Hamilton wins an intense and strategic duel against Verstappen

For the 4th time in as many Grands Prix in 2021, Max Verstappen et Lewis Hamilton rewarded us with a titanic duel for victory. In a remake of the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes and its star pilot made a daring strategy work to triumph over Red Bull and its leader in Catalonia.

The celebrations began as soon as the lights went out where Verstappen took the initiative thanks to better initial momentum. The Red Bull driver came alongside the pole-sitter's Mercedes approaching the first corner and didn't blink on the inside, forcing Hamilton to shift ever so slightly to the left to avoid contact. 

The duettists immediately broke away at the front of the race, also taking advantage of the excellent start of Charles Leclerc, which rolled up Valtteri Bottas outside of turn 3 at the start, before containing the attacks of the Number 77 Mercedes during the first laps. 

Hamilton and Verstappen went head to head during the entire first third of the Spanish event, the gap almost never exceeding a second and a half. The leader threw himself into the pit lane at the end of the 1th lap to swap his Softs for Mediums. Unfortunately for the Dutchman, his pit-stop was slower than usual, taking 24 seconds. 

We then thought that Mercedes would take advantage of the opportunity by stopping Hamilton on the following lap, but the seven-time world champion remained on the track for 5 more laps. Hamilton came out some 6 seconds behind Verstappen. He quickly returned to the exhausts of the leading Red Bull but was unable to find the opening. 

The Mercedes team then attempted a major strategic move by opting for 1st for a 2nd stop. Hamilton complied at the last moment on the 43rd lap to put together a new set of Mediums. The Briton came out in 3rd position, more than 23 seconds behind Verstappen. 

It only took him 17 laps to make the connection, without even benefiting from a helping hand from his teammate Bottas, who showed some semblance of futile resistance on the 10th lap. On the 60th lap, Verstappen could only bow to the pace set by Hamilton, who took control at the first braking. The Dutchman made a second pit stop immediately to get the fastest lap in the race and grab a bonus point, thus limiting his loss for the day to 2 points. 

Bottas completed the podium but once again he was only a distant spectator of the duel between the two leaders in front. Leclerc produced a very clean copy by retaining 4th place until the end, ahead of Sergio Pérez, author of a solid comeback from 8th place on the grid but insufficient to help his leader on a strategic level.

Daniel Ricciardo is probably having his most convincing weekend since his transfer to McLaren. The Australian finishes 6th and ahead of his predecessor Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and his teammate Lando Norris.

Qualified 5th, Esteban Ocon lost 2 places at the start then slipped to 9th place. He precedes his compatriot Pierre Gasly, penalized by 5 seconds for being poorly positioned on the starting grid, but pugnacious until the end. As in Portugal, the pilot Alpha Tauri snatches the last point put into play. 

Disappointment for Fernando Alonso, who occupied this 10th place before collapsing in the last laps due to worn tires. 

With his 98th career victory, his 3rd of the year, Hamilton is more than ever on good momentum before the trip to Monaco in two weeks (May 20-23).