A look at what Lewis Hamilton’s comfortable Spanish GP win means for the title fight and why Sebastian Vettel was justifiably frustrated with Ferrari’s strange radio messages.
The Spanish Grand Prix looked set to be a genuine fight between Mercedes and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, but it turned into another routine Lewis Hamilton victory. „Bring on the heat!“ That was Toto Wolff’s message to rival team boss Christian Horner when they met under the podium following the Spanish Grand Prix. Above them, Lewis Hamilton stood victorious on the top step, fresh from a crushing 24-second victory over Max Verstappen in the intense heat of the Spanish summer. Less than 24 hours earlier, Wolff had told journalists he was convinced the hot conditions would play into Red Bull’s hands over a race distance. Red Bull had looked quicker than Mercedes on heavy fuel on Friday and it fitted the narrative from the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix that the W11 has a genuine weakness in the heat. But 16 laps in to the race, it was clear Verstappen’s pace was no match for Hamilton’s. The lead Mercedes continued to pull away as Verstappen became increasingly preoccupied with the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in his mirrors and the state of the tyres on his Red Bull. Midway through the race, Verstappen had to remind his pit wall to focus on his race rather than that of Hamilton’s, extinguishing any hope of a fight back in the final third of the race. In truth, Mercedes was cruising. Something that became clear on Lap 63 when both Mercedes cars lapped two seconds faster than Verstappen as they fought over the fastest lap point. Credit should go to Red Bull for splitting the two Mercedes with an inferior car, but if anything that underlined the chasm in performance between Hamilton and Bottas this year.
