Hamilton wins 4th straight race at Spanish Grand Prix
RB’s Ricciardo finishes third
MONTMELO, Spain, May 11, (AP): Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg sped away to their fourth straight one-two finish at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday in a dominant performance that does not bode well for the rest of the Formula One field.
Hamilton took off from pole position and stayed ahead of Rosberg — despite the German closing to less than a second in a tense final lap — to record a fourth consecutive victory and move ahead of his teammate in the overall standings.
Hamilton’s 100 points after five races put him three points ahead of Rosberg, who failed to find a way in front of his main rival for a fourth straight time after winning the season opener.
His 26th career win puts Hamilton one ahead of former world champions Niki Lauda, who now works for Mercedes, and Jim Clark. Hamilton put himself on pace to add to his own title from 2008. He hadn’t led the championship since June 2012 after winning the Canadian GP with McLaren.
“This is our fourth one-two, it’s just unreal,” Hamilton said after Rosberg helped douse him in champagne to celebrate his first victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.
“Getting my first win here after trying for eight years, it is difficult to put into words my feeling. I have never had a car like this. I have never had a gap like this. I am grateful I was able to keep (Rosberg) behind me.”
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished third for his first career podium after coming close on three occasions this year.
Four-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel had a flawless drive to move up from a 15th-place start to finish fourth, with his Red Bull finally not having any problems following two days of it stalling in practice and qualifying.
Valtteri Bottas of Williams crossed fifth, followed by struggling Ferrari pair Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in sixth and seventh.
Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and Force India duo Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the points.
Not even a three-week break for their rivals to improve their cars prevented Mercedes from earning its fifth win in as many events this year in a disheartening display for the other 10 teams. Ricciardo ended up more than 48 seconds slower than Rosberg.
Mercedes increased its lead in the constructors championship race to 197 points. Red Bull was left in second with 84 points, with Ferrari trailing in third with 66.
After executing a clean start, the Silver Arrows focused on protecting