F1: Hamilton Victorious in Barcelona

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Race winner Lewis Hamilton (centre right) alongside Red Bull's Max Verstappen (right), Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Dieter Zetsche. Image sourced from @MercedesAMGF1 via Twitter.

Lewis Hamilton led home a fifth consecutive Mercedes 1-2 finish in the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix.

Starting from pole, Valtteri Bottas had a bad start due to a supposed clutch problem, which promoted his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton into the lead.

Hamilton would not relinquish the position and was able to defend with ease through-out the entirety of the race.

The defending champion also claimed the fastest lap point. As a result, Hamilton now leads Bottas by eight points in the Drivers’ standings in a season of Mercedes dominance.

After the race, Bottas explained the race from his perspective: “I lost it at the start, some strange behaviour on the clutch.”

“As a team it’s incredible. I got some good points and every single point counts.”

Elsewhere, Ferrari faltered yet again, as their championship hopes continue to fade.

Max Verstappen capitalised on this and finished third, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.

“It was a hectic first corner so I backed out of it and ended up getting a good position for the rest of Lap 1,” Verstappen explained.

“The Mercedes were too quick today, but we were competitive after them and it’s great to be on the podium.”

Ferrari once again used team orders, with their drivers fighting themselves for most of the race.

Sebastian Vettel leads the way for Scuderia Ferrari, with team-mate Charles Leclerc closely behind. Image sourced from @SebVettelNews via Twitter

Vettel and Leclerc were told to swap positions twice over the course of the grand prix.

“Today as the race happened we more or less maximised the points,” Vettel said.

“I think I had a shot at the podium, but obviously in T1 with the flat spot, compromised my own race but I wanted to try something to mix things up.”

The German added: “Monaco on paper will be difficult for us, because we’re losing in low-speed corners, we’re struggling to put enough grip in those type of corners.”

“You never know, it’s Monaco where I think the driver can make the difference if you have the right set up.”

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate, Pierre Gasly managed to bag sixth after experiencing a mechanical issue in Azerbaijan.

Despite a quiet race, a late collision between Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Lando Norris brought out a late Safety Car.

This mixed up the midfield pack. As a result, Kevin Magnussen finishing seventh for Haas, while McLaren’s Carlos Sainz claimed eighth place after a difficult qualifying session.

Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat was in seventh place, but a slow pit stop during the Safety Car period hampered his race.

He eventually ended up in ninth and held off Romain Grojsean, who came home just behind in tenth.

The famous harbour situated alongside the Monaco Grand Prix street circuit. Image sourced from roadtrips.com

We head to the streets of Monte Carlo, for the Monaco Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.

Will Mercedes continue their dominating run? What can Ferrari or Red Bull do to stop them?

You can catch reports of all the action from Monaco here on Essaar Motorsport.

Stay tuned!

 

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