Spain – Race: Nico Rosberg lands his first blow

Known to all, the Spanish Grand Prix is the traditional opening Grand Prix of the European season. As has been the case since the beginning of the weekend, magnificent weather prevails at the Circuit de Catalunya. Perfectly sunny skies, 25 degrees in the air and 44 degrees on the track.

On the strategy side, the choice is between two or three pit stops: the leading teams, Mercedes and Ferrari, seem to be opting for two stops over the 66 laps planned.

The questions are many as the drivers get into their single-seaters: Will Nico Rosberg continue his momentum since the beginning of this weekend? Will Lewis Hamilton take all risks to regain the lead? Will Sebastian Vettel be able to challenge the supremacy of the Silver Arrows? Will the two Toro Rosso drivers confirm their brilliant qualifications? Will the McLaren-Honda team score its first points of the season?

At 2:04 PM, the five red lights go out for the start of the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix! Rosberg springs perfectly from his position, Lewis Hamilton gets boxed in at the center of the track, Sebastian Vettel slips through and takes 2nd place. A bit further, Carlos Sainz Junior and Kimi Räikkönen go head-to-head in the Repsol Curve, the Finn takes the advantage. Overall, a calm start with no major incidents to report.

At the end of the First Lap, Nico Rosberg is in the lead ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, and Bottas. Räikkönen takes 5th position from Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz is 7th ahead of Massa. The two Lotus cars have gained positions, Grosjean 9th ahead of Maldonado, 10th. Ricciardo is 11th, ahead of Fernando Alonso.

The Toro Rosso cars fall back in the standings at the start of the race. Felipe Massa overtakes Max Verstappen at the end of the start/finish straight. Carlos Sainz loses his duel against Pastor Maldonado. Romain Grosjean made a mistake in the first sector and is now in 11th place. A difficult situation for Jenson Button, who has dropped to 18th place.

After five laps, the standings are as follows: Rosberg ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Räikkönen, Massa, Verstappen, Maldonado, Ricciardo, and Sainz.

The Lotuses are very aggressive at the start of the race: Romain Grosjean passes Carlos Sainz Junior and moves into the points in 10th place. Leading the Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg takes the opportunity to gradually improve his times: he has more than a five-second lead over Vettel. Hamilton’s engineer advises him to change strategy to get rid of Vettel.

At the 10th lap, Rosberg sets the fastest lap at 1:31.567. First pit stop with Nico Hülkenberg. Lewis Hamilton is close behind Vettel’s Ferrari, but the Prancing Horse car is rapid on the straight: the English driver can’t pass the German. The race engineer at Mercedes encourages his protégé over the radio.

The World Champion makes a pit stop for his first stop on Lap 14. The stop is slower than expected, and he rejoins just behind Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus: however, he doesn’t lose much time as he passes the Venezuelan in turn 5. As a result, Vettel covers Hamilton’s strategy by also pitting: the stop is flawless here with a 2.3-second stop. He easily rejoins in front.

Nico Rosberg puts on new tires in his turn: he temporarily leaves the lead to Kimi Räikkönen, who is the only driver among the frontrunners not to have stopped. Will he try to make one less stop?

Surprising image with Maldonado’s stop: after losing part of his rear wing in a contact with Romain Grosjean, the Lotus team decides to leave the wing in that condition!

Kimi Räikkönen finally returns to the pits on Lap 19: he stands out by choosing hard tires for his second stint.

The first wave of tire changes among the leading drivers has passed, and the Top 10 at Lap 20 is as follows: Nico Rosberg has reclaimed 1st place, leading by nearly 6 seconds: (in order) Vettel Hamilton, Bottas, Räikkönen, Massa, Alonso, and Pérez (these two drivers have not stopped yet). Ricciardo and Grosjean are 9th and 10th.

Lewis Hamilton is clearly on the offensive and is appearing in Vettel’s rearview mirrors, risking damaging his Pirelli tires. Far removed from these concerns, Fernando Alonso leaves the Top 10 on the 22nd lap by changing his tires for the first time.

Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat are now 9th and 10th. Strong defense from the young Dutchman on the 23rd lap, who makes a big steering move on the straight to defend. The Russian from Red Bull still gets through.

Carlos Sainz remains the top Spaniard in the rankings, closely trailing his teammate. Major brake issues for Fernando Alonso, who misses several apexes: he returns to the pits and unfortunately has to retire. A huge disappointment for the 2005 and 2006 World Champion, who remains with zero points this season.

At the 30th Lap, the hierarchy at the front remains unchanged: Nico Rosberg holds an eight and a half second lead over Vettel, who is still perfectly containing Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas is still 4th ahead of Kimi Räikkönen on his alternate strategy. Felipe Massa is 6th in front of Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean, a solid 8th. Daniil Kvyat is in 9th place ahead of Max Verstappen.

Pit stop for Lewis Hamilton on lap 33 of this Spanish Grand Prix: he switches to hard tires. Felipe Massa follows suit. The Mercedes driver comes back with determination, setting a new fastest lap record at 1:29.910: he quickly overtakes Kimi Räikkönen, who had moved ahead during Hamilton’s stop. The question for the Englishman now is whether his hard tires can last until the end of the Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel remains on track.

Ferrari seems to opt for a two-stop strategy while Hamilton is heading towards three stops. He relentlessly closes in on Valtteri Bottas whom he passes on the 39th lap, with the Finn not even trying to defend his position.

On the 40th Lap, the two changes to note are Lewis Hamilton gaining two positions and Daniil Kyvat making a second pit stop, with Ericsson’s Sauber provisionally moving into the points. At the end of this lap, Sebastian Vettel puts on hard tires and rejoins in 4th place ahead of his teammate but behind Valtteri Bottas. Romain Grosjean, for his part, missed his pit spot by braking too late. His second pit stop is thus disrupted, costing him precious seconds. He rejoins behind Kyvat’s Red Bull but passes the Russian in the sequence of the 1st and 2nd corners.

The wave of second pit stops is in full swing: it’s Bottas’s turn to pit.

In a very calm race so far, Nico Rosberg makes his second stop on the 46th lap. He comes out behind Lewis Hamilton: the Englishman takes the lead but will not keep it after pitting for the third time. Equipped with soft tires, Kimi Räikkönen closes in on Felipe Massa: he moves up to fifth position. Over at Lotus, it’s retirement for Pastor Maldonado: it’s already the fourth retirement in five races for the South American driver, who won here in Montmelo in 2012.

At the 50th lap, Lewis Hamilton holds a very provisional first position as he leads Nico Rosberg. Sebastian Vettel is currently on the podium. He is ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kyvat, and Max Verstappen. Carlos Sainz Junior is just outside the points while Jenson Button’s surviving McLaren-Honda occupies an anonymous 16th place.

At the end of this lap, Hamilton takes his last pit stop, a winning gamble: he comes out ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Equipped with new soft tires, the three-stop strategy proves effective, Ferrari is set to lose its match against Mercedes.

On the 54th lap, Hamilton is now on the attack: he’s putting up fast times. Nico Rosberg, with his 19-second lead, seems confident but a slight doubt creeps in. Lewis Hamilton still believes in his chances of success; he’s being reasoned with by his engineer over the radio. At Ferrari, Kimi Räikkönen is also closing in on his teammate but there’s still Bottas, who is in 4th position in between.

At the 60th Lap, the Mercedes team is on its way to a new double victory: the main battle is for fourth place in the duel of the Finns. Räikkönen is unable to be threatening enough to pass Bottas. There’s also a Lotus-Red Bull battle for the gain of 8th place, with Grosjean facing Kyvat.

The two Toro Rosso drivers, however, explain themselves for the Top 10. Verstappen makes a small mistake before the main straight: Sainz takes advantage to pass in the 64th lap. The Spanish driver tries to satisfy the crowd by attacking continuously: he catches up with Daniil Kvyat. The local hero puts on a show and forcefully passes the Red Bull driver, put under pressure by the sister team!

In the lead, Nico Rosberg crosses the finish line as the winner of the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix! He claims victory in Catalonia for the first time and opens his count for the season. Lewis Hamilton will likely be disappointed with his second place today. However, he limits the damage by staying ahead of Vettel’s Ferrari, which resisted for a long time before giving way.

Behind this winning trio, a great performance by Valtteri Bottas who finishes ahead of a Ferrari, as in Sakhir. Kimi Räikkönen in 5th place certainly pays for a poor Qualifying session. In this Top 10, we find drivers who have become familiar this season: Felipe Massa in the second Williams leads Ricciardo and Grosjean, who finishes in the points for the third consecutive time. Carlos Sainz will be pleased with a strong end to the race that saw him climb to 9th place ahead of Daniil Kyvat, who scores the point for 10th place.

Sauber drivers fall in line with 12th and 14th place. Force India isn’t much better represented with 13th and 15th place for Pérez and Hülkenberg.

Jenson Button brings his McLaren-Honda to a very modest 16th place. With Alonso’s retirement, McLaren-Honda’s Sunday will not be remembered. He only finishes ahead of the two Manors of Stevens and Merhi, both of whom saw the checkered flag. Pastor Maldonado and Fernando Alonso did not have this privilege, retiring during the Grand Prix.