In the searing heat of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Lewis Hamilton toasted his victory in the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix with a fresh can of his signature 44 Monster Energy drink, following an edge of the seat battle with his title rival, Sebastian Vettel.
Working overtime in the cockpit of his Mercedes F1 W08 EQ Power+ Hamilton actually passed Vettel on lap 44 – his race and lucky number – and took the chequered flag 3.4 seconds clear of the German racer. Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium in third, a further 75 seconds adrift. The awesome result also now means Lewis now sits on 98 points – reducing the gap between himself and Vettel in the drivers’ championship to six points.
In the wake of the 66-lap Grand Prix, the three-time F1 World Champion took questions while enjoying his new signature drink in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport motorhome. Lewis told us: “It was the rawest fight that I can remember having in a long-time. I loved it, this is why I race. This is what made me get into racing in the first place. This is what the sport needs to be like every single weekend. To have a close battle like that with a four-time champion is awesome.
“Sebastian was incredibly close; incredibly fast. The team did a great job with the strategy and the pit stops. It has been a really good weekend, being able to bounce back from Russia is a great thing. I lost out on the start and had to watch Sebastian fly by. He was so fast out in front and it was such a push to keep in touch with him and not let him pull away. I was able to manage my tyres in the first stint and keep relatively close, then it was tricky to keep up on the Medium tyre and then after the second stop. We came out so close together which was super tight into Turn 1. He didn’t give me much space, it was close! I thought Seb would get me at the end of the final stint but I was able to do it. I have to congratulate my team today, with the strategy and the pit stops, as well as everyone back at the factory that has worked so hard to deliver these upgrades, enabling us to be so close in this fight with Ferrari.”
While Lewis was celebrating his win, there was disappointment for his team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, who suffered a power unit failure while running third with only 27 laps to go. But already, the Finnish ace had played a key role in helping Lewis make up time in his fight with Vettel after making a slow start off the line. Valtteri said: “It’s been a tough weekend. We had problems straight from practice, when we had to swap to the old engine on Saturday morning. Then we had an engine failure in the race.
“At least we got more points than Ferrari today in spite of the retirement. Lewis was on a different strategy while I was running long. We tried to execute a one-stop, which is why I was lapping slower at that point. It could have been a rewarding strategy but with the Virtual Safety Car the guys in front had a free pit stop. We should have both been on the podium. It’s always disappointing when you don’t finish but we’ll pick ourselves up and move on.”
Stay tuned for the glittering Monaco Grand Prix in two weeks time, as the Silver Arrows take to the famous Monte Carlo streets in pursuit of more championship points and silverware. Full results from the Spanish Grand Prix are available,
Credit:Monster