2021 F1 Spanish GP Review: Hamilton overcomes Verstappen with bold strategy

Strategy was the winner as Lewis Hamilton converted his 100th career pole into his 98th career win at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Hamilton had lead every lap at the Spanish Grand Prix since lap 33 of the 2018 race, however, Max Verstappen would end that run as he made an aggressive but clean pass into turn one after a strong getaway.

While Verstappen passed Hamilton, the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was overtaken by Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari making a tidy move around the outside of the long turn three.

Esteban Ocon had been the start of qualifying, putting his Alpine fifth on the grid, but he’d be seventh by the end of lap one as Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez took advantage of a sluggish start from the Frenchman.

A hard charging Verstappen had built an impressive eight second lead over Hamilton by lap eight, however that was about to go to nothing as Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri ground to a halt on track at turn 10.

Antonio Giovinazzi was amongst only three drivers to take the opportunity for a pit stop, but he was stopped for 35 seconds after a fresh medium tyre was bizarrely punctured before even leaving the tyre blankets.

The restart was well managed by Verstappen, who broke Hamilton’s tow to retain P1. Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll pulled off one of the moves of the race, with a brave move on Fernando Alonso through turn four, as the Spaniard forced him towards the grass.

While Bottas struggled to overtake Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton set off into the distance, but the Brit would start to experience tyre trouble, with his right rear starting to blister.

However, Verstappen made an unscheduled stop on lap 24 which caught his Red Bull mechanics by surprise. It wouldn’t prove costly though, as on fresh tyres he made up the time to remain in front of the Mercedes as Hamilton emerged from the pitlane four laps later.

The seven-time champ put heavy pressure on the young Dutchman, however Verstappen wouldn’t falter. Mercedes decided to chance their arm as they brought Hamilton in for a second stop while Red Bull committed to the one stop, in a move reminiscent of Hungary 2019.

Emerging 22 seconds behind Verstappen, Hamilton set about putting the fresh rubber to good use. It wouldn’t plain sailing though, as after closing the gap to Verstappen to 10 second he caught team-mate Bottas. The Finnish driver was told not to hold Hamilton up, however he decided he wasn’t going to make it easy for Lewis, racing his fellow Mercedes hard and forcing Hamilton into a risky overtake at turn 10.

Even the hold up from his team-mate wouldn’t stop Hamilton’s charge though, his 1.5 second per lap average advantage would see him make his move on Verstappen at turn one on lap 60 of 66.

Verstappen would then pit for fresh softs, stealing the fastest lap away from team-mate Perez, but it seemed to be another opportunity missed for Red Bull as Hamilton opened the championship lead to 14 points.

Bottas would eventually win his battle with Leclerc, the pair finishing third and fourth respectively. Ricciardo had his best afternoon in the McLaren papaya so far, finishing sixth behind Perez.

There was a fierce battle behind the Aussie, as Carlos Sainz made a big move on Lando Norris, the Brit defended slightly too hard for the FIA’s liking but escaped a penalty as the former team-mates finished seventh and eighth respectively. Ocon’s pace evaded him and he ended up P9, while Pierre Gasly recovered from an early penalty to grab the last point with a brave late move on Stroll for P10. Alonso had also been part of the battle but he would have to settle for 17th after his tyres gave up in the closing stages.

Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastien Vettel, George Russell, Giovinazzi and Nicolas Latifi took places 12 to 16 while Mick Schumacher once again convincingly defeated team-mate Nikita Mazepin for 18th and 19th.

Next up is the return of the Monaco Grand Prix on May 23 as the Hamilton Vs. Verstappen battle looks set to continue.