Hamilton extends championship lead

Barcelona, May 13: Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the world championship to 17 points on Sunday when he roared to an imperious victory as Mercedes scored a one-two triumph at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The defending four-time world champion dominated from start to finish, save for a spell during the mid-race pit-stops, and clocked a series of record laps as he registered his second successive win.

It was the 64th victory of his career — only Michael Schumacher on 91 has more — and came from his 74th pole.

He joined seven-time champion Schumacher and two-time champion Mika Hakkinen as a threetime winner in Spain.

“That’s more like it guys, great job,” said Hamilton on team radio.

“Today I felt that synergy with the car that I have not felt all year so now we have to do it again.”

Valtteri Bottas came home second in the second Mercedes ahead of Max Verstappen who resisted late pressure from Vettel, who led Hamilton by 17 points after the opening three races this year.

The German, who made a good start, was second until he took an ill-judged second pit-stop, under Virtual Safety Car conditions, midway through the race, dropping two places.

Bottas said: “Of course, I wanted to fight for the win, but this is a good result for the team.”

— AFP