Spanish Grand Prix – Key Moments

The disillusionment in the last kilometers

In 2001, Mika Hakkinen approached the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in the best possible way by securing an impressive pole position.

After a very difficult start to the season, the three-time champion McLaren driver in the Spanish round hopes to regain ground in his battle against Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari for the world title.

He dominates the race from start to finish, and even extends his lead over the red baron to 40 seconds at the beginning of the last lap.

Alas, after a few turns in this final lap, his car slows down. With a comfortable lead, he still could have won. Unfortunately, his clutch disintegrates in a cloud of smoke, signaling his retirement just 3km from the checkered flag.

The Finn is nevertheless ranked 9th, just behind his future replacement in 2002: Kimi Räikkönen.

First victory of a Venezuelan in 2012.

The beginning of the 2012 season was completely crazy. It notably saw seven different winners in as many races. The Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth race.

If Lewis Hamilton at the wheel of his McLaren performs a masterful lap to secure the pole position, he was downgraded at the end of the session. Indeed, the English driver was penalized for stopping on the track during his in-lap to the pits. This maneuver was surely done so that the McLaren could pass the minimum fuel level check successfully.

Thus, Pastor Maldonado, author of a brilliant second place, starts at the front of the pack for the race, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen, who has just returned to F1 with Lotus after years spent trying to tame the WRC. This marks his first pole position.

In the race, he managed to turn his pole position into a victory by resisting the immense pressure from Fernando Alonso, and later from Kimi Räikkönen towards the end of the race. Despite being overtaken by his Spanish rival right from the start, Pastor Maldonado succeeded in reclaiming the lead shortly before halfway through the race thanks to a very good pit stop, or a missed pit stop by Ferrari. He held onto this leading position until the checkered flag.

A double Mercedes retirement, synonymous with victory for Max Verstappen.

In 2016, Mercedes dominates the world of F1 as much as it did in 2014 and 2015. The advantage that the German team has taken in the design of the new hybrid engine is so significant that the other engine manufacturers – Ferrari, Renault, and Honda – cannot compete.

This is how the rivalry between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton intensifies. The German has just been defeated two years in a row by his English rival, Lewis Hamilton, and is determined to take his revenge this year.

In Spain, for the fifth round of the season, it is no surprise that the two silver arrows once again monopolize the front row, with Hamilton ahead of Rosberg.

But it is also Max Verstappen’s first race for Red Bull. He has just been transferred from Toro Rosso to Red Bull following another accident involving Daniil Kvyat. A seat swap within the Red Bull team that has given wings to the career of the young Dutch prodigy.

Indeed, from the third corner, the two Mercedes collide. Rosberg, wanting to protect his leading position, takes Hamilton inside the corner without leaving any space for the English driver. The latter understands it too late and cannot avoid the collision, which results in both of them retiring from the race.

It didn’t take much more for Max Verstappen to attempt an unconventional strategy that proved to be very effective.

Indeed, on the 44th lap Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, respective leaders at Ferrari and Red Bull, decide to switch to a three-stop strategy.

On their part, Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen decide to finish the race with their current tires, and despite the multiple overtaking attempts made by the Ferrari driver, it is Max Verstappen who emerges victorious for the first time in his career. Not without being criticized by the tifosi, who deem his defense at times very rough and dangerous.

He thus becomes the first Dutch driver to win a race at the age of 18 years and 7 months. What is even more astonishing is that he battled against Kimi Räikkönen, who is almost twice his age and had already fought against Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, early in his career!