Seven-time defending world Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton was put under pressure early by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, but had a comfortable victory in the end to capture the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen was a distant second followed by Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in third.
After winning his 100th pole after Saturday’s qualifying session, Hamilton sat on pole but was beaten off the line by Verstappen who bumped him off the first corner and proceeded to lead the race for the first 24 laps before pitting to change his soft tires to the longer lasting mediums. Hamilton’s Mercedes pit crew chose to stay out five laps longer and pitted for his medium tires on Lap 29, emerging six seconds behind Verstappen.
Hamilton quickly closed that gap down to a second and then Mercedes surprised Red Bull with another pit stop on Lap 42 that put him 23 seconds behind Verstappen but with a fresh set of medium tires which allowed him to quickly close down Verstappen’s advantage and passed him on Lap 60. From there, Hamilton cruised to a comfortable win while Verstappen pitted a lap later and salvaged a point by claiming the fastest lap of the race.
With the victory, Hamilton extends his lead to 14 points over Verstappen – 94 to 80 – after winning three of the first four races of the season.
2021 Spanish Grand Prix Top 10 Finishers
1] Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2] Max Verstappen Red Bull
3] Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
4] Charles Leclerc Ferrari
5] Sergio Pérez Red Bull
6] Daniel Ricciardo McLaren
7] Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari
8] Lando Norris McLaren
9] Esteban Ocon Alpine
10] Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri