Sport

LEWIS HAMILTON eased to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

It was the British ace's 88th career win, leaving him just three off Michael Schumacher's record.

Get all the latest F1 reaction from Barcelona here…

  • MORE FROM LEWIS

    Hamilton said: "The start was sweet, I didn't have to move left or right. And then after that it was about managing the tyres and I think I got the settings spot on.

    "We thought on Friday Red Bull were quicker than us so I was just trying to get a measure on Max in the early laps and after that I was able to eek out the gap a bit and make my tyres last."

  • TEAM GAME

    Here's how the constructors' looks:

    • Mercedes 221
    • Red Bull 135
    • Racing Point 63
    • McLaren 62
    • Ferrari 61

    'LEAGUE OF HIS OWN'

    Mercedes boss Toto Wolff: “I think what makes me most happy is after a difficult weekend at Silverstone we have been able to recover, take the right conclusions and win in the same conditions. It shows the strength of the team.

    “At the moment Hamilton in a league of his own. Totally under control, switching back the engine to save it for more difficult races.”

    “I said to Christian Horner 'bring on the heat!'.

    “When you have such a great win, you can properly rub it in (laughs). I respect him, he's done a great job over the 15 years he's been in the sport.”

    STANDINGS

    Hamilton now 37 points clear and looking ominous. The top five in the standings are as so:

    • Hamilton 132
    • Verstappen 95
    • Bottas 89
    • Leclerc 45
    • Albon 40

    FERRARI WOE

    Charles Leclerc on his retirement: “There were two issues, the first is that the engine switched off.

    “I tried to switch it on again. When I saw it wasn't starting I took off the seatbelt then I had to box again.

    “The race was already over when the engine switched off.

    “It's a shame but we'll work to understand what went on.”

    'MIXED'

    Sebastian Vettel, who finished 7th, told Sky Sports: “Mixed, to be honest. Still up and down. Some sessions feel better than others.

    “The first stint was quite poor the second stint I felt much more in control of the car. Still some work to do on my side.”

    CLASSIFICATION

    Here's how they finished up:

    'NOT GOOD ENOUGH'

    Third-placed Valtteri Bottas: “The start was the key point and not good enough.

    “In the first stint then I had to push hard to make some ground then struggled with the tyre life.

    “In stint two I was stuck behind Max and it's very tough to overtake on this track.”

    'HAPPY WITH SECOND'

    Second-placed Max Verstappen: "To be able to split them today was very good for us. We didn't have the pace like Lewis so very happy with second.

    "The start was crucial to get past Valtteri and then I just tried to do my own pace."

    'IN A DAZE'

    Lewis Hamilton on the podium: "I was in a daze out there. It felt really good today.

    "It was a real surprise because we had this problem with the tyres, but the management was very very good and understanding what happened last weekend allowed us to do what we did today."

    CRUSHING WIN FOR HAMILTON

    Hamilton says over the radio: “I was in a different zone there, didn't even realise it was the last lap!”

    HAMILTON WINS

    The world champion wins the Spanish GP by a mile. 24 seconds ahead.

    He now has 39 consecutive points finishes. That was his 88th win in F1.

    Mega job from Verstappen to split the Mercedes in second.

    Bottas in third – not good enough from the Finn. He will be unhappy with that.

    LAP 65

    Final stop for Bottas.

    Mercedes give up the chance of fighting Verstappen for second place.

    THREE LAPS TO GO

    Bottas has set the fastest lap.

    He takes it from Hamilton to earn the bonus point.

    HAMILTON LOOKING IN CONTROL HERE

    He's 16.4 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

    He is on course for his 39th consecutive finish in the points.

    It is Ham, Ver, Bot, Per, Str, Sai, Vet, Alb, Gas, Nor for the top 10

    PEREZ PUNISHED

    He's give a five second time penalty for ignoring blue flags as he was being lapped by Hamilton.

    VETTEL UNHAPPY

    He has asked Ferrari to tell him about the pace it wanted, just got the reply of “copy”…nothing else.

    They then ask him if he can make it to the end on the tyres.

    He is staying on old softs “I've got nothing to lose,” he says.

    HAMILTON HAS LAPPED EVERY CAR UP TO THIRD PLACE

    Unbelievable…

    HAMILTON CALLS FOR TYRES

    Hamilton told to pit

    “Why are you going to put me on the soft tyre now, this tyre’s fine? Don’t put me on the soft.”

    Race Engineer: “OK, stay out, stay out, stay out.”

    He's pitted for lap 51 for new tyres

    LAP 50

    Bottas stops for tyres to allow Verstappen into P2.

    The Finn has to fight the Red Bull man for second place. He's 7.425 seconds behind.

    LAP 49

    Hamilton has been untroubled out in front. He's not getting pushed by Bottas, who is over 16 seconds behind.

    He is going for his seventh Grand Slam – a win. pole position, fastest lap, leading every lap…

    Crikey.

    LAP 42

    Verstappen has another stop. And it is also another quick pitstop.

    It is Hamilton, Bottas (12.141sec) and Verstappen (19.504sec).

    LECLERC STOPS

    Another disaster for Ferrari. He has stopped on track.

    The car simply cut out.

    “Engine stopped…broken, not too sure what happened.”

    He's restarted it but it making his way back to the pits.

    Very strange. He is running last and retires.

    RAIN ON THE WAY?

    Vettel has been told on the radio that the team are expecting rain on lap 50. This is a 66-lap race.

    Could spice things up. It needs it.

    LAP 35

    A great fight between Leclerc and Norris dor 11th place. Both these drivers (and cars) should be higher up, but Norris is winning this battle.

    Source: Read Full Article