Lewis Hamilton holds off Nico Rosberg to claim Spanish victory botrytis
Lewis Hamilton held off Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg to claim victory by the narrowest of margins at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona Sunday and take the lead in the F1 standings for the first time this season.
The win represents a fourth straight checkered flag for the British driver while Rosberg's second place means Mercedes have now secured four consecutive one-two finishes and five successive race wins.
Hamilton started the day on pole and led into the first corner, a position he wouldn't relinquish all afternoon as he claimed his first career victory in Spain.
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Rosberg pushed him all the way, however, eventually finishing just 0.6 seconds behind after a tense chase on the final laps.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo finished fully 40 seconds back in third while the Australian's teammate and four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel ended the day fourth.
Home favorite Fernando Alonso claimed sixth position behind Williams Valtteri Bottas in fifth.
Speaking on the podium after the race, Hamilton said: 'A big thank you for my team, they have done an incredible job this year. The support here is the best I have ever had and my first win in Spain means everything to me.
Hamilton seemed edgy over the team radio as Rosberg cut into his lead on the final laps and admitted he was concerned after the race.
'I was not upset, I was not fast enough today, Nico was quicker,' he continued. 'I struggled with the balance and needed to rely on my engineers. I was moving my settings up and down and fortunately I was able to keep Nico behind.'
Hamilton's relief was contrasted by Rosberg's frustration at having come so close.
I think one more lap and I could have given it a good go,' the Greman driver said. 'Unfortunately that was it and I am bit gutted but still, second place, second in the championship and many more races to go.'
Third placed Ricciardo, meanwhile, was content with a podium finish, given the superiority of the Mercedes cars.
We knew we didn't really have the pace for Mercedes,' he said. 'We looked like a third-place car and in the end that's what it was. We had a pretty comfortable third- place and we just had to focus on getting the tires to last two stops and that was it.'
'(It was) really nice to be on the podium and I'm sure I'll be able to keep it this time,' he added, referring to the second place finish that was taken away from him in the season's first race in Melbourne due to breaching fuel-flow regulations.
The result means Mercedes continue to dominate both the driver's and constructors' championship.
Hamilton sits atop the driver's standings on 100 points, three ahead of Rosberg. In the driver's, meanwhile, Mercedes lead the way on 197 points, 113 ahead of second placed Red Bull.
Elsewhere in the race, Kimi Raikonen took seventh position for Ferrari while Romain Grosjean secured a first points position of the season for Lotus in eighth.
Force Indias Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg secured the final two point scoring positions in ninth and tenth respectively.
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Force Indias Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg secured the final two point scoring positions in ninth and tenth respectively. Speaking on the podium after the race, Hamilton said: 'A big thank you for my team, they have done an incredible job this year. The support here is the best I have ever had and my first win in Spain means everything to me. The result means Mercedes continue to dominate both the driver's and constructors' championship. Third placed Ricciardo, meanwhile, was content with a podium finish, given the superiority of the Mercedes cars. Hamilton sits atop the driver's standings on 100 points, three ahead of Rosberg. In the driver's, meanwhile, Mercedes lead the way on 197 points, 113 ahead of second placed Red Bull. Hamilton started the day on pole and led into the first corner, a position he wouldn't relinquish all afternoon as he claimed his first career victory in Spain. We knew we didn't really have the pace for Mercedes,' he said. 'We looked like a third-place car and in the end that's what it was. We had a pretty comfortable third- place and we just had to focus on getting the tires to last two stops and that was it.' Elsewhere in the race, Kimi Raikonen took seventh position for Ferrari while Romain Grosjean secured a first points position of the season for Lotus in eighth. Hamilton's relief was contrasted by Rosberg's frustration at having come so close. 'I was not upset, I was not fast enough today, Nico was quicker,' he continued. 'I struggled with the balance and needed to rely on my engineers. I was moving my settings up and down and fortunately I was able to keep Nico behind.' Hamilton started the day on pole and led into the first corner, a position he wouldn't relinquish all afternoon as he claimed his first career victory in Spain. Hamilton started the day on pole and led into the first corner, a position he wouldn't relinquish all afternoon as he claimed his first career victory in Spain.
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