Team by team analysis of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, round four of the 2021 Formula One season
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MERCEDES (Lewis Hamilton 1, Valtteri Bottas 3) Hamilton’s record-equalling fifth successive Spanish GP win and sixth in total, 98th career win and third of the season left him 14 points clear of Max Verstappen at the top. He started on pole for the 100th time, lost out to Verstappen and then made a second stop late in the race to reel in the Red Bull. Bottas started third, but dropped to fourth at the start. His recovery drive lifted him to third in the standings. Mercedes are only the second team to win 100 races from pole.
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RED BULL (Max Verstappen 2, Sergio Perez 5) Verstappen muscled past Hamilton at the first corner, pitted earlier than the Briton — and a lap before the team had planned due to a miscommunication that cost a couple of seconds — and then lost out on strategy with the car slower than the Mercedes on the medium tyre. He pitted again late in the race, having lost the lead, to secure the fastest lap and a bonus point. Perez started eighth and made a good pass on Daniel Ricciardo.
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MCLAREN (Daniel Ricciardo 6, Lando Norris 8) Both drivers gained a place on their starting positions. Norris was shown a black and white warning flag for unsporting conduct after an aggressive move on Ferrari’s Sainz. McLaren stayed third but Ferrari closed the gap to five points. FERRARI (Charles Leclerc 4, Carlos Sainz 7) Ferrari’s best points haul since Imola closed the gap to McLaren, with Alpine now 45 points behind the Italian outfit in fifth. Leclerc seized third from Bottas at the start but could not make it stick and fell back after his pit stop. Sainz, in his first home race with Ferrari, lost places from sixth at the start but fought back on a two-stop strategy. ALPINE (Esteban Ocon 9, Fernando Alonso 17) Ocon, starting fifth, moved Renault-owned Alpine a point further away from AlphaTauri. Alonso, in his first home race since 2018, reported an early engine misfire and had to abandon his one-stop strategy and pit near the end due to worn tyres. He and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also made contact at the first corner. ALPHATAURI (Pierre Gasly 10, Yuki Tsunoda retired) Gasly secured a point despite being handed a five-second penalty for being out of position at the start. Tsunoda stopped on track at turn 10 on lap eight, bringing out the safety car for two laps. ASTON MARTIN (Lance Stroll 11, Sebastian Vettel 13) Still no points for four times world champion Vettel, who did a two-stop strategy but ran out of tyre life by the end. Stroll, who pulled off a great overtake on Alonso, lost out to Gasly on the closing laps. ALFA ROMEO (Kimi Raikkonen 12, Antonio Giovinazzi 15) Giovinazzi endured a 35 second pit stop when one of his new tyres punctured before being put on and the whole set had to be replaced. Raikkonen was the only driver to start the race on medium tyres. WILLIAMS (George Russell 14, Nicholas Latifi 16) Both drivers pitted when the safety car was deployed. Russell did two stops and Latifi three. HAAS (Mick Schumacher 18, Nikita Mazepin 19) Mazepin attracted the ire of Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff when he was slow to let Hamilton through with blue flags waved. Schumacher had a solid race.
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FERRARI (Charles Leclerc 4, Carlos Sainz 7) Ferrari’s best points haul since Imola closed the gap to McLaren, with Alpine now 45 points behind the Italian outfit in fifth. Leclerc seized third from Bottas at the start but could not make it stick and fell back after his pit stop. Sainz, in his first home race with Ferrari, lost places from sixth at the start but fought back on a two-stop strategy.
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ALPINE (Esteban Ocon 9, Fernando Alonso 17) Ocon, starting fifth, moved Renault-owned Alpine a point further away from AlphaTauri. Alonso, in his first home race since 2018, reported an early engine misfire and had to abandon his one-stop strategy and pit near the end due to worn tyres. He and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also made contact at the first corner.
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ALPHATAURI (Pierre Gasly 10, Yuki Tsunoda retired) Gasly secured a point despite being handed a five-second penalty for being out of position at the start. Tsunoda stopped on track at turn 10 on lap eight, bringing out the safety car for two laps.
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ASTON MARTIN (Lance Stroll 11, Sebastian Vettel 13) Still no points for four times world champion Vettel, who did a two-stop strategy but ran out of tyre life by the end. Stroll, who pulled off a great overtake on Alonso, lost out to Gasly on the closing laps.
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ALFA ROMEO (Kimi Raikkonen 12, Antonio Giovinazzi 15) Giovinazzi endured a 35 second pit stop when one of his new tyres punctured before being put on and the whole set had to be replaced. Raikkonen was the only driver to start the race on medium tyres.
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WILLIAMS (George Russell 14, Nicholas Latifi 16) Both drivers pitted when the safety car was deployed. Russell did two stops and Latifi three.
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HAAS (Mick Schumacher 18, Nikita Mazepin 19) Mazepin attracted the ire of Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff when he was slow to let Hamilton through with blue flags waved. Schumacher had a solid race.
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