The race was decided at the lights out: statements from the top 3 in Barcelona!

Lewis Hamilton retakes the lead in the championship.

Starting again from second position at Montmelo, Hamilton succeeded where he had failed in Baku. This time, the five-time world champion had a good start to put pressure on Valtteri Bottas at the first corner. A brilliant maneuver that allowed him to switch to management mode for the remainder of the race.

When asked after the race if his perceived kindness in Baku taught him a lesson in Barcelona, Lewis Hamilton responded negatively. “Today, we had a solid race… No, the Baku episode didn’t influence my decision, but I knew I had to make the overtaking move in the first lap as it is so difficult to gain positions on this track.”

Bottas betrayed by his car at the start?

The Finn hoped to widen his gap over his garage neighbor in the championship. Valtteri Bottas ultimately leaves Catalunya in second place, with a 7-point deficit to his teammate. After a spectacular start in Melbourne, Bottas just can’t seem to get off the line from pole position anymore, having once again lost out at the start.

When asked about the reason for his poor start, Bottas suspects a problem with his car, which prevented him from maximizing his chances at the start. « I feel that the car didn’t allow me to accelerate fully without experiencing vibrations…with the team, we will look into this start to understand what happened».

And even if Bottas had trouble hiding his disappointment, he says he’s happy with the team’s result this weekend. « My effort in qualifying was nullified at the start… but I don’t want to be too selfish, this result is good for the team. »

A dramatic start to the #SpanishGP, as @LewisHamilton muscles his way to the front

It got VERY tight down there 👀 😯#F1 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/vtTvBUUHcW

— Formula 1 (@F1) 12 mai 2019

Verstappen claims that the Red Bulls will have to be reckoned with.

He did not expect to finish on the podium, but Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull is making serious progress! During the race, we had almost the same pace as Ferrari… we can be proud of these advancements, but Mercedes remains the benchmark and there is still a long way to go. The Red Bull driver, clear-eyed, admits that Mercedes was out of reach this weekend.

The Dutchman is already turning his attention to the next race and has high hopes for the Monaco stage, where he wants to redeem himself after his disastrous weekend last season. Monaco, along with Mexico and Singapore, are the best circuits for Red Bull,… I hope to have a strong race in Monaco given the performance delivered by our team last year.

From our special correspondent in Barcelona (Montmelo)