Lewis Hamilton has proven why he’s the King of Spain, winning his fifth consecutive Spanish Grand Prix after an aggressive strategy move from Mercedes paid dividends.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led for most of the race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but was overtaken by the British star with less than seven laps remaining.
The winning move! #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/kKTnx5apaf
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 9, 2021
Hamilton stunned the Sky Sports commentators by pitting for a second time on the 42nd lap, emerging from the pits more than 22 seconds behind Verstappen.
But the Dutch driver’s older tires were unable to keep the seven-time world champion at bay, Hamilton inevitably zooming past his rival to clinch a 98th career win.
“I was just hunting,” Hamilton told Sky Sports after the win.
“I was so close for so long and I didn’t think in doing that I was going to be able to make the tyres last. But I just managed to. It was a long way to come back from 20 odd seconds back but it was a good gamble, a really great strategy from the team.
“I was about to have a shot at getting past him before I pitted right at the end and I was really conflicted. Do I come in or I do ignore the call and stay out? Obviously I did what the team asked and naturally that’s because there’s a great trust between us.
“Just a remarkable job by everyone in this team. What a day.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed one of his most successful races at McLaren, finishing the Spanish Grand Prix in sixth place.
Spanish Grand Prix Results
1st — Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2nd — Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3rd — Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4th — Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5th — Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
6th — Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
7th — Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
8th — Lando Norris (McLaren)
9th — Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
10th — Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
- News.com.au