Lewis Hamilton wins the Spanish GP

At the end of a lively race from the start, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) signed its second success of the year after China after having thwarted attempts to Sebastian Vettel and Team Ferrari.

Author of a better start, Sebastian Vettel had nevertheless taken control of the race at the first corner, while behind, Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) lightly touches the rear of Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari.

The 2007 world champion then came into contact with the Red Bull de Max Verstappen, passed by the outside, but who will be able to do nothing to avoid the SF70H. The contact eliminates Räikkönen and Verstappen, victims of damage to their respective front axles.

In the wake, Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Felipe Massa (Williams) also made contact, causing the Spaniard to go off-track into the gravel, while the Brazilian had to return to the pits suffering a puncture and damage to the front wing of his FW40.

The hierarchy subsequently stabilized with Sebastian Vettel who quickly led the peloton by more than two seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas remains third ahead of the Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo. The two Force Indias of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon follow in the ranking.

Vettel maintains the advantage before his first stop, where the German driver puts on the soft tyres. Meanwhile, Mercedes chose a different strategy and left its two drivers on the track. Hamilton will wait until the end of the 21st lap to observe his stop, and start again on medium tires.

Meanwhile, Vettel, back in second position behind Bottas, is stuck in the wake of the new leader and concedes a lot of time before being able to overtake after several feints at the end of the pit straight on the Finn.

But with five seconds lost, Vettel saw part of his advantage gone against Hamilton, who seems best placed with his set of medium tires for the end of the race.

A virtual safety car and questions

The race will seem to be restarted with the implementation of the virtual safety car following contact between Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) and Felipe Massa (Williams) braking for the first corner. If most of the drivers outside the top 5 make their second stop, the leaders remain on the track during the neutralization, despite several “feints” from Mercedes.

The world champion team will, however, recall Hamilton to the pits, when the virtual safety car procedure ceases. A daring choice, Hamilton returning to the track with 30 laps to cover on soft tires.

Sebastian Vettel returned to the pits a lap later, and chose the medium tires. The German managed to stay in front of Hamilton's Mercedes exiting the pit lane, despite contact between the two cars.

The German, however, will have to give in on the 44th lap to the recovery of Lewis Hamilton, who passed on the straight with the DRS, while Mercedes loses Valtteri Bottas a few moments later due to a mechanical problem. The end of the race will be marked by uncertainty over Hamilton's ability to reach the finish with his tires... which the Briton will do without difficulty, maintaining a sufficient advantage over Vettel, who nevertheless retains the lead in the Drivers' championship.

Daniel Ricciardo completes the podium, more than a minute behind the winner. Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon (Force India) finished 4th and 5th, the Frenchman achieving his best career result.

Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) places his RS17 in sixth place under the checkered flag in front of the Sauber of Pascal Wehrlein, who must however take into account a 5″ penalty for non-compliance with the pit lane entry cone, and cedes his position to Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso). Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) and Romain Grosjean (Haas) complete the top 10.

The Frenchman took advantage of his teammate's puncture in the final moments Kevin Magnussen, after contact with Kvyat's Toro Rosso. Fernando Alonso sees the arrival of his first Grand Prix in 2017 in 12th place.

Race ranking

Discover the full report and analysis of the Spanish Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Catalonia, in issue 2114 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.