It was back to business for Mercedes at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton put in a dominant performance to claim victory. Hamilton did have to break into a sweat, primarily caused by the hot temperatures and high downforce loads modern Grand Prix cars generate. But other than that Hamilton marched to victory by a big margin over second-placed Max Verstappen and an even bigger margin over his teammate Valtteri Bottas. Bottas dropped to fourth after making a poor start on the first lap, the Fin soon got back to third but could not trouble the Red Bull ahead of him despite having the superior car.

Despite switching tyre strategies Bottas was soundly beaten by Verstappen. Today was a day for Bottas to take the fight to Hamilton. Dropping down the order after a bad start happens to the very best. With the superior car, statistically speaking, Bottas should have had an easy time of getting back second. But there is a gulf in class between the drivers ahead of him. Bottas is a fast driver, a fine and capable driver but the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix demonstrated that he must raise his game further to beat Hamilton let alone Max Verstappen.

Towards the end of the 66 lap race, with signs fading for second place, Bottas pitted for a fresh set of tyres to set the fastest lap of the race, thereby securing 1 extra point. However, he lies third in the championship, 43 points behind Hamilton. While there is almost nothing between Bottas and Hamilton for one-lap qualifying pace, it is during the race where the differences emerge.

Nevertheless, Mercedes did not experience the tyre issues that hampered their race at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Tyre supplier Pirelli bought a harder compound which better suited the Mercedes. Hamilton was cautious during 10 laps into the race, thereafter he expertly exploited the superiority afforded to him by his Mercedes. He lapped all but Verstappen and Bottas.

With six races remaining on the current pandemic affected 2020 F1 season, and on this form, Hamilton looks likely to be heading for title number 7.

2020 Spanish Grand Prix: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Note – Bottas scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Perez and Kvyat each received a 5-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags. The classification is subject to appeals lodged with the International Court of Appeal, relating to Racing Point’s use of brake ducts, the development of which was found to be in contravention of the Sporting Regulations.