Barcelona: Lewis Hamilton made it four wins in a row on Sunday when he secured a dramatic heart-stopping victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing just 0.6 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
The 29-year-old’s victory lifted him to 100 points for the season and into the leadership of the drivers’ world championship ahead of Germany’s Rosberg, on 97.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo came home third for Red Bull ahead of his teammate, defending four time world champion German Sebastian Vettel, who had started from 15th on the grid.
The win was Hamilton’s fourth win this year, his first in Spain and the 26th of his career while Mercedes one-two stamped their complete supremacy on the constructors’ championship, which they now lead by more than 100 points.
“I was not fast enough today,” admitted Hamilton. “Fortunately, I was able to keep Nico behind.
“My first win here in Spain means everything to me,” added the 2008 world champion.
“A big thank you for my team, they have done an incredible job this year.”
Finn Valtteri Bottas finished fifth for the resurgent Williams team ahead of local hero and two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso and his Ferrari teammate 2007 champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen.
Ferrari, meanwhile, commemorated Michael Schumacher’s first Formula One victory with the team 18 years ago at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, team principal Marco Mattiacci and the large Ferrari staff gathered around a pit board saying “Remembering your 1 win with us #forzamichael” ahead of the latest edition of the race on the Circuit de Catalunya.
The message was Ferrari’s latest to Schumacher, who suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident in late December in France. His manager has said that he is showing signs of consciousness as he is woken up from an induced coma.
Schumacher won his first of 72 races in a Ferrari on June 2, 1996, at the Spanish Grand Prix. He won five of his seven world titles with the famed Italian team he drove for 1996-2006.
