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Formula 1 Spanish GP

Spanish Grand Prix race day

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Though he couldn't hold the charging Perez back, Stroll looks like he's got the measure of Ericsson for 12th after a few laps of pressure. Then it's Hartley and a very distant Sirotkin completing the field.
Leclerc's priority is now to resist Perez for ninth. Perez is 5.8s behind but on relatively new softs to Leclerc's mediums and closing in.
This is getting very spread out in the midfield: Magnussen, in his brilliant sixth place, is 22.7s clear of Sainz behind, with Alonso another 8s back and now 5s clear of Leclerc.
Stopwatch
Hamilton sets a new fastest lap - into the 1m19s now and 15s clear of Bottas.
Radio Comms
Mercedes warns Bottas of "possible debris on the pit straight". Clearly keen to absolutely ensure no repeat of the final laps in Baku!
Radio Comms
"I've lost drive," reports Vandoorne as he parks from what had been a low-key 13th place.
Crash
Vandoorne is running slowly and looks like he's retiring.
That damage will probably make Verstappen more vulnerable to attack from Vettel later on.
Radio Comms
Verstappen is concerned about his front wing. Red Bull says he's got endplate damage from hitting Stroll's Williams under the VSC but that the wing is "structurally" OK.
Crash
A bit of a bizarre sort-of-spin for Sirotkin on the restart lap, he lost it on acceleration and slewed one way then the other across the straight. He pits to change tyres and rejoins even more emphatically last.
The VSC period is over. Mercedes one-two now with Hamilton leading Bottas by 14.5s.
Perez pitted to switch from mediums to softs during that VSC. He's rejoined behind Stroll and is quickly overtaking him again to retake 10th.
A slow stop for Vettel cost him an extra place to Verstappen.
Alonso pounces on Leclerc at the post-VSC restart and grabs eighth, then resists Leclerc's retaliation attempt.
Scott Mitchell
Ferrari must have been very, very confident Vettel's tyres weren't going to last. That's given track position to Bottas and Verstappen, and the field won't close up like under a normal safety car.

Given we heard Mercedes warn Bottas that one-stopping Red Bulls were a threat, the top two teams seem uncertain about tyre longevity. But if that's the case, why hasn't Mercedes reacted like Ferrari?
Information
Order under VSC: 1 Hamilton; 2 Bottas; 3 Verstappen; 4 Vettel; 5 Ricciardo; 6 Magnussen; 7 Sainz; 8 Leclerc; 9 Alonso; 10 Stroll; 11 Ericsson; 12 Perez; 13 Vandoorne; 14 Hartley; 15 Sirotkin
Vettel is back out on fresh mediums, but drops to fourth, behind Bottas and Verstappen.
Pit stop
Vettel takes advantage of a virtual safety car period for Ocon's stoppage to make a second stop.
A replay suggests that was a rare Mercedes engine failure for Ocon, who was an unhappy 15th after his slow pitstop. "No power, no power," he reported. "I have smoke in the back."
Yellow flag
Ocon's stranded Force India prompts a virtual safety car.
Ricciardo has dropped off and is now 9.4s down on Verstappen in fifth, though has just done his best lap of the race to almost match his team-mate's pace.
Crash
Ocon has stopped.
Hamilton has extended his lead over Vettel to over 12s. Verstappen is matching the leader's pace and trying to catch back up to Bottas.
As predicted, Sainz is quickly pulling away from Leclerc - who is now under absolutely massive pressure from Alonso for eighth. Perez is 5s behind and catching them both.
Radio Comms
Bottas reports that "for the moment it's pretty consistent" as Mercedes asks him for feedback on trying to make it to the finish without stopping again.
After his pitstop delay, Ocon has passed Sirotkin for 15th and is now trying to catch Hartley - who has made a second pitstop - for 14th. There's a 4s gap between them.
Ericsson managed to jump Vandoorne in that pit sequence, they're not 12th and 13th.
Just 2.1s covers Sainz, Leclerc and Alonso, but expect the Renault to sneak away now they're not all trapped behind Ericsson.
Ferrari confirming that Raikkonen's car is officially out of the race following efforts to revive it.
Pit stop
Ericsson finally stops, which frees up Sainz, Leclerc and Alonso in seventh to ninth.
The Red Bulls have 16-17 laps of tyre advantage on Vettel, 14-15 on Bottas, and 9-10 on Hamilton. The question now is if the top three can make it to the end without stopping again.

By: Geoff Creighton

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