After taking his 100th pole on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton started the race with Red Bull's Max Verstappen next to him. Starting on the back foot, Hamilton lost the race lead on Lap 1. Verstappen led the majority of the race, keeping his Mercedes rival outside DRS range. Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is known for being a hard track to overtake on. By taking the lead in turn 1 Max Verstappen and RedBull had the upper hand.
Pitting on lap 24/66, Verstappen committed to a one-stop strategy. In a smart and strategic move, Mercedes and Hamilton switched to a two-stop strategy. In a very Ferrari-esq fashion, a confused RedBull didn't cover Mercedes' pitstop. This effectively gifted Mercedes and Hamilton with the win.
On fresher tyres, the 7-time world champion had a huge task ahead of him. To reclaim the lead he had to close a 22-second gap in roughly 24 laps. Losing some time to his teammate Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton soon caught up to Verstappen. The silver arrow swooped past the RedBull on lap 60/66.
The last few laps of the race were similar to the 2019 Hungarian GP where Hamilton gained the advantage with a two-stop strategy. "I was really conflicted, like, do I come in or do ignore the call and stay out? The team asked and naturally, that’s because there’s a great trust between us, but it’s a remarkable job by everyone in this team, through and through. What a day!” said Hamilton.
Verstappen eventually pitted for fresher tyres and took the extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race. As the championship battle heats up, 14 points separate the two drivers. At this point, the championship could be anyone's.
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