Spanish Grand Prix: Hamilton wins, reduces Vettel’s overall lead

Lewis Hamilton won a strategic Spanish Grand Prix thriller on Sunday to cut Sebastian Vettel’s overall lead in the Formula One championship to six points with a quarter of the season completed.

The Mercedes driver’s 55th career win was hard-fought and tense, with Ferrari’s Vettel seizing the lead from Hamilton at the start and in the hunt all the way as the tyre strategies played out. Hamilton took the chequered flag 3.4 seconds clear of the German, who did all he could to beat him with a thrilling move to pass the Briton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas that will be replayed for some time to come. “That’s how racing should be and I loved it,” said a happy Hamilton, who raced side by side with Vettel at turn one after the German’s final pitstop.

“This is what the sport needs to be every single race…to have that close battle with him, a four times champion, is awesome,” added the triple champion. Vettel now has 104 points to Hamilton’s 98. The Briton, who made the move stick seven laps later and then made his tyres last to the finish, had sounded strangely breathless during the race when fretting about a strategy that turned …read more