Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton wins third race of 2021 season - As it happened
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Updated 09/05/2021 at 15:36 GMT
Coverage of the 2021 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix as it happened as Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen to the chequered flag in Barcelona. Mercedes' strategy was spot on as the world champion claimed first place with just six laps remaining while Valtteri Bottas finished third with Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Max Verstappen (left; Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - Spain-GP
Image credit: Getty Images
HAMILTON WINS THE SPANISH GP!
Hamilton takes the chequered flag! The defending world champion wins the Spanish GP for the fifth time in a row to extend his advantage at the top of the drivers' championship! Mercedes got the strategy right and that proved to be the deciding factor. Verstappen in second.
66/66 - Last lap...
64/66 - Verstappen pits
With Hamilton now out of sight, Red Bull now want Verstappen to clinch the bonus point for the fastest lap and have pitted him for a second time to move him on to fresh tyres. This wasn't the original strategy.
63/66 - Gasly into the points!
Gasly into 10th place! That is a good pass from the AlphaTauri who is past Stroll and into the points! After the early retirement of Tsuonoda, that would be a decent result for AlphaTauri.
61/66 - Smart from Mercedes
What chance does everyone else stand? Mercedes have the best car, the best driver and the best strategists. That was excellent forecasting from them to predict that Verstappen would drop off towards the end of the race.
60/66 - HAMILTON INTO FIRST!
Hamilton now leads! That had been coming for the last few laps. Hamilton passes Verstappen into turn one and Red Bull will now surely think about pitting their driver in an attempt to snatch the fastest lap point.
59/66 - 0.6-second lead...
There's just over half-a-second between Verstappen and Hamilton now. Keep in mind that when Hamilton pitted for the second time he rejoined the race 22 seconds behind the Red Bull...
58/66 - Bottas into third!
Bottas past Leclerc! The Finn reclaims the position he lost by pitting a second time. With the Mercedes on the fresher tyres, there was just nothing the Ferrari could have done to keep Bottas behind him.
57/66 - 10 laps to go...
1) Verstappen 2) Hamilton 3) Leclerc 4) Bottas 5) Perez 6) Ricciardo 7) Sainz 8) Ocon 9) Norris 10) Alonso
56/66 - This is gonna be close!
The AWS system predicts that Hamilton will be within striking distance of Verastappen in nine laps. Are we set for a grandstand finale in the final lap?
54/66 - Bottas box, box!
Bottas into the pits! The Finn is going to go for the fastest lap point, which is interesting in itself. Do Mercedes really want Bottas to take that from Hamilton given how close the title race is with Verstappen?
53/66 - Hamilton past Bottas!
Bottas into second! Hamilton dives down the inside of his teammate into turn 10. That was not team orders. The Finn didn't let Hamilton past him. That had to be a proper pass, which is interesting...
52/66 - Team orders?
Hamilton is on the back of Bottas and certainly has the better race speed. Are Mercedes going to issue team orders? It doesn't look like it! Hamilton is trying to pass his teammate, but Bottas isn't giving him anything at the moment!
50/66 - Carlos past Lando!
Sainz up into eighth! The two former teammates are in a foot race down into turn one, but the Ferrari just had too much straightline speed with DRS and there was nothing Norris could do to stop him from taking the position.
48/66 - Building...
It really feels like we are building towards an exciting finale at the Spanish Grand Prix. There's even a chance that Bottas could pass Verstappen if he gets his finger out. That's been the suggestion from the Mercedes pit wall...
47/66 - Max is worried
"I don't see how we're going to take this to the end" says Verstappen. He's getting concerned about Hamilton's fresher set of tyres. The system shows that the world champion will be within striking distance of the Red Bull within the next 10 laps.
46/66 - 20 laps to go!
1) Verstappen 2) Hamilton 3) Bottas 4) Leclerc 5) Ricciardo 6) Perez 7) Sainz 8) Ocon 9) Norris 10) Alonso
44/66 - 'You've done it before'
"Currently 22 seconds, you've done it before," Bono reminds Hamilton when the world champion asks to be informed of the gap to Verstappen. This is going to be an exhilarating final phase of the race.
43/66 - Max stays out
It appears there's going to be a difference of strategy from Mercedes and Red Bulls. Who has called it right? We will find out!
42/66 - Two stop for Lewis!
Hamilton is into the pits! This is a bold strategy move by Mercedes! They have made the decision to pull Hamilton in just as he was getting close to Verstappen. He's on the extra set of mediums.
40/66 - Don't sleep on Charles...
39/66 - Max finding more
I said we would find out whether Verstappen was nursing his tyres or if the Mercedes was just faster. Well, it's starting to look like the former. Hamilton had narrowed the gap down to 0.8 seconds, but it's back up at over a second now.
37/66 - Lando into ninth!
It's been a bit of a struggle for Norris so far, but he's up into ninth after passing Alonso. Can he get any closer to his McLaren teammate who is on course for a strong fifth place finish?
36/66 - Fight for first!
Okay, we have a scrap on our hands now with Hamilton within eight tenths of a second of Verstappen. Was the Red Bull just nursing those tyres or is the Mercedes just faster? I guess we'll find out...
34/66 - Traffic
The leaders are through the back of the pack with Mazepin once again accused of holding others up and that traffic seems to have benefited Hamilton who is now within DRS range of the race leader.
33/66 - Halfway point!
1) Verstappen 2) Hamilton 3) Bottas 4) Leclerc 5) Ricciardo 6) Perez 7) Sainz 8) Raikkonen 9) Ocon 10) Norris
31/66 - Lewis gambling
So it appears the ploy from Mercedes is to make sure Hamilton has more grip at the end of the race, when they predict Verstappen will be struggling somewhat. Did Mercedes expect that the medium tyre would suit their car more than Red Bull?
30/66 - Did Mercedes get it wrong?
29/66 - Hamilton pits!
A 2.7-second pit stop from Hamilton! That's a good stop from Mercedes, but Verstappen is safe as he passes with Hamilton still in the pit lane. Hamilton is on the fresher tyres, though. A crucial phase of the race, this!
28/66 - Lewis staying out...
Hamilton has been on the radio to Bono to insist that he feels like his tyres are fine. And Toto has been on the radio to race control to complain about Hamilton losing time behind Mazepin. Feels like this is the race right here...
27/66 - Perez gives way
Perez, who has yet to pit, gives way to Verstappen, who has pitted. There is concern from Red Bull that their pitting strategy might just have cost their driver, but we'll see how this one pans out.
26/66 - Verstappen pits!
Big call from Red Bull! Just as Hamilton was really closing the gap on the race leader, Verstappen is into the pits and that's a slow stop from Red Bull! Was that a late call? They didn't seem to be prepared!
25/66 - Bottas box, box!
Mercedes have pulled the trigger on Bottas first and the Finn has rejoined the race in some clean air. At what point will the leaders start to think about a stop?
23/66 - Penalty served
22/66 - Aston and Alpine pit!
Alonso is into the pits for Alpine, who haven't had the race pace we expected them to have so far today, and Vettel is also in for Aston Martin.
21/66 - Fastest lap!
Hamilton has just set a new fastest lap as the Mercedes eats a tenth or two out of Verstappen's time, although the Red Bull seems quite content to manage to gap and keep the defending world champion out of DRS range.
20/66 - After 20 laps...
1) Verstappen 2) Hamilton 3) Leclerc 4) Bottas 5) Ricciardo 6) Perez 7) Ocon 8) Sainz 9) Norris 10) Stroll
18/66 - Tyre concerns!
Replays on Hamilton's car shows that he is suffering pretty bad blistering on his right rear tyre. That could be something of a concern for the world champion. Something to keep an eye on over the next few laps...
17/66 - 'Plan B'
And now Leclerc has been told that he is moving on to 'Plan B.' Again, we have no idea what exactly that means.
15/66 - 'Plan C'
Sainz has been told over the Ferrari team radio and they are moving on to 'Plan C,' whatever that means. Interesting to see what the Spaniard does now. All will be revealed soon..
14/66 - Front two flying
Verstappen and Hamilton are flying and there appears to be no chance that they will be caught this afternoon. They are in a race of their own with one second between them.
12/66 - Gasly penalty!
Gasly has been handed a five-second time penalty for not being in position at the start. That was an easy one for the stewards to come to a decision as this is something that comes down to data. Black and white case.
11/66 - Racing again!
Verstappen looks to have enjoyed a good restart after the Safety Car comes in. Red Bull haven't suffered too much from the Safety Car after Tsunoda's retirement. Leclerc is actually quite close to Hamilton!
10/66 - Williams stacking!
Some of the teams are taking this opportunity to dive into the pits, including Williams who have stacked their drivers. That is a tricky move, but they seem to have done a decent job. Russell and Latifi in and out.
9/66 - Safety Car deployed!
Indeed, we are now behind the Safety Car and that will be frustrating to Verstappen. Hamilton will now be right behind the Dutchman again just as it appears the Mercedes tyres are starting to find grip.
8/66 - Tsunoda's stopped!
"Engine's stopped, engine's stopped," Tsunoda says on the AlphaTauri team radio. What's happened there? Tsunoda is now out of his car and his race is over. Are we going to have a Safety Car here?
7/66 - Lewis edging back
Verstappen quickly established an advantage of a second-and-a-half over Hamilton in the first few laps, but the Mercedes is eating a tenth or two out of the Dutchman's time. Signs that his tyres are coming good?
6/66 - Strategy talk!
5/66 - Gasly investigation
The stewards are looking at whether Gasly was out of position at the start of the race. Was he out of his box on the grid? That could be a penalty incoming for the AlphaTauri.
4/66 - Bottas caution!
The replays show how Leclerc passed Bottas in the opening lap and it's clear that the Mercedes was far too cautious. That has been a common theme for the Finn this season!
3/66 - Perez up two places!
After a poor Q3 session in Saturday qualifying, Perez has made a good start to his race by moving up two places in the first few laps here. The Mexican is now in a good place to pick up some good points.
2/66 - Leclerc into P3
It should be mentioned that Hamilton wasn't the only Mercedes to be passed in the first lap with Leclerc making it past Bottas into third place. It's a big afternoon for the Finn given the talk about his future!
1/66- LIGHTS OUT!
Verstappen takes the lead! The Red Bull got the better start than Hamilton off the start line and keeps his nerve to pass the world champion into turn one! We have a race on our hands!
14:00 - Formation lap!
Okay, the cars are rolling as they embark on their formation lap around the Circuit de Barcelona. This is normally where pre-season testing takes place, but not this year!
13:55 - Almost time!
Only five minutes until the formation lap at the Circuit de Barcelona. The wind has changed since yesterday and that means Hamilton now has the tail wind behind him, which could be to his benefit. That sprint into turn one will be crucial for the two Silver Arrows and Verstappen. Toto Wolff says it will be a one-stop from his team today.
13:50 - Anthem!
The drivers are out at the start/finish line for the national anthem. F1 also plays its 'We Race As One' video in support of equality and in opposition of racism, although the sport's record on the latter is somewhat patchy. Hamilton deserves a lot of credit for the way he has led F1 in doing more against racism.
13:45 - Alonso homecoming
Fernando Alonso is back in front of his home fans at the Circuit de Barcelona and there are actually fans at the circuit! Of course, it's not a capacity crowd as it would be in normal circumstances, but Alonso just got a great reception as he waved to those sat in the main stand. Fantastic.
13:40 - Max Milestone!
Hamilton claimed his 100th pole position in F1 yesterday and this will be Verstappen's 100th race in the sport as well! The Dutchman won on his debut for Red Bull. Can he cap 100 races by repeating that achievement? The Red Bull certainly looks to be competitive with Mercedes in 2021.
13:35 - Title duel
Another race weekend, another duel between Hamilton and Verstappen. it became clear quite early on in the season that these two would be going head-to-head for the drivers' championship and we look set for another clash here!
13:30 - It's race day!
Good afternoon and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of the Spanish GP from the Circuit de Barcelona. Lewis Hamilton claimed a record 100th pole position in Saturday qualifying, but can the world champion convert that into a race victory?
The omens aren't good for Hamilton as no driver has managed to win from pole position in 2021. However, the Brit looks to be in good shape to buck that trend with Max Verstappen behind him on the front row and Valtteri Bottas in third on the grid.
1) Hamilton 2) Verstappen 3) Bottas 4) Leclerc 5) Ocon 6) Sainz 7) Ricciardo 8) Perez 9) Norris 10) Alonso 11) Stroll 12) Gasly 13) Vettel 14) Giovinazzi 15) Russell 16) Tsunoda 17) Raikkonen 18) Schumacher 19) Latifi 20) Mazepin
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