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Formula 1 ... Spanish Grand Prix ... Lewis Hamilton wins dominant


The Start

The Start

 

Barcelona, 13 May, 2018

Weather

cloudy and dry
15-17°C air
29-37°C track

Lewis Hamilton
I’m really, really happy. I had no idea how the race was going to play out. We got the qualifying right yesterday, but the temperatures were going up and down today, clouds were coming over and we didn’t know if it was going to rain or not. But I got a good start and after that the others didn’t have the pace to keep up with me. I was pulling away almost a second a lap and I was thinking “Yes, let’s keep this up!” – and it stayed that way for the rest of the race. To get our first 1-2 of the season here is a really great result for the team. Everyone’s worked so hard, we had a great pit stop and great strategy. I said that I wanted to come win the way that I won and when I was coming across the line I was just happy that I did as I planned to. The team have been working very hard to understand the tyres and how the car works, so I think it all came together this weekend. We definitely go to Monaco on a high note, but we know that we still have a lot of work to do. It’s really important that we all continue to push and work as hard as we have done during this first part of the season.

Valtteri BottasThis is a perfect result for us as a team. I was in a difficult situation after the first stint because I was stuck behind Sebastian. We knew that we had a strong car with a lot of pace and I think that we were quicker, but it is so hard to overtake here at this track. But we made the right choice when Sebastian pitted under the VSC and decided to stay out. Before the race we thought a one-stop would be nearly impossible, but when we saw the tyres were holding up better than expected we changed our strategy. Of course I would have rather won the race, but the team did a really good job today and their decision secured this 1-2 for us. It’s great to get a lot of points for the team today. The next race in Monaco could be difficult for us; I think Red Bull will be really strong and Ferrari was on pole last year. So we need to keep working hard and believe in our ability to improve things.

Toto Wolff
That was a great result but there was no point this afternoon where it felt as comfortable as it might have looked from outside. Lewis did a fantastic job this afternoon: a great start, impressive pace in the opening stint and perfect management of the medium tyre. For Valtteri, we tried to overcut in the first stint and just missed out on passing Vettel. Then when Sebastian took the chance to pit again under the VSC, we decided to do the opposite and take the medium tyre to the finish. That involved running the tyre a long way, a little bit into the unknown with over 45 laps to do on it, and we had our hearts in our mouths in the final laps as there were some vibrations on the front axle as well. Valtteri did the perfect job to manage the load on the left front and the falling tyre temperatures on old tyres, and sealed a really special one-two finish. It feels like a long time since we had a 1-2 finish, so there’s definitely a measure of relief in how we asserted ourselves today. But we know as well that this was a good circuit for us and the temperatures fell in our favour as well. So we need to stay calm and humble, because it can be a different ball game again next time round. We will savour the result this evening – but our thoughts are already turning to Monaco, to the struggles we had there last year and to how we can make sure not to suffer a repeat.

Andrew Shovlin
We’re absolutely delighted with the way the weekend has gone here in Barcelona. Both Valtteri and Lewis have been on top form and the car has been reliable and very fast. We’ve not had an easy start to this season but everyone has stayed focused and worked incredibly hard to take the fight to Ferrari and Red Bull. Today was a great reward for everyone’s effort. The day didn’t quite go according to our plan, Valtteri lost a place to Vettel off the line and whilst he had good pace, it’s very difficult to overtake here and on tyres of the same age we couldn’t get close to a passing position. We were expecting a two stop race today and when Vettel stopped on lap 17 we hoped to be able to overcut taking advantage of poor warm-up on the medium. We lost a bit of time at the stop and that was enough to put us back out behind Vettel and also Magnussen. We were assessing our options against Vettel once we saw that we didn’t have the pace to pass but when he stopped on the VSC, the best strategy was to run the to end and Valtteri did an amazing job of managing the tyres over 47 laps, the longest stint anyone made during the race. Lewis was able to control the race and whilst we could have gone longer on that first stint, the front tyre was quite worn and we decided to stop as a precaution as there was no real threat from behind. This put Lewis behind Verstappen but we knew he had to stop so there was no urgency to pass. As with Valtteri, a one stop became the best strategy to defend the lead from there and managing the tyres and the pace was the goal from there to the finish. This was a track that suited us very well in the winter tests and it may be that today we were flattered by the circuit and the conditions. However, the continued efforts of everyone in Brackley and Brixworth have played no small part in today’s success. The next races are very different tracks, Monaco in particular, and to win there is difficult even when you have a great car. However, we are really enjoying being part of this championship, it is driving everyone to deliver their very best and we go to the next races planning to do just that. 

Maurizio Arrivabene
“In many ways, this is a weekend in which nothing went right. Now, calmly and with accuracy, we need to analyse the reasons, and they are various, which prevented us from exploiting the potential we demonstrated in the previous races. Then we will prepare for the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix, in a professional, determined and confident manner.”

Sebastian Vettel
“Our tires didn’t last as long as for the others, so we couldn’t follow the same strategy. We had to stop again and we obviously lost two positions, and also a bit of time during the pit-stop itself. But staying out was not an option today. We had problems finding the right balance of the car and we were struggling with the front tires. Maybe the changes for this weekend had a bad impact on us, worse than the one the others had. So, I am happy to go back to ‘normal’ tires in Monaco as we seemed to struggle a little bit more than the others. Today we just didn’t have the right pace, Mercedes was faster than us and we hadn’t many chances. We tried our best, but something was missing and we need to improve on this. During the whole weekend it has been tough to find the right balance on these new tires. But I see no reason for not being optimistic for the next race.”

Kimi Raikkonen
“My race was going pretty ok today, I was in a decent position and the speed was good. I was running smoothly and saving the tires. Everything could have been alright, but unfortunately it did not happen. At one point I started losing power; I managed to drive around but obviously not at full speed anymore, so I drove back to the garage. We don’t know more than that about the issue we had, we need to take the car back to the factory and check what happened. Looking at the Championship, this result is far from ideal, and I’m pretty disappointed. There is nothing we could have done differently today, but we need to try and keep pushing.”

Alfa Romeo Sauber
It was a positive Grand Prix for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team, finishing in the points for the third time this season with Charles Leclerc in P10, and Marcus Ericsson in P13. Both drivers gave a strong performance, fighting for positions in the midfield. Monegasque rookie Charles Leclerc has brought home another point for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team just a few days after scoring his first Formula 1 points in Baku. Marcus Ericsson performed well, especially in the first stint, with good attacks and defence on medium tyres. The team now holds a total of 11 points this season (P9 in the Constructors’ Championship). Charles Leclerc is currently in P13, and Marcus Ericsson in P16 in the Drivers’ Championship.

In addition to the outcome of the race, the team celebrates the anniversary of Alfa Romeo’s first victory in Formula 1 – a result achieved by Nino Farina on the 13th of May 1950 in the Alfa Romeo GP Tipo 158 “Alfetta” at Silverstone.

Marcus Ericsson
“I was strong in the first half of the race with the medium tyres, then we were a bit unlucky with the virtual safety car coming right after our pit stop and that was really frustrating. In the second stint, I struggled more on the soft tyre. The result was a bit disappointing because we were in the fight and not too far off scoring points. Overall it was a good race, I had very good fights and defended well. The fact that Charles scored points is very positive for the team and from my side I need to bounce back in Monaco.”

Charles Leclerc
“It is a great feeling to finish in the points again. It was quite an interesting race, with tricky weather conditions making it challenging to drive, especially in terms of tyre management. We have made considerable progress since the beginning of the season, and the whole team is eager to continue working hard in this direction. It will be important to stay focussed – the next Grand Prix will be my home race in Monaco, and I am very excited to drive my first Formula 1 race there.”

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal
“We leave Barcelona feeling positive. We had a very strong rhythm at a certain stage of the race and scored one point, which we did not anticipate before arriving here as it is quite a demanding track. Both drivers put in a good performance, and we scored points for the third time this season. The team is motivated to keep pushing and we have to stay focussed now to make the next step.”

Nico Hülkenberg
“It was messy into turns one and two but in turn three it got a lot messier. I saw a car spin in front of me and a lot of smoke. It happened very quickly so I couldn’t avoid Grosjean spinning backwards into my car. It’s a pity as we were competitive, we have good pace so it’s frustrating not to have shown that yesterday and today. It’s difficult to swallow, especially when it’s not your fault. We’ll have to try again in two weeks.”

Carlos Sainz
“I think it’s a very positive result for me and the team. We can be very proud of what we’ve achieved this weekend as this track was not ideal for us. We turned things around well since Friday, did a very good start and managed to finish seventh which I think was the best we could hope for. It feels great to get another good result at home and I hope the fans have enjoyed the race. Many thanks to all for their support! It’s good progress for the midfield fight and important points for the team. We have areas to work on, but we are making good progress. Let’s keep pushing.”

 

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal
“We’re leaving Barcelona in positive spirits. Our target is to be in the points at every race and we achieved that with Carlos through another strong performance from him. He also qualified in the top ten, reinforcing the pace of the Renault R.S.18. We’re happy that this result takes us one point ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, meaning for the first time we’re in fourth. The battle is very tight so we need to keep developing and performing at our best. We need to eradicate the gremlins, such as those which affected Nico’s qualifying. Nico was blameless in an unexpected accident on the first lap, but starting in a lower grid position makes you vulnerable to these sorts of incidents. Overall it has been a weekend with many positives which we will build on as we head to Monaco.”

 

 

Pos

Driver

Car

Chassis #

Time/Retired

Laps

1

Lewis Hamilton  

Mercedes

F1 W09 01

1:35:29.972

66

2

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

F1 W09 03

+20.593s

66

3

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

 

+26.873s

66

4

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

 

+27.584s

66

5

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing

 

+50.058s

66

6

Kevin Magnussen

Haas Ferrari

 

+1 lap

65

7

Carlos Sainz

Renault

R.S.18-01

+1 lap

65

8

Fernando Alonso

McLaren Renault

 

+1 lap

65

9

Sergio Perez

Force India Mercedes

 

+2 laps

64

10

Charles Leclerc

Sauber Ferrari

04

+2 laps

64

11

Lance Stroll

Williams Mercedes

 

+2 laps

64

12

Brendon Hartley

Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda

 

+2 laps

64

13

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber Ferrari

03

+2 laps

64

14

Sergey Sirotkin

Williams Mercedes

 

+3 laps

63

NC

Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren Renault

 

DNF

45

NC

Esteban Ocon

Force India Mercedes

 

DNF

38

NC

Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

 

DNF

25

NC

Romain Grosjean

Haas Ferrari

 

DNF

0

NC

Pierre Gasly

Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda

 

DNF

0

NC

Nico Hulkenberg

Renault

R.S.18-02

DNF

0