Final classification!!! #F1 #SpanishGP
Amazing Verstappen, robbing the P2!
Bottas, to far from Max!
Carlos, P6, best result at the Circuit!!! pic.twitter.com/vTdnwPpdAG— Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (@Circuitcat_eng) August 16, 2020
Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/motorsport/article/3097582/lewis-hamilton-wins-spanish-gp-88th-career-victory-f1 Motorsport
Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish Grand Prix for 88th career victory in F1
- Six-time world champion is just three wins away from Schumacher’s record as he clinches his fourth race of the season
- Briton finishes ahead of Verstappen with Mercedes teammate Bottas in third place at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix. Photo: Reuters
Lewis Hamilton had no problems with his tyres this time as he coasted to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, extending his championship lead to 37 points and clinching an 88th career victory to move within three of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One record.
The talk before the race was whether Mercedes’ tyres would be vulnerable in the searing summer heat of Spain, after experiencing problems in the past two races at Silverstone. But there were no such issues as Hamilton finished a sizeable 24 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen – who has eight podiums in the past nine races stretching back to last season.
Valtteri Bottas placed third to fall further behind second-place Verstappen in the standings.
The winding 4.7-kilometre Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with its combination of slow and fast corners, is one of the hardest for overtaking.
“I was in a daze out there,” said Hamilton. “It felt really good. It was a fantastic effort from the team.
“It was a surprise because we had that problem with the tyres last weekend, but we seem to have understood it,” said the Briton.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium with Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Photo: Reuters
After narrowly securing a record-extending 92nd career pole position Hamilton made a strong start on the long straight to the first corner. But Bottas was overtaken by Verstappen and the Racing Point of Lance Stroll – who jumped from fifth to third with a fine move on Bottas’ right flank.
Lewis Hamilton jumps from his car after winning the Spanish Grand Prix. Photo: AFP
Track temperatures on the circuit were around 50 degrees Celsius and Mercedes was concerned about catching too much sun.
“These black overalls are hot,” Bottas said during the race, throwing in an expletive for emphasis.
It was another miserable day for struggling Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel seventh and Charles Leclerc abandoning after his engine cut out on track.
“I don’t know why the car switched off completely,” Leclerc said.
He crawled into the pits but the mechanics seemed at a loss to figure out what was wrong and his race was over on lap 41.