Nothing short of a battle, the 2017 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes secure his second win this season. Hamilton's victory was contested by Sebastian Vettel who finished a close second, while Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing finished third in the race. The Mercedes driver crossed the line 3.4 seconds clear of Vettel, while his teammate Valtteri Bottas, who won the last race in Russia (his first ever win), had to retire after his engine gave up on Lap 38. Hamilton has now narrowed the gap to Vettel with 98 points as opposed to the German's 104, a difference of just six points.
Vettel took the lead from Hamilton on Turn 1
With a slew of upgrades since the Russian GP, Hamilton had a brilliant start to the European leg of this F1 season. The Briton took the pole in qualifying giving the significant edge. However, it was Vettel that broke away from the grid in the final race overtaking Hamilton on Turn 1. Following Vettel and Hamilton were Kimi Raikkonen, Max Verstappen and Bottas as they tried to enter together in the first corner. Clearly, the move didn't work out well as Bottas clipped Raikkonen's rear, who bumped into Verstappen. Both Raikkonen and Verstappen received damages to their suspensions, forcing them to retire from the race. Kimi's early retirement also invoked tears in the pits from his young fan, another highlight of the spectacular race.
The Spanish GP is the usual indicator of the form of championship contenders. This year has been no different as Hamilton and Vettel are leading the points table. Both drivers have been putting up a close fight since the beginning of the season, but the true spectacle was only visible at the Spanish GP. With Vettel in the lead for most of the race, Hamilton was a close second to his much respected Ferrari rival. However, both Hamilton and Vettel were in a league of their own, steering clear from Ricciardo who finished a distant third.
Sebastian Vettel still leads the championship standings with highest points
The last round of pitstops saw Vettel exit the pits with Hamilton side-by-side. As the Mercedes driver tried to go around the outside of Turn 1, the German squeezed him, causing their tyres to touch. Hamilton was pushed slightly off track but the British driver kept composure and finally managed to overtake Vettel on the main straight using DRS on Lap 44. It was only about maintaining the lead from there and Hamilton did so seamlessly. The Briton managed to pull this off on the Catalunya circuit, where passing is exceptionally difficult, makes it all the more interesting.
Force India scored crucial points in its fifth consecutive race in the Spanish GP
Behind Ricciardo, it was Force India that turned out be the force not to reckon with. Drivers Sergio Perez and Estaban Ocon finished fourth and fifth respectively, the team's best performance this season securing crucial points in the fifth consecutive race. Renault's Nico Hulkenburg finished sixth ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr in seventh.
Sauber also managed to impress with its performance scoring their first points as Pascal Wehrlein finished eighth, despite a five second penalty for failing to stay on the correct side of the pit entry bollard. Torro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat finished ninth and Haas F1's Romain Grosjean finished in the tenth place.
Fernando Alonso completed this season's first race at Catalunya
For McLaren's Fernando Alonso, the result was a much positive one if not the best. The Spanish driver started seventh on the grid and saw the chequered flag for the first time this season finishing 12th, behind Sauber's Marcus Ericsson. McLaren-Honda's engine reliability issues aren't exactly hidden with Alonso being the most vocal about them. Nevertheless, the Spanish GP was the first race this season that he actually completed. As announced earlier, the former world champion won't be racing in the Monaco GP that's scheduled next, given his maiden IndyCar 500 race.
Stoffel Vandoorne of McLaren had an incident with Felipe Massa on Lap 32 that caused the former to end up in gravel. The accident warranted the need of a virtual safety car and saw Vandoorne retire from the race. Massa, on the other hand, finished 13th, ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Jolyon Palmer and teammate Lance Stroll.
