahrain all over again - hold on to your hats. We know getting past Hamilton is a pretty tricky task.... Hamilton has quite a bit more fuel in reserve on his team-mate. |
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Lap 66 |
The gap looks too big at the moment - perfect lap from Hamilton as he laps Raikkonen going into Turn 1 - I think Rosberg has lost his best chance now..... He has one lap left. Hamilton, crucially, has kept some fuel in reserve. Rosberg has one more chance - a calm head will see Hamilton home. Rosberg locks up very late into the brakes but I don't think he's got enough here. Hamilton holds on to win the Spanish Grand Prix Super racing from Hamilton. He weaves tauntingly in front of Rosberg as he crosses the line - he had to call on everything in that final stint to keep Rosberg at bay. In the end the difference was not enough. British national anthem for Hamilton now on the podium - victory here of course hands him the lead in the drivers' championship. It's been quite a while since he's been there, hasn't it? It's also a maiden podium for Ricciardo, while Vettel comes home in fourth - a super job after qualifying 15th. Bottas takes fifth. It seems the podium slipped away from him in that middle stint, clearly Williams just does not have enough to catch Red Bull. Hamilton pulls into parc ferme and the body language between the two Mercedes will be fascinating once again.The winning margin in the end just 0.6s. Just a simple handshake between Hamilton and Rosberg. Ricciardo's beaming smile a welcome addition to what looks like a tense little stand off between the Mercedes drivers! |
