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Spanish F1 Grand Prix 2018 Results: Lewis Hamilton Dominant in Victory

Rory Marsden

Lewis Hamilton extended his lead at the top of the world championship standings to 17 points as he eased to victory in the 2018 Formula One Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Mercedes driver dominated proceedings at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, finishing over 20 seconds ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who took second.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen completed the podium despite suffering front-wing damage two-thirds of the way through the race, while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel had to settle for fourth.

Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire from second place on Lap 27 in the other Ferrari due to a loss of power.

Here's a look at the result in full, per Formula 1:

         

Hamilton Serene from Start to Finish

It was one of those days when the defending world champion was simply too good for the rest of the field.

Hamilton got half the job done by securing pole on Saturday and, while there was plenty of action behind him at the start on Sunday, the Englishman had no problem holding onto first place.

When the safety car went in on Lap 7, he then streaked away from Vettel in second, setting multiple lap records, and was able to take his only pit stop eight laps later than the German with no concerns of being leapfrogged.

Per Gracenote Live, it was a record-breaking victory for the 33-year-old:

         

2-Stop Strategy Unsuccessful for Vettel

Vettel managed to take second place from Bottas at Turn 1 on the opening lap and just held on to the position in the first round of pit stops.

He had less success, though, when Ferrari opted to bring him in again under the virtual safety car on Lap 42.

Looking to get fresher tyres on for the fight to the finish Vettel actually ended up losing two places after a slow stop.

He fell behind both Bottas and Verstappen and was never able to get back in range despite his newer tyres.

Vettel has now had to settle for a disappointing fourth place in two successive races and has lost signficant ground in the championship battle with Hamilton.

                  

Grosjean Causes Opening-Lap Mayhem

At the front of the race, Vettel's move on Bottas from the start line was the key move, but the main first-lap action took place behind the front-runners.

Romain Grosjean, who started 10th on the grid, made a mistake at Turn 3 and spun across the track, smoke billowing from his tyres.

Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly were caught up in the chaos and could do nothing to avoid the Frenchman's careening car.

Both collided with the Haas and were forced out of the race, while the safety car was deployed as the debris was cleared.

          

What's Next?

All eyes now turn to Monaco for arguably the most iconic of the season's races on May 27.

Vettel was triumphant at the Monaco Grand Prix last year and will be desperate to prevail again as he looks to close the gap to Hamilton in the championship standings. 

   

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