Te weather looks good today, the sky is clear. The cars are arriving on the grid as we pass the 20-minute mark before the start of this race. Unlikely we will see rain today but wind will be worth keeping track of, due to the way it can cut across the track, especially at Sector Three.
Vettel tells his team “something seems wrong” with his Red Bull on his way round the circuit. He mentioned something about his front left locking up, and mentions how it is similar to an issue suffered in Turkey several seasons ago. His weekend is going from bad to worse.
Stephane Richelmi’s name may be almost unknown beyond the GP2 paddock, but this weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya, the Monagasque’s Mecachrome-powered DAMS ‘outqualified’ F1 stars Max Chilton, Jules Bianchi, Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi.
Hamilton won by just 0.6s after seeing his lead narrow lap after lap in the final stint as Rosberg’s alternative strategy nearly paid off. The race had been a dull affair for the first 58 laps, but came alive in the closing stages as a number of different strategies panned out ahead of the finish.
Daniel Ricciardo finished third to take the first podium of his career after being disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix at the start of the year. His position never looked in doubt once he passed Valtteri Bottas for position in the first round of pits stops, while Sebastian Vettel proved that Red Bull were the best of the rest by hauling his RB10 from 15th on the grid to fourth at the finish.
Here the final results:
Note – Vergne qualified P16, drops 10 grid spots, unsafe release in FP2. Vettel qualified P10, drops 5, gearbox change. Maldonado failed to set a Q1 time, races at stewards’ discretion