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Formula 1
Spanish GP
2015 Spanish Grand Prix Sunday - Spanish Grand Prix
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Both Mercedes drivers are lighting up the timing screens now. Rosberg, you'd imagine, is just making sure that Hamilton doesn't get a sniff at a challenge late on.
EDD STRAW: "Raikkonen is chipping away at Bottas in the fourth place battle. He's 4.9s behind and took over eight-tenths out of the Williams driver last time round."
But on the next lap, Raikkonen is back up to speed and takes 0.8s off fourth-placed Bottas. The gap is 4.9s with 14 laps left.
EDD STRAW: "Sensible strategy from Mercedes. It has a clear pace advantage over Ferrari and made good use of it strategically with Hamilton."
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"We're losing a lot of time in traffic," says an irritated Vettel. "I know they're doing their own race, but still..."
In further underwhelming news for Ferrari, Bottas is now inching away from Raikkonen in fourth place.
Hamilton is 20s behind Rosberg on lap 53/66.
Set to go home empty-handed:
11 Sainz
12 Nasr
13 Perez
14 Ericsson
15 Hulkenberg
16 Button
17 Stevens
18 Merhi
Out: Maldonado, Alonso
11 Sainz
12 Nasr
13 Perez
14 Ericsson
15 Hulkenberg
16 Button
17 Stevens
18 Merhi
Out: Maldonado, Alonso
Currently heading for points:
1 Rosberg
2 Hamilton
3 Vettel
4 Bottas
5 Raikkonen
6 Massa
7 Ricciardo
8 Grosjean
9 Kvyat
10 Verstappen
1 Rosberg
2 Hamilton
3 Vettel
4 Bottas
5 Raikkonen
6 Massa
7 Ricciardo
8 Grosjean
9 Kvyat
10 Verstappen
No sweat - Hamilton makes it to Turn 1 clear of Vettel, on fresher (and softer) tyres.
Although Grosjean passed Kvyat with an aggressive move not long ago, the Red Bull is still right with the Lotus for eighth.
It's a much quicker stop this time - 2.6s for Hamilton.
That releases Rosberg back into a comfortable lead with 14 laps to go.
Here comes Hamilton, who locks up into the chicane and pits.
Raikkonen chips 0.3s from Bottas's advantage. That leaves them 5.5s apart with 16 laps left.
Given how much fresher Hamilton's tyres are going to be after his stop, even if he comes out behind Vettel it won't be for long.
Hulkenberg makes his last stop from 13th place. That will drop him behind Perez and Ericsson.
Hamilton's pace has now slipped into the 1m31s, but he's still out-pacing Vettel and is now 23.2s ahead of the Ferrari.
Rosberg 0.7s faster than Hamilton on that lap, as the race leader's pace falls off after that rapid 1m29s on the previous tour.
Top five:
1 Hamilton (1 more stop to make)
2 Rosberg +2.2s
3 Vettel +22.7s
4 Bottas +34.0s
5 Raikkonen +39.8s
1 Hamilton (1 more stop to make)
2 Rosberg +2.2s
3 Vettel +22.7s
4 Bottas +34.0s
5 Raikkonen +39.8s
A smaller gain from Raikkonen that time, he was only 0.7s faster than Bottas.
Vettel loses another 0.6s to Hamilton, so he's 21.7s behind the Mercedes now.
Rosberg, understandably, isn't bothering to get involved in trading blows with Hamilton out front. He's 0.3s slower, but he knows he'll be handed back the lead when Hamilton comes in.
Raikkonen is rapidly gaining on Bottas. The Ferrari was 1.2s quicker than the Williams last time through and the fourth-to-fifth gap is 7s.
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Mercedes is confident it has Vettel covered: "We're pushing Vettel out of the pit window, just a few more seconds should do it," they tell Hamilton.
Hamilton is giving it everything at the moment - his hard-shod Mercedes bucking around underneath him as he hustles it through the final sector.
Sainz has passed Hulkenberg for 11th but team-mate Verstappen looks clear in 10th place now.
Massa now makes his final pitstop. He'll easily hold sixth ahead of Ricciardo.
Vettel is now +20.1s to Hamilton. At this rate, we're on course for a Mercedes 1-2.
Maldonado pulls into the Lotus garage. He charged up to seventh, he hung on with a collapsing rear wing, made some ground back, but now he's out of yet another race.
Raikkonen breezes past Massa for fifth down the outside into Turn 1. Bottas is 8s ahead and there are 20 laps left.
Another cracking lap from Hamilton, who is back in the 1m29s, and he pushes Vettel back to +18.6s.
Maldonado is told to retire the Lotus after his combative afternoon.
Now on the mediums, Raikkonen is right on hard-shod Massa's tail for fifth.
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"Lewis is on a different strategy and has one more stop to make," Mercedes reassures Rosberg.
Ericsson makes his final pitstop. He'd got up to eighth as others came in.
Rosberg settles in 2.8s behind Hamilton on track. So the gap (and pace) to watch now is Hamilton back to Vettel. It was 16s at the end of the previous lap, with Vettel going to the end and Hamilton having to stop again.
Button makes his final pitstop. No hope of points for McLaren today unless there's madness ahead in the last stint.
Hamilton breezes by as Rosberg comes off the pit limiter.
2.8s stop for Rosberg - that's more like it from Mercedes.
By: Matt Beer, Lawrence Barretto, Edd Straw, Glenn Freeman, Alex Kalinauckas
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