The Spanish Grand Prix as it happened

Lewis Hamilton won his fourth race of the 2020 Formula 1 season in a Spanish Grand Prix that probably won’t be remembered as much of a classic. This is how it unfolded:

Start: Hamilton gets away cleanly in the lead, but Bottas is swamped at the first corner and drops to fourth behind Verstappen and Stroll – though he manages to fend off Perez.

Order: 1 Hamilton; 2 Verstappen; 3 Stroll; 4 Bottas; 5 Perez; 6 Albon; 7 Sainz; 8 Gasly; 9 Leclerc; 10 Norris; 11 Vettel; 12 Ricciardo; 13 Kvyat; 14 Magnussen; 15 Raikkonen; 16 Ocon; 17 Grosjean; 18 Russell; 19 Giovinazzi; 20 Latifi

Scott Mitchell: “Albon somehow avoided hitting Bottas as the Mercedes, pinned by Stroll, checked up through Turn 1. The Red Bull was briefly ahead of Perez but that knocked him back to sixth.

“And I could watch the replay of Stroll’s start and run to Turn 1 all race. Delightfully combative! Stroll gets a lot of stick, and sometimes it’s completely justified, but he is so punchy at the start. A great trait.”

Lap 2: Kvyat goes around the outside of Ricciardo to take 12th at Turn 3. Kvyat is one of the few midfield runners using softs rather than mediums at this point.

Lap 3: Bottas remains stuck behind Stroll and is already 4s behind leader Hamilton.

Edd Straw: “Bottas needs to clear Stroll for third as soon as possible. Yes, that’s stating the obvious but even a few extra seconds lost to Verstappen at this stage could be costly.”

Lap 4: Verstappen takes fastest lap off Hamilton, and remains within 1.5s of the lead.

Scott Mitchell: “Verstappen is creeping back up on Hamiton but he reckons Hamilton is just driving slowly at the moment. He’s been told to match Hamilton’s saving through Turns 3 and 9.”

Lap 5: Bottas makes it past Stroll down the inside on the approach to Turn 1.

Lap 5: Bottas sets a new fastest lap as he begins his pursuit of the leaders and closes the gap to 3.6s.

Lap 8: Kvyat has been trying repeatedly to pass Vettel for 11th while on softs but remains stuck behind the Ferrari. Fellow soft-runner Russell has managed to pass Grosjean for 17th.

Lap 10 order: 1 Hamilton; 2 Verstappen +1.8s; 3 Bottas +3.7s; 4 Stroll +9.2s; 5 Perez +10.8s; 6 Albon +12.1s; 7 Sainz +15.2s; 8 Gasly +16.8s; 9 Leclerc +18.4s; 10 Norris +21.6s

Scott Mitchell: “Albon’s hassling Perez, both have been warned of the need to look after the rear tyres. Leading runners are all on the softs and having to manage them carefully – basically, keep the car from sliding to avoid trouble.”

Lap 12: Hamilton is now trying to stretch his legs. A pair of new fastest race laps pull him 2.5s clear of Verstappen and 4.4s ahead of Bottas.

Edd Straw: “It’s going to be a tricky strategic battle up front, especially for Red Bull given it has two Mercedes drivers to cover. But this stint won’t end imminently for the top three as there’s far too much traffic clogging up the track behind and the softs are doing OK.

“There’s not been much overtaking so far, which is no surprise given teams estimate you need around a 1.4-1.6s advantage over the car in front to have an even shot at a pass.”

Lap 14: Hamilton’s lead reaches 3.5s as his streak of new fastest laps ends.

Edd Straw: “The pace has now picked up at the front. Hamilton will be the first to have a convenient pitstop window opening up. The gap back to Stroll is currently 15s so a few more laps like this and there will be clear air to drop into if required.”

Lap 15 gaps: 1 Hamilton; 2 Verstappen +4.2s; 3 Bottas +6.5s; 4 Stroll +19.6s; 5 Perez +21.1s; 6 Albon +24.2s

Scott Mitchell: “I don’t think we’re going to see Albon attack Perez in this stint. He’s being told to lift 30 metres before Turn 1, so I suspect Red Bull is trading some stagnation now for a bigger gain later on.”

Lap 17: Albon is first to pit. He drops from sixth to 16th as he swaps from softs to hards and rejoins right behind a battling Raikkonen and Ocon.

Edd Straw: “Albon is now parked behind medium runners Ocon and Raikkonen. This will cost him time but he can at least settle in for a long run on the hards without over-stressing them at the very start of the stint.”

Lap 18: Verstappen tells Red Bull he’s struggling with his rear tyres. He’s now 5.5s off Hamilton.

Gary Anderson: “18 laps in and Hamilton can pit and come out in third place. Hmm…”

Lap 20: Ocon makes it past Raikkonen for 14th, with Albon following him through.

Scott Mitchell: “Verstappen is getting irate now. ‘You want me to repeat it again, the fucking tyres are dead,’ he says on the radio. After a pause he’s told ‘you don’t have to repeat it again’. He then demands to be pitted, and says he doesn’t care if he rejoins in traffic.”

Lap 21: Verstappen pits and rejoins on mediums, just ahead of Stroll. Gasly, Norris, Kvyat and Giovinazzi also make pitstops, Russell and Raikkonen have just done so too.

Lap 22: Sainz pits from a temporary sixth place. He sticks with softs and rejoins behind Albon in the midfield traffic.

Lap 23: Mercedes pits both its cars on the same lap, with Hamilton and Bottas coming for mediums and rejoining either side of Vestappen.

Lead gaps: 1 Hamilton; 2 Verstappen +4.3s; 3 Bottas +9.6s

Scott Mitchell: “Verstappen’s starting to lose his cool, telling the team to focus on his race not try to fight Hamilton. He’s been told to get his head down. Not sure that message was appreciated.”

Lap 26: Bottas is flying on his mediums, setting fastest laps and getting to within 1.7s of Verstappen and 5.6s of Hamilton now.

Lap 27: Stroll makes his first pitstop from fourth, where he’s been running just ahead of team-mate Perez. He gets out in eighth, now on mediums, just ahead of the train behind Magnussen that includes Albon and Sainz.

Edd Straw: “While Stroll has stopped, Perez has been asked to give it all he’s got for a couple more laps.”

Lap 28: Ocon passes Magnussen for ninth, with both yet to pit. Albon and Sainz, who have pitted, quickly follow – Albon around the outside of the Haas at Turn 3. Magnussen then pits and falls to 19th.

Lap 29: Soft-shod Sainz overtakes hard-shod Albon at the first corner.

Scott Mitchell: “Albon’s been mugged by Sainz and his race is looking quite compromised. He’s been dealt a really rubbish hand by Red Bull here, brought in while in tyre management mode and dropped back out in traffic – on the unfancied hard. That seems pointless.”

Lap 29: Perez makes his pitstop but doesn’t just stay behind Stroll, he loses out to Sainz as he rejoins too – with the McLaren passing Ocon in the process. Perez slots in between the McLaren and Renault.

Edd Straw: “By leaving Perez out a lap too long, Racing Point has cost him a place.”

Lap 29: Ferrari also brings both its cars in, Leclerc going from softs to mediums and Vettel in the other direction. They rejoin 12th and 14th.

Lap 30: Perez quickly passes Sainz.

Lap 32: Perez has rapidly caught Stroll and is trying to pass his team-mate for fifth. They’re both closing on Ricciardo, who’s fourth thanks to not pitting yet.

Lap 33: Albon overtakes the yet-to-stop Ocon for eighth, with Gasly doing likewise soon after. Just behind Norris is having to work very hard to resist Leclerc and Kvyat.

Scott Mitchell: “Good move from Albon, he caught Ocon late on the run to Turn 1 and made a decisive pass around the outside. That’s been coming for a few laps. He’s up against it to the end, running a net seventh now. This’ll be a good test of him.”

Lap 34: Ocon finally pits, falling right back to 18th as he takes on softs. His team-mate Ricciardo, also yet to stop, has lost fourth to Stroll.

Scott Mitchell: “That’s a bit poor from Ocon – waited a while to let Verstappen past after rejoining from the pits. Flashing blue lights through Turn 3 then solid blues through 4 and 5, after which he finally moved aside.”

Lap 35: Ricciardo pits from fifth place and drops to 13th behind Vettel.

Lap 35 order: 1 Hamilton; 2 Verstappen +5.5s; 3 Bottas +7.5s; 4 Stroll +55.7s; 5 Perez +58.0s; 6 Sainz +59.1s; 7 Albon +1m02.7s; 8 Gasly +1m04.1s; 9 Norris +1m05.5s; 10 Leclerc +1m07.6s

Lap 38: Leclerc spins at the final chicane as his engine cuts out. The car restarts and he rejoins a distant last.

Lap 39: Hamilton among the drivers reporting dark clouds over the circuit, but in the meantime he’s extended his lead to 9.5s.

Lap 39: Albon pits to get rid of his hard tyres and take mediums. He rejoins 11th.

Scott Mitchell: “Albon had just reported his tyres were ‘dead’ and had come under pressure from Gasly behind. I’m not sure Red Bull planned another stint but this is how it’s shaken out after a poorly timed first stop.”

Lap 41: Verstappen is the first of the leaders to make a second pitstop, rejoining on more mediums in third as Bottas moves up to second.

Lap 42: Sainz pits from sixth, rejoining just ahead of Albon in 10th having taking mediums. He resists some assertive passing attempts from the Red Bull.

Scott Mitchell: “Oof, that was close. Sainz rejoined from his second stop just ahead of Albon and rebuffed him through Turns 1, 2 and 3. Albon then tried to the outside of Turn 4 and got crowded out – which he called ‘fucking dangerous’.”

Lap 42: Bottas makes the most of Verstappen getting out of his way by setting a new fastest lap of 1m21.857s. He’s 12.2s behind Hamilton and now 19.3s ahead of Verstappen.

Lap 43: Stroll and Gasly both make their second pitstops. Stroll gets back out only just ahead of Sainz and Albon.

Edd Straw: “While Stroll has stopped, Perez in fourth place is going for a one-stopper. He’s warned that he will have some two-stoppers coming at him at the end of the race.”

Lap 44: Norris pits from a temporary fifth place. He drops to 11th, just behind Gasly.

Lap 45: Hamilton stretches his lead to 15s over Bottas with a new fastest lap. Bottas’s pace has dropped off and he now doesn’t have a pitstop cushion over Verstappen anymore – and he’s coming up to lap Verstappen’s team-mate Albon.

Scott Mitchell: “Red Bull’s making sure Albon doesn’t move out the way of Bottas any earlier than he needs to – telling him he’s fine on ‘flashing blues’ and will tell him when he’s got no choice but to let Verstappen’s rival go.”

Lap 45: Kvyat was briefly fifth having run long, but pits and drops to 12th. Vettel is now fifth but has only pitted once. He’s being caught by Stroll, Sainz, Albon, Gasly and Norris on their fresher tyres.

Lap 48: Hamilton laps fourth-placed Perez.

Lap 48: Bottas, who was 16.6s behind Hamilton, pits. He rejoins a hefty 7.3s behind second-placed Verstappen, but now with softs to run to the end. Hamilton now leads by 31.8s over Verstappen, though the Mercedes is likely to pit again.

Scott Mitchell: “A little unfortunate for Albon – he’d lost ground to Sainz by letting Bottas through to lap him, kept relatively close to try to benefit when Sainz had to do the same…then Bottas pits!”

Lap 50: Hamilton asks that he doesn’t get put on the softs at his stop, insisting on mediums. He now pits and rejoins 10.1s ahead of Verstappen and 17.0s ahead of Bottas.

Scott Mitchell: “I always enjoy it when a driver overrules their team – or at least, encourages it to consider an alternative choice! Hamilton does exactly that by saying emphatically he doesn’t want to be put onto the soft tyre.”

Lap 52: Hamilton slams in a new fastest lap of 1m20.274s – 1.3s faster than Verstappen on that lap – as he gets up to speed for his final stint.

Lap 53: Vettel agrees to give running to the end on his current tyres a go. He’s 5.3s behind fourth-placed Perez, who’s trying to do the same, and 3.2s ahead of Stroll – who’s steadily catching him.

Lap 54: Perez is given a 5s penalty for ignoring blue flags when Hamilton lapped him. He’s 5.3s ahead of Vettel.

Edd Straw: “Now that Perez has been given that penalty, Vettel has become his best friend. If Vettel can keep the group of two-stoppers behind it should protect Perez’s fourth position.”

Lap 56: Perez extends the gap to Vettel to over 7s, with Stroll now right behind the Ferrari.

Scott Mitchell: “Albon falling a lap behind Verstappen will no doubt trigger renewed criticism but let the record state it’s not truly reflective of his own job. He’s not where he needs to be performance-wise. But his race was made needlessly difficult by that strategy.”

Lap 57: Stroll passes Vettel into Turn 1 to take fifth and is now 5.7s behind the other Racing Point.

Lap 60: Sainz makes it past Vettel into Turn 1 to claim sixth.

Lap 61: Stroll is comfortably catching Perez by enough to move into fourth when his team-mate’s penalty is applied.

Edd Straw: “Good effort from Perez to keep Sainz more than five seconds behind and ensure he takes fifth. He’s now complaining about the penalty for ignoring blue flags on the basis of where Hamilton caught him.”

Lap 64: Grosjean has a half-spin at Turn 8 and falls down the order.

Lap 65: Bottas dives in for fresh mediums to try to salvage the fastest lap point, which he does successfully.

Lap 66: Mercedes surprises Hamilton by informing him that it’s the last lap and he’s won.

Lap 66: Vettel successfully holds off Albon, Gasly, Norris and Ricciardo to take seventh.

Scott Mitchell: “Albon’s initial response to that race is bafflement, saying there’s nothing more he can do with tyre management and he can’t go faster. I’d argue it’d help not spending a chunk of a stint tucked up behind a car you shouldn’t have been put behind by your team…”

Race Results