HomeFormula 1Dominant Lewis Hamilton clinches 2018 Spanish Grand Prix

Dominant Lewis Hamilton clinches 2018 Spanish Grand Prix

- Advertisement -

One wanted the official start to the 2018 European season beginning from the Spanish Grand Prix to be an exciting one. And in the end, one couldn’t have asked for a better result, unless you were a Ferrari fan.

Hamilton thumps his competitors to emerge as the champion of Barcelona.

In a golden drive for the Silver Arrows here at Barcelona, Catalunya unfurled a spectacular Mercedes 1-2 as Lewis Hamilton clinched what became his 64th career win.
Having looked solid and spectacular all weekend, Hamilton put Mercedes right on top of the 66-lap challenge, enjoying an emphatic 20-second gap over second-placed Valtteri Bottas. If this wasn’t a comprehensive win for Lewis then what might ever suffice?
Thankfully, evading the heartbreaking tire-wear that hurt his chances at Baku, the Finnish driver collected a strong P2 just ahead of a fighting Max Verstappen, who clinched his first podium of 2018.
But while there were massive gains for the Mercedes, who now lead the constructor’s standings by 27 points over Ferrari, the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix produced nothing spectacular for the Maranello-based outfit. The only points that Ferrari managed, following Raikkonen’s engine failure and subsequent DNF in the middle-stages were the 12 points that Sebastian Vettel fetched lacklustertre P4.

- Advertisement -

Here’s how the action unfolded as the five red lights went green

Ever since the five red lights went off amid overcast conditions here at Spain’s thriving cosmopolis, Lewis Hamilton disappeared at the front, beginning to open the gap to Bottas and Vettel in pursuit of car no.44.
With 16 corners decorating the 66-lap competition, there was a possibility that the high-speed Turns Three and Nine might have administered some skirmish but there was action in the opening lap itself.
Right after Ferrari’s Vettel dived into the inside of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas to clinch the second place with Hamilton tugging away, there was opening-lap carnage further back in the grid.
On Lap 1, around Turn Three, as Romain Grosjean was attempting to move ahead, he lost control of his Haas that slipped away from the asphalt, the skid causing a huge blow-up of smoke and dust. Cars pursuing Grosjean, the Renault of Hulkenberg and the Toro Rosso of Gasly ended up colliding with the Haas, owing to poor visibility.

While this prompted the deployment of the safety car, there were three race retirements in one instant

Hulkenberg, enduring a second DNF, following Baku’s incident, wasn’t the only despondent driver, Grosjean’s crash indicating that the Frenchman has failed to open his account despite 5 race entries thus far.
Meanwhile, the action at the front of the grid was in Hamilton’s favour as the British driver pulled some excellent laps, looking after his tyres as Kimi Raikkonen continued to fight off Verstappen who was breathing on the Ferrari’s tail, on P5, ahead of the other Red Bull.
Interesting battles ensued between the Force India’s and McLaren’s with Alonso showing his grit. Deployment of the safety car meant that there would be no overtaking for nearly 7 laps together as the cars at the front continued in a familiar arrangement.
Meanwhile, Alonso, master of early race gains, who had begun from eighth had slipped to eleventh and was attempting to pass Frenchman, Charles Leclerc, who’d moved up into the ninth place by then.
A race utterly dominated by a one-stop strategy saw Raikkonen and Hamilton continuing on longer stints as Vettel dived into the pits and had to contend with chasing Verstappen and Ricciardo for next few laps; Ferrari’s undercut, presumably failing.
Although Vettel passed both Bottas and Kevin Magnussen, brilliantly bisecting the duo on Lap 20, (as the Finn appeared from the pits) he would be the victim of a controversial Ferrari strategy that pitted the German under the safety car deployment.
Around lap 25, Raikkonen race-retired following a problem with the power unit in the engine, meaning this would be Raikkonen’s second mechanical DNF for 2018 and his second successive failure to collect points at Catalunya following 2017.

While the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix didn’t offer any tantalizing surprises as Baku, it unfurled some surprising reversal of fortunes

The order at the front of the grid from lap 36 onward changed in stark contrast to the initial laps.
Hamilton would continue his surge at the front as his pursuers- Bottas and Verstappen were embroiled in a battle for second, third place finish.
Daniel Ricciardo, who drove decently all weekend was looking set for a finish inside top five, as further back down Alonso made a blistering move over Charles Leclerc for eighth, racing blisteringly at around Turn Three as Force India’s Peres too managed to jump in, inside the points.

Bottas keeps his cool to keep Max at bay

At around Lap 46, Verstappen’s nose collided with the tail of William’s Lance Stroll. Despite losing a significant part of his Red Bull’s nose, the Dutchman would continue mounting a challenge to second-placed Valtteri Bottas and was in strong pursuit.
While Hamilton continued undeterred well into the checkered flag, Valtteri Bottas and Verstappen continued to fight thrillingly for 20 back-to-back laps.
At all this time, the Finn maintained firm control over ‘Mad Max’, keeping the Dutchman at bay and ensuring that tyre wear on his medium compounds would not hurt his chances for collecting a deserving second place.
Even as Verstappen’s would be the only Red Bull on the podium, he would feel his race was a world apart from the disastrous events at Baku a fortnight back that led to a double DNF for the Bulls.

Where does this leave the championship?

Even as Hamilton, who secured a comprehensive triumph may not have entered the Spanish Grand Prix in the best form possible, now dominates the driver’s title and has put the Mercedes 27 points ahead of Ferrari. This leaves us pondering whether the Arrivabene-led outfit sacrificed Vettel’s race, pitting him under safety lap deployment?
Imagine what might have happened had Sebastian Vettel, now having to pursue Hamilton ever so harder, had not pitted at all?

- Advertisement -
Dev Tyagi
Dev Tyagi
Dravid believer, admirer of - the square drive, Drew Barrymore, Germany, Finland, Electric Mobility, simplicity and the power of the written word! Absolutely admire contributing to KyroSports

15 Highly Educated Cricketers Of All Time

Cricket is a game of passion and dedication. A sport in which one involves themselves in camps and practice since early childhood. Due to...

Do we often under-appreciate Andy Flower? What’s his legacy?

There's a hint of sadness in noting that Zimbabwe has never been a dominant power in world cricket. But nothing could be sadder than...

Why are more and more MotoGP riders using the Noson nasal dilator?

Introduction MotoGP riders or athletes are physically fit and healthy individuals and their muscles are continuously functioning and used during the performance. As a fan...

How Come UFC Fighters Have Cauliflower Ears But Boxers Don’t?

The UFC has come a long way since its early days, wherein the fights seemed like modern-day gladiators due to its brutality and inconsistent...

5 spinners who can be India’s potential finger-spinners

The Indian cricket team has always been proud of its ability to produce world-class batsmen and similarly potent spinners. Though in recent times, the...

IPL 2018: The beautiful Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Being seated in the Sawai Mansingh stadium brings a different world, a world of difference away from the palpable excitement of watching truly India’s...

The astonishing decline of Mario Balotelli

There was a time when Mario Balotelli was on top of the world.  The Italian talisman had scored two goals in the Euro 2012 semi-finals,...

Top 5 Left Wingers In The World, Based On 2019-20 Season

Owing to the fact that football has evolved a lot since its inception and the tactics have changed a lot, the role of wingers...

What can be expected from the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Heat in the air and heat inside the car- that's been the story of the Azerbaijan Grand prix. As F1 parks itself at Baku...

How Suresh Raina Batted India Into The Finals of 2011 World Cup

Its been 9 years, since India won the Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka on 2 April, 2011. The images and visuals of...

IPL 2018: The best from the West Indies

When one of nature's treacherous attacks on mankind- earthquakes- strike, their impact is measured on Richter's scale. When West Indians strike in a tournament...

Big change for India Women’s cricket as BCCI looks to finalise bowling coach soon

We are not even at the halfway stage of the 2018 cricketing season. It clearly seems there's no stopping India's women's cricket team. The...

Age Fraud in Indian Cricket: Are players really to be blamed?

There have been times while watching a cricket match when we tend to hear commentators comment on cricketers’ age. We as fans have many...

Ajax XI if they didn’t sell their star players

Based in Amsterdam, AFC Ajax, who incidentally draw their name from the legendary Greek hero of the same name, are the most successful club...

5 famous players to play for both Leeds United and Liverpool

Leeds United are back in the Premier League after 16 years and will play Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday in their very first match...

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -