A few quotes from Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel:
Hamilton: “The team did an incredible job today. That’s what racing should be… Sebastian was very fast but the team did a great job with the strategy.”
Vettel: “I had a really good start, I settled into a nice rhythm... I was surprised he was so close coming out of the pit lane, I did everything I could to stay in front, but he just flew past down the straight.”
That’s about it from me, but Giles Richards’ report will be online any moment. Thanks for reading. Adios.
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Race result
- Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1hr 35mins 56.497secs
- Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:35:59.987
- Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:37:12.317
- Sergio Pérez (Mex) Force India at 1 Lap
- Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India at 1 Lap
- Nico Hülkenberg (Ger) Renault at 1 Lap
- Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso at 1 Lap
- Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari at 1 Lap
- Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Toro Rosso at 1 Lap
- Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 at 1 Lap
- Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari at 2 Laps
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren at 2 Laps
- Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams at 2 Laps
- Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 at 2 Laps
- Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault at 2 Laps
- Lance Stroll (Can) Williams at 2 Laps
Not Classified: Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes, Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren, Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull, 20 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari.
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Lewis Hamilton gets his second win of the season, and closes the drivers’ championship gap to six points. Next up: Monaco in two weeks’ time.
.@LewisHamilton = 🚀MAN #SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/JdxsbbGMd9
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) May 14, 2017
Into the drivers’ lounge, where Vettel tells Hamilton he was shocked by the race winner’s speed down the straight. Hamilton doesn’t get involved, with Vettel turning to Ricciardo to wonder aloud where his eight-second lead went.
Full results to follow, but the top ten looks like this:
1. Hamilton 2. Vettel 3. Ricciardo 4. Pérez 5. Ocon 6. Hülkenberg 7. Sainz 8. Wehrlein 9. Kvyat 10. Grosjean
Lewis Hamilton and his team throw compliments at each other over the team radio. It’s been a good day for Mercedes.
Sebastian Vettel comes in second, and almost a full minute later, Danny Ricciardo limps to one of the most underwhelming podium finishes in recent history.
Lewis Hamilton wins the Spanish Grand Prix!
He began on pole, ended up behind Vettel and struggling, but a combination of solid pit-lane strategy, a safety car and a perfectly-timed piece of on-track aggression saw him overtake his title rival and take a morale-boosting victory. Hats off to him.
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Lap 65/66: Hamilton sets a new fastest lap, and leads by 4.5 seconds. Those tyres have held up. At the back of the field, Felipe Massa overtakes team-mate Lance Stroll, while Kevin Magnussen has a late puncture, and is set to miss out on a top-ten finish.
Lap 64/66: Hamilton is two laps away. It’s been a great day for him, with Vettel beaten and Bottas, Raikonnen and Verstappen all back in the garage.
Lap 62/66: Hamilton leads Vettel by 4.2 seconds, with four laps to go. It’s looking good for Mercedes...
Lap 61/66: “Why does it have to be Massa all the time?” Vettel laments over the team radio. Alonso has passed Massa, and team-mate Lance Stroll, in short order. It’s been a shocking race for Williams.
Lap 60/66: Hamilton checks that Vettel isn’t planning a third stop – he’s had a nervous air throughout the race. He’s been helped by Felipe Massa, who obstructs Vettel as he tries to lap the Williams. Vettel had spent several laps trimming the gap to three seconds – it’s now back out to four.
Lap 59/66: It’s been a frustrating race for Carlos Sainz – unable to move up the points and now suffering from a loss of power. Another strong day for Force India, with Perez and Ocon nailed on for fourth and fifth. They’re clearly the best of the rest beyond the big three this year.
Lap 58/66: Hamilton has stretched the gap to four seconds, and Vettel appears to have lost his fight. It’s looking like another win from pole in Spain, albeit one with plenty of twists and turns.
Lap 56/66: Pascal Wehrlein, who has made only one stop and picked up a five-second penalty in doing so, is keeping Sainz at bay on the track. He may be able to hang onto a point or two, even with that penalty.
Lap 55/66: 18-year-old Lance Stroll shows a little inexperience, allowing Ericsson to overtake him cheaply. That leaves both Williams inside the bottom four, alongside Alonso and poor Jolyon Palmer.
Lap 54/66: Mercedes are asking Hamilton to stretch the gap as the leader weaves through a bunch of back markers. His lead is up to 2.3 seconds.
Lap 53/66: It looks like Vettel and Hamilton will go to the finish line on their current tyres, with Ferrari hoping that tyre degradation will allow Vettel to overhaul the leader.
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A lovely touch from Kimi Raikkonen, who took the time to say hello to the crying youngster from the crowd. What a gent.
The smiles just keep getting bigger and bigger... Nice one, Kimi 👏 #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Ywqru5IFlX
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 14, 2017
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Lap 51/66: “How about Plan C?” mutters Vettel ominously into the radio. That would involve an extra stop – there’s little risk involved, with Ricciardo almost a minute behind the Ferrari.
Lap 49/66: Hamilton edging ahead of Vettel, but still leads by just 1.8 seconds. The rest of the field are distant – so much so that only Ricciardo in third is likely to avoid being lapped by the leading pair.
Lap 47/66: Vettel is staying on Hamilton’s tail – the Mercedes needs a bit more breathing room to be sure of holding on. Wehrlein’s penalty means that Daniil Kvyat, who started dead last, is set to pick up points.
Lap 46/66: There’s another big battle further down the field – with Hulkenberg, Wehrlein, Sainz and Magnussen fighting for points between 6th and 9th. Wehrlein has just been handed a five-second penalty for a pit-lane error.
Lap 45/66: What a crucial moment that could be in the entire season – Hamilton besting his title rival on a track where it’s so tough to overtake. It’s not over yet though – Hamilton is worried that his soft tyres may not last the distance...
Hamilton overtakes Vettel to take the lead!
Lap 44/66: Hamilton does take his chance, his Mercedes peaking at the right time, allowing him to motor past Vettel down the straight! “No chance... he’s like a train” laments Vettel.
Here’s the top ten as it stands: 1. Hamilton 2. Vettel 3. Ricciardo 4. Pérez 5. Ocon 6. Hülkenberg 7. Wehrlein 8. Sainz 9. Magnussen 10. Grosjean
Updated
Lap 43/66: This has been a two-horse race for a long time, but one being fought by the strategists in the paddock. Now, it’s very much on the track, but Hamilton needs to take his chance soon...
Lap 42/66: Hamilton has better grip than Vettel, and is desperate to get past the leader as soon as he can. Both drivers are pushing to lap Nico Hülkenberg, who is in sixth place.
Lap 41/66: Daniel Ricciardo is up to third, and has just set the fastest lap. The weekend has picked up rather dramatically for Red Bull in the last five minutes.
Lap 40/66: Valtteri Bottas is out of the race! The engine that was restored to the car earlier this week has given out, and the Mercedes is parked up with smoke billowing from the front. That’s three of the grid’s front six out of the race.
Lap 39/66: Hamilton isn’t happy, telling the team radio he was alongside Vettel and was pushed wide. Hamilton can have another go – he’s on soft tyres, Vettel on medium – but the Ferrari keeps ahead through turn four...
Lap 38/66: Vettel pits under normal racing conditions – and he is side-by-side with Hamilton! They go into turn two, Hamilton gets a nose ahead but runs wide, and Vettel holds his lead into the chicane!
Updated
Lap 37/66: The virtual safety car is about to end, and Hamilton pits just in time. He’s switched to soft tyres, but returns to the track 24 seconds behind Vettel.
Lap 36/66: Vandoorne is out, and his difficult first full season in F1 goes on. A few drivers are taking the opportunity to pit behind the virtual safety car, including both Force India drivers, currently in fifth and sixth.
Lap 34/66: No retirements since Raikkonen and Verstappen on that opening lap, but at the back of the field, Stoffel Vandoorne goes off at the same corner under pressure from Felipe Massa. That means a virtual safety car is deployed, with Vandoorne marooned on the gravel.
Lap 33/66: Mercedes are telling Hamilton that he still has a chance, with Vettel set to switch to mediums on his next stop. They’re having trouble convincing him that their strategy is going to come off, with Hamilton frustrated by his inability to reel Vettel in.
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Lap 32/66: Approaching the halfway point, and Hamilton is being asked to keep pace with Vettel. He’s not sure he can, and I’m inclined to agree.
Lap 31/66: Mercedes are relying on tyre degradation to slow Vettel down; he pitted six laps before Hamilton. The trouble is that the race leader is driving flawlessly, and has stretched his lead to six seconds.
Lap 29/66: Bottas sets a new fastest lap on those box-fresh tyres. It’s been a decent day for Sauber – Marcus Ericsson scoots past Fernando Alonso, who is now 14th and would probably rather be hitting a few balls right now.
Lap 28/66: I should point out that Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein, up to the heights of seventh place, hasn’t pitted yet. Pretty much everyone else has, including Bottas, who’s on medium tyres now. He’s on a two-stop, and it’s not out of the question that Hamilton might join him.
Lap 26/66: Hamilton goes past Bottas, and is back in second place, four seconds behind Vettel. Ricciardo, in fourth, is 30 (THIRTY) seconds behind Bottas. Here’s the top ten:
1. Vettel 2. Hamilton 3. Bottas 4. Ricciardo. 5. Pérez 6. Ocon 7. Wehrlein 8. Hülkenberg 9. Magnussen 10. Sainz
Lap 25/66: Vettel is right behind Bottas coming into the straight; the Finn tries to sell him a dummy, but Vettel forces his way past on the inside! The Ferrari is back in the lead, and has got himself out of a tight spot.
Updated
Lap 23/66: Vettel tries to force his way around Bottas, deploying his DRS – but Bottas smartly closes the door! Hamilton just five seconds behind the German...
Lap 22/66: Now, this is interesting. Bottas may be going for a two-stop race, and now leads the race – but his mission is to keep Vettel behind him on this tight, awkward track, and let Hamilton catch up.
Updated
Lap 21/66: It’s Hamilton, and he’s switched to medium tyres. Hamilton emerges eight seconds behind Vettel...
Lap 20/66: “Rear tyres are the weak point” says Hamilton, as he goes sliding into the straight. Vettel is reporting the same issue on much newer tyres. A Mercedes is about to come in, but which one?
Lap 19/66: Hamilton is puffing and blowing over the team radio, sounding like yours truly after a game of 5-a-side. He is losing time to Vettel, but is told his team are “creating opportunities later in the race”. Is a two-stop strategy a viable option?
Lap 18/66: Raikkonen speaks! “My car got clipped at the rear, it bounced and there’s not much you can do after that. Then I hit Max, and our race was over.” Any positives? “Not really. I went out on the first corner.”
Lap 16/66: Vettel cruises past Daniel Ricciardo – this weekend isn’t going quite how Red Bull hoped. Magnussen isn’t happy with Sainz – he’s called the Toro Rosso driver ‘crazy’ for cutting onto the grass on the pit exit.
Lap 15/66: No further action on that first corner incident, which will be a relief to Bottas. Vettel has pitted, countering Mercedes’ tactics, but Hamilton has set a fastest lap. Hamilton’s first pit stop could well be crucial...
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Lap 14/66: Sainz and Magnussen continue their tussle inside the pit lane! The Spaniard exited right behind the Haas driver, and ended up on the grass. He’s complaining Magnussen pushed him wide – I’m not so sure.
Oh, Kimi...
LAP 1/66: Agony for Kimi (and one of his young fans) 😢 RAI is out after damaging front left of his car #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Zjwrx6bJGU
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 14, 2017
Lap 13/66: Alonso pits for a new set of soft tyres, alongside Vandoorne and Lance Stroll. Hamilton isn’t pitting yet, and is being told to keep the heat on Vettel for a couple more laps.
Lap 12/66: Hamilton is slowly, slowly gaining ground on Vettel – he’s sliced a couple of tenths off the gap, which is now 2.3 seconds. Bottas is 11 seconds behind Vettel, and things may get worse – that early incident is under investigation.
Lap 11/66: Alonso, still stuck outside the top 10, is unhappy that Romain Grosjean is ‘holding me up’. Must be an unfamiliar feeling for the McLaren man.
Lap 10/66: Vettel sets a new fastest lap, and is pelting around the circuit at present. Mercedes may move Hamilton’s first pit stop forward, in an effort to keep the German in reach.
Lap 9 of 66: Bottas is warned to pick the pace up by Mercedes – we don’t get to hear his reply. It may have been laced with expletives.
Oh Kimi!
.@Circuitcat_eng Kimi stranded - waits for a lift back to the pits at Turn 10 #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Q13qVI9YaJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 14, 2017
Lap 8 of 66: Lewis Hamilton is on the team radio, complaining that he can’t keep up with Vettel. The Ferrari has a 2.5 second lead, while Bottas is third and drifting, over six seconds behind his team-mate.
Updated
Lap 7 of 66: Felipe Massa is right at the back of the field after clipping Fernando Alonso, and having a pit stop that Williams fouled up. Massa started nine places ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll; he’s now five places behind him.
Lap 6 of 66: We’re getting a second look at that start. Bottas was in a central spot, right between Hamilton and Vettel – with Raikkonen trying to overtake left and Verstappen coming around the outside. Bottas clipped Raikkonen’s right rear tyre, sending he and Verstappen skittering off at the first corner.
Lap 5 of 66: Alonso’s slip means that Carlos Sainz is the highest-placed home driver, and he’s firmly on Kevin Magnussen’s tail. It’s also been a good start for both Force Indias, who sit fifth and sixth.
Lap 4 of 66: Fernando Alonso was also forced wide in that early incident, and has slipped from seventh to 11th. Here’s the top ten:
1. Vettel 2. Hamilton 3. Bottas 4. Ricciardo. 5. Pérez 6. Ocon 7. Hülkenberg 8. Magnussen 9. Sainz 10. Grosjean
Lap 2 of 66: So double Spanish GP winner Raikkonen is out, and last year’s winner Verstappen follows him in retiring! At the front, it’s much smoother for Raikkonen’s team-mate: Vettel is pulling away from Hamilton.
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Lap 1 of 66: Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen both tried to steal a march on Bottas, but came together with both drivers sliding off the track and wrecking their suspension. Raikkonen’s race looks run, with Verstappen needing urgent repairs.
Lights out!
Hamilton gets away well, but Vettel powers into the first corner and takes the lead, with Valtteri Bottas pressing both from third place. The real action is just behind them, though...
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All drivers are starting on soft compound tyres, aside from Jolyon Palmer, Stoffel Vandoorne and Daniil Kvyat, all languishing at the back of the grid on mediums. The formation lap is under way, and then we’ll be off. With so few clear overtaking opportunities, the first lap promises to be lively.
It’s a sultry 24 degrees in Barcelona. Lovely for a walk along the beach, or down a leafy promenade – not so much for a white-knuckle drive around this circuit, with track temperatures up to 44 degrees.
Ten minutes until race time. Excited? Or still sleeping off the adrenaline high of Eurovision? A reminder that Lewis Hamilton starts on pole, the starting position of every winner from 1997 to 2012 – but only two of the four races since.
Preamble
We’re only five races in, but it’s starting to feel like F1 is back, back, back. There have been three different winners in four races, and a proper title battle between the era’s best two drivers. Lewis Hamilton is the man on pole today, but he won’t be taking anything for granted – especially after beating Sebastian Vettel to pole by just five hundredths of a second.
That narrow advantage could be crucial on a track with limited overtaking opportunities, but this race is rarely that straightforward. Ten different drivers have won here in the last 12 years, with Max Verstappen the victor last season as Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided on the opening lap.
Only two drivers in the field have won this race twice – fourth-placed Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, somehow seventh in his square-wheeled McLaren. Both could find that experience handy should Hamilton and Vettel falter under pressure. The race begins at 1pm BST, 2pm local.
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The grid
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
3 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
7 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
8 Sergio Pérez (Force India)
9 Felipe Massa (Williams)
10 Esteban Ocon (Force India)
11 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
12 Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso)
13 Nico Hülkenberg (Renault)
14 Romain Grosjean (Haas)
15 Pascal Wehrlein (Sauber)
16 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
17 Jolyon Palmer (Renault)
18 Lance Stroll (Williams)
19 Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
20 Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
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