Spanish Grand Prix - As it happened!
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Updated 16/08/2020 at 15:07 GMT
Catch up with lap-by-lap updates from the Spanish Grand Prix.
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton jumps out of his car after securing the pole position in the qualifying session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona on August 15, 2020 ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images
Chequered flag - Hamilton wins!
It's another race victory for Hamilton and that was a bit of a procession for the defending world champion! Verstappen finishes second to split the two Silver Arrows with Bottas in P3 to complete the podium places.
Perez and Stroll finish fourth and fifth, as they set out to do before the start of the race, and Vettel can be pleased with a P7 finish given everything he faced!
66/66 - Final lap!
This is going to be another race victory for Hamilton. He has led every single lap of this race and Bottas might just snatch the fastest lap point as well!
65/66 - Bottas in to pit!
Mercedes have given up on catching Verstappen in second place and so they have put a fresh set of tyres on Bottas in an attempt to snatch the fastest lap bonus point in these final two laps. Should they maybe have done this earlier in the race?
64/66
Are we going to get any late drama like we did in the British GP two weeks ago? The rain that we thought might arrive about 20 minutes ago hasn't arrived. Verstappen looks like he's going to have enough to finish ahead of Bottas, but still miles behind Hamilton. This has been a bit of a procession for the world champion.
62/66
Was any damage done? There is a big piece of carbon fibre on the track and Hamilton is a little worried that he might have caught it. It looks like the race leader might have got away with it, but he's on the team radio asking for the tyre pressures to be checked just in case. Not more late tyre drama!
60/66 - Sainz into P6!
The McLaren has the DRS on Vettel and Sainz has no trouble passing the Ferrari, moving up into sixth place in his home Grand Prix. It's been a strange race weekend for the McLarens. Norris is currently running in the final points place in P10.
58/66 - New fastest lap!
Not just content with winning this race, Hamilton has just set a new fastest lap. This has been an exceptional drive from the world champion. He makes it look so easy sometimes that the brilliance of Hamilton can be overlooked.
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Lewis Hamilton leads this race.
Image credit: Getty Images
56/66
10 laps remaining of the Spanish Grand Prix and it seems that Hamilton won't be caught. He has a 13-second lead at the front of the pack. Bottas still has a chance of catching the Red Bull in P2, though. The battle for fourth place is an interesting one, with Perez, Stroll and Vettel all involved!
54/66 - Perez penalty!
The stewards have decided that Perez did indeed ignore blue flags and the Mexican driver has been handed a five-second time penalty. That is going to make it difficult for Racing Point to keep hold of fourth place. Vettel is making things tough for them.
53/66 - Vettel unhappy!
Ferrari are now suggesting to Vettel that they might keep him out on these tyres until the end of the race, but he's unhappy. "I asked you this before" he replies. His point seems to be that he would have managed the tyres a bit better had he known earlier than this was the strategy!
52/66
Perez is being investigated by the stewards for ignoring blue flags, so we'll see what happens there. In other news, Hamilton pits and comes out ahead of Verstappen. So barring any kind of disaster, you would think he is well on course for the race victory.
50/66 - Box, box!
Mercedes bring in Bottas to move him on to the Soft tyres. He's got around six seconds to make up on Verstappen. Hamilton has just been on the Mercedes team radio begging them to keep him out and not move him on to the Soft tyres like his teammate. Interesting.
49/66
"Okay you need to let me know what you want to do in terms of pace," Vettel says to the Ferrari pit wall. Did Ferrari forget that they still have a driver out there?
47/66 - Rain is coming!
It's getting very dark at Catalunya. The rain is coming! This might play into the hands of those who have yet to pit for a second time. Are Ferrari keeping Vettel out for this very reason? He has only pitted once and is running in P5. Are they counting on rain to force everyone to change tyres again?
45/66 - Box, box!
Verstappen on to the Mediums! Red Bull pull in the Dutchman for the second time and he comes out behind Bottas, but ahead of Perez in the Racing Point. Time is running out for Verstappen if he is to close the gap on Hamilton, who has led from lights out.
43/66 - Albon on Sainz!
This is the battle for P10 with Albon attempting to get around the outside of Sainz, but the Spaniard manages to get his elbows out and keep the Red Bull behind him. That was a bit twitchy from Sainz, but he just about kept the racing line and should get away with it.
41/66 - Leclerc is out!
Ferrari attempted to pit Leclerc, but they have instead decided to retire him. What a terrible weekend for the Scuderia. Just a reminder that Vettel is running P9! What is going on at Ferrari right now? They just can't get anywhere close to the frontrunners.
40/66
Bottas gaining on Verstappen! The Finn has the pace on the Red Bull ahead of him and Bottas is now within striking distance of the undercut. This could still be a one-two for the Silver Arrows.
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Bottas is still a factor in this race.
Image credit: Getty Images
39/66
Leclerc's engine stopped! "I don't know what happened" the Ferrari driver said over the team radio. It wasn't a mistake from Leclerc. His engine just completely stopped and that's what caused him to spin. What a nightmare weekend for the Scuderia. They have a lot of work to do to get back to the top.
38/66 - Leclerc spins!
Oh dear! What happened there? Leclerc has spun and it looks like his race is over! The safety car is out as the Ferrari isn't firing back up! He was all over the back of Norris, so did he push it too hard? We'll learn some more from the replays. That was strange.
37/66 - Dark clouds!
Now this could be interesting! There are some dark clouds gathering over Catalunya and the teams are monitoring what they fear could be rain on the radar! That would shake things up for the final few laps!
35/66
Verstappen seems to have settled down a little bit, but the Dutchman is enduring a frustrating afternoon. Hamilton is just doing enough to ensure the Red Bull can't catch him. He's teasing! Versatppen just doesn't have the pace at the moment. He's just over four seconds behind the race leader.
33/66 - Halfway point!
Here is how the top 10 stands at the halfway point... 1) Hamilton 2) Verstappen 3) Bottas 4) Ricciardo 5) Stroll 6) Perez 7) Sainz 8) Ocon 9) Albon 10) Gasly
31/66 - New fastest lap!
Bottas has now set a new fastest lap and there is a sense that both the Finn and Verstappen have slightly better pace on Hamilton at the moment. A lot of pit stops happening at the moment, with Perez coming out behind Sainz but in front of Ocon in the Renault.
29/66
Red Bull have got it wrong with regards to their strategy for Albon. They pitted him early to get him on fresh tyres, but he was denied the advantage because he came out in traffic. That has also denied Verstappen any sort of protection. Difficult to understand what Red Bull wanted from that ploy.
27/66
"These black overalls are ******* hot!" Bottas complains over the Mercedes team radio. Of course, keep in mind that the Silver Arrows are in all black liveries this season, but that might have a draw back in the sunshine. Or does Bottas mean that he looks good in them?
25/66
"How about we just focus on our race first before we look at Lewis?" Verstappen rages over the Red Bull team after being informed of the strategy with regards to a possible undercut. "Just keep your head down, Max" comes the reply from the pit wall. That's a ticking off. Adrenaline is pumping!
24/66 - Bottas box, box!
Did Mercedes wait a little too long to react in terms of their strategy with Bottas? Did he lose out because he has emerged behind Verstappen after pitting and moving on to a set of Mediums. Bottas is still ahead of the two Racing Points, though, so at least that's something.
22/66 - Verstappen pits!
Verstappen gets what he wants and he is into the pits after a 1.9-second pit stop. That was impressive! Verstappen has emerged in front of Stroll and that is very good news for the Dutchman. That keeps him in the picture for the race victory. There's clean air ahead of him.
21/66
Verstappen is unhappy! The Dutchman is fuming over the Red Bull radio! He feels he is being kept out on these tyres too long. "We're losing so much time," Verstappen says. He badly wants off these tyres. Red Bull, however, are keeping their nerve. Is this the right decision? The driver certainly doesn't think so.
19/66 - Pit stop!
Here we go! The pit stops are starting and it's Albon who comes in first to shift on to the Hard compound tyres. What will Red Bull do with Verstappen? The Dutchman isn't bluffing here. He is having tyre trouble and that is affecting his lap times.
18/66 - Tyre troubles!
Verstappen is reporting over the Red Bull team radio that he is suffering tyre problems. He says the Soft compounds he is on are overheating. That could be a factor in why Hamilton has been able to extend his advantage over the last few laps. What is the strategy from Red Bull here? Will the one-stopper be possible?
17/66
Hamilton is now over three seconds ahead of Verstappen. What is the strategy from Mercedes here? They need to be careful that they don't drop Hamilton into traffic when they pit him. How will they use Bottas? Are we looking at an undercut from the two Silver Arrows?
15/66
Just a quick update on the Ferraris, who we haven't mentioned so far this afternoon. The hope was that they would have a better race day than qualifying, but that hasn't really happened. Leclerc is in P9 and Vettel is in P11. What is going on with that car at the moment?!
13/66
Hamilton fastest lap! Mercedes have pulled the pin and now the world champion is attempting to stretch his legs at the front of the pack. He's 2.5 seconds ahead of Verstappen and all of a sudden the Silver Arrow is extending its advantage.
10/66 - Strategy!
This is a deliberate ploy from Hamilton. He is backing Verstappen up into Bottas to give Mercedes the chance of the undercut. Mercedes got their strategy wrong at Silverstone last weekend and so they are trying something a bit different here. Something to keep an eye on!
9/66
Verstappen is told over the Red Bull team radio that the gap between him and Hamilton is decreasing. "Yeah that is because he is just driving super slow," comes back the response from the Dutchman.
8/66
Verstappen has the pace to keep within touching distance of Hamilton. This is a cat and mouse situation at the head of the race! This has potential for a real scrap. The Dutch driver is sounding very intense on the team radio just as he did last weekend at Silverstone when he won.
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Max Verstappen is in a good position
Image credit: Getty Images
6/66 - Bottas through!
As you might have guessed through the last update, Bottas has managed to get past Stroll and some of the damage of the opening lap has been reversed. The Finn had the engine turned up and had no issues in getting past the Racing Point despite the bravery of Stroll!
5/66
Top 10 race positions after five laps... 1) Hamilton 2) Verstappen 3) Bottas 4) Stroll 5) Perez 6) Albon 7) Sainz 8) Gasly 9) Leclerc 10) Norris
3/66
"Important to get through Stroll, we can still have a race," comes the message over the Mercedes team radio to Bottas. Indeed, it feels like the Finn needs to recover from the damage done on the first lap quickly!
2/66
Bottas has lost two places, with Verstappen up into second ahead of Stroll! It was the Canadian who passed the Mercedes into the first corner. Sorry, got a bit confused between the two Racing Points. Bottas is having some trouble in keeping Perez behind him!
1/66 - LIGHTS OUT!
Hamilton gets off the line well... Bottas, however, hasn't fared so well! The Finn lost out, losing places to Verstappen and Perez! Did Stroll get through as well? Bottas very nearly got hit by Albon as well! Drama on the opening lap!
14:05 - Formation lap!
Okay, here we go. The drivers are embarking on their formation lap! Just moments away from lights out! It is a very warm day just outside Barcelona! Could that be a factor in this race? "It's probably the hottest race we've ever done," says Lando Norris.
14:00 - Almost time to go!
Just about to get started at the Spanish Grand Prix! The drivers are going through their final preparations on the grid. Not long until the formation lap and then lights out. The rush into that first corner will be so key. Can Verstappen find the early pace on the two Silver Arrows?
13:55 - Time for the anthems!
The drivers are lined up on the start line for the national anthems. They also take the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with a number deciding not to as has been the case all season long. Once again, a mixed message from F1.
13:50 - Verstappen threat!
As already referenced, Red Bull got their strategy spot on at Silverstone last weekend, with Verstappen emerging with his first race victory of the season. The Dutch driver is seemingly the only one who can touch the two Mercedes at the moment and Hamilton has already spoken about how wary he is of the threat posed by the car in P3!
13:45 - Horner on strategy!
"I think the biggest opportunity [for overtaking] is going to be the first three corners. And then the strategy is going to play a key element." That's what Christian Horner has told Sky Sports F1. Of course, Red Bull got their strategy spot on last week at Silverstone and Horner has said that they could one-stop it again here!
13:40 - Ferrari indignity!
Yesterday was a dreadful day for Ferrari. Of course, it had already been a difficult season for the Scuderia, but their P9 and P11 qualifying was their worst showing at this track for 30 (THIRTY) years! There's already chat that Ferrari will turn their attentions towards preparing for 2022, not even 2021!
13:35 - Full grid!
This is how the drivers line up on the grid today... 1) Hamilton 2) Bottas 3) Verstappen 4) Perez 5) Stroll 6) Albon 7) Sainz 8) Norris 9) Leclerc 10) Gasly 11) Vettel 12) Kvyat 13) Ricciardo 14) Raikkonen 15) Ocon 16) Magnussen 17) Grosjean 18) Russell 19) Latifi 20) Giovinazzi
13:30 - Race day!
Good afternoon and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix! The two Mercedes locked out the front row in Saturday qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton on pole and Valtteri Bottas in P2.
Behind them is Max Verstappen in P3 and then there's Sergio Perez on the second row, with the Mexican driver back in the Racing Point after missing the last two races with Covid-19! This should be a highly entertaining race, but can anyone touch the two Silver Arrows? Can Verstappen back up last weekend's victory?
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