Lewis Hamilton clinched victory in a thrilling Spanish Grand Prix after outfoxing Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in a race-long strategic battle.
In a race with numerous twists and turns, Mercedes put Hamilton on a two-stop strategy that allowed the Briton to push hard and take back the lead of the race on lap 44, with a storming pass around the outside of Vettel into Turn 1.
After a frantic start to the race, Valtteri Bottas defended into Turn 1, but as Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen tried to go around the outside of the Finn, Raikkonen’s Ferrari touched Bottas’ Mercedes and hit Verstappen on the outside, damaging the suspension of both cars and ending their races.
In an attempt to hold off Vettel, Bottas was kept out on track to try a different strategy, but was passed by the German with a daring move on lap 25 up the inside of the Finn at Turn 1.
Unfortunately for Bottas, his race ended on lap 39 with what appeared to be a turbo failure as he pulled over to the side of the track at Turn 5 with flames coming out the back of his Mercedes.
Ricciardo finished on the podium to salvage 15 points for Red Bull, but still wound up over a minute behind the leading cars, showing the team’s hotly-anticipated updates have not given it the pace it needed to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari.
Force India enjoyed a very strong afternoon, with Sergio Perez in fourth place and Esteban Ocon in fifth – the Frenchman’s best finish in Formula 1 to date.
Nico Hulkenberg scored more points for Renault as he took sixth place, while team-mate Palmer languished at the foot of the field and came home in 15th.
Pascal Werhlein took a mightily-impressive eighth in the Sauber despite a five-second penalty for failing to stay right of the bollard at the pit entrance.
Toro Rosso also picked up a double points finish with Carlos Sainz finishing in seventh place due to Wehrlein’s penalty, while Daniil Kvyat snatched tenth from Kevin Magnussen after the pair clashed in the dying stages.
Williams endured a torrid race after Massa sustained a puncture in the opening lap due to a collision with Fernando Alonso’s McLaren. Stroll, meanwhile, had very little pace and finished last, meaning the stuttering start to his F1 career continues.
