{"id":7475,"date":"2021-05-09T19:13:36","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T19:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/?p=7475"},"modified":"2021-05-09T19:13:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-09T19:13:36","slug":"lewis-hamilton-wins-spanish-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/lewis-hamilton-wins-spanish-grand-prix","title":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lewis Hamilton poses with his trophy after winning the 2021 Spanish GP on Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.<\/p><\/div>\n

After earning his 100th career pole position in Formula 1, the Spanish Grand Prix proved to be a little more than Lewis Hamilton anticipated. While Hamilton started at the front grid position, it wasn\u2019t long before he saw the backend of Max Verstappen after his rival too the inside line going into the first corner and quickly overtook him to take the lead.<\/p>\n

The move gave Verstappen the chance to distance himself from Lewis and remain out front as the two duelled for the lead. However, the superior one pit stop race strategy employed by Mercedes paid off and ultimately led to fresher tires in the final laps giving Hamilton the edge he needed to retake the lead and earn the win.<\/p>\n

\u201cRed Bull got a great start. I was hunting\u2026It was a long way to come back from, 20-odd seconds back. But it was a good gamble.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sunday’s win was Hamilton’s 98th, and it also was another career highlight that saw the Brit tying Michael Schumacher’s record of six Spanish Grand Prix<\/a> victories. The win also put Hamilton 14 points ahead of Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.<\/p>\n

When the lights went green, Verstappen managed to jump out ahead of Hamilton as they sped into the first corner, and it was enough to give him the inside line as they went in side-by-side before Hamilton had to back off and unwavering Verstappen.<\/p>\n

However, Mercedes opted for a two stop strategy, as did Red Bull went with two, and that proved fatal when on lap 25, Verstappen had to stop for fresh tires three laps sooner than Hamilton, giving them the advantage of fresher tired in the closing laps.<\/p>\n

While initially, Mercedes had planned on a one-stop strategy, Red Bull’s performance had the team switch to a two-stop strategy bringing in Hamilton on lap 28 for fresh tires. When he re-entered the race, Hamilton was advised he was behind by 20 seconds, a feat not easily overcome.<\/p>\n

Red Bull has seen a substantial improvement in engine performance in the last two seasons, and with the construction of a new facility dedicated to engine development and production, Red Bull are poised to uncrown Mercedes in 2023<\/p>\n

Sky Sports F1<\/strong><\/p>\n