| 2021 Spanish Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 4 of 22[a] in the2021 Formula One World Championship
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 Layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 9 May 2021 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 AramcoGran Premio de España 2021 | ||||
| Location | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Montmeló,Catalonia, Spain | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.675 km (2.905 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 66 laps, 308.424 km (191.646 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Cloudy | ||||
| Attendance | 0[b] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:16.741 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda | |||
| Time | 1:18.149 on lap 62(lap record) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Red Bull Racing-Honda | ||||
| Third | Mercedes | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2021 Spanish Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de España 2021) was aFormula Onemotor race which took place on 9 May 2021 at theCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya inMontmeló,Spain. The race was the fourth round of the2021 Formula One World Championship. The race was won byMercedes driverLewis Hamilton frompole position ahead ofRed Bull'sMax Verstappen and Hamilton's teammateValtteri Bottas. The win allowed Hamilton to extend his Championship lead over Verstappen to 14 points.
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The race was the fourth round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship, the 61st edition of theSpanish Grand Prix, the 51st time it featured as a round of the World Championship, and the 31st time the Spanish Grand Prix took place at theCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This was the first Formula One race held on this layout of the circuit, with turn 10 having been remodelled from a tight hairpin into a faster curve, to improve safety for drivers.[4]
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.[5]Robert Kubica drove in the first practice session forAlfa Romeo Racing in place ofKimi Räikkönen,[6] whileRoy Nissany drove forWilliams, replacingGeorge Russell.[7] Tyre supplierPirelli brought theC1, C2 and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium and soft respectively) for teams to use at the event.[8] Heading into the race,Lewis Hamilton was leading the Drivers' Championship with 69 points, ahead ofMax Verstappen on 61 andLando Norris on 37. In the Constructors' Championship,Mercedes led on 101 points ahead ofRed Bull on 83 andMcLaren on 53.[9]
As usual, the event had three practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first practice session started at 11:30 local time (UTC+02:00) on 7 May and ended withValtteri Bottas fastest in hisMercedes ahead ofRed Bull driverMax Verstappen and Bottas' teammateLewis Hamilton;Nikita Mazepin and Kubica both briefly lost control in minor incidents.[10] The second practice session started at 15:00 local time and ended with Hamilton fastest ahead of Bottas andFerrari driverCharles Leclerc.[11] The third practice session, which started at 12:00 local time the following day, ended with Verstappen in top, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc.[12][13]
Qualifying started at 15:00 local time (UTC+02:00) on 8 May.[14] Lewis Hamilton set provisional pole position in his Q3 first flying lap. Hamilton was followed by Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. None of the three drivers were able to improve their times in their subsequent laps, and Hamilton earned his 100th pole position.[15]
The race started at 15:00 local time (UTC+02:00) and was held over 66 laps.[14]
Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the first corner. On lap 8, Tsunaoda's engine stopped, bringing out the safety car. Pitstops began with Giovinazzi, who had a really long stop after one of his mechanics realized that one of the tyres was deflated and therefore they needed to get a new full set of tyres. He was followed by the two Williams double stacking. The race resumed by lap 11 and Gasly received a 5-second penalty for stopping out of position on the grid at the start of the race.[20][21]
Gasly pitted on lap 19, serving his penalty and falling to last. And in lap 22, Vettel and Alonso triggered the pitstop window. Followed by Stroll, Sainz, Mazepin, Ocon, Norris, Schumacher, Bottas and Ricciardo in the following laps. Race leader Verstappen, pitted on lap 25 while Hamilton stayed out taking the lead. The stop was slow, and he came out behind his teammate Perez, who quickly let him pass and pitted in lap 28.[20][21]
Hamilton changed tyres in lap 29 -so did Leclerc- and came out 5 seconds behind Verstappen, which meant the overcut had not been effective. It also meant that Bottas was now third and both Mercedes began closing on Verstappen.[20][21]
By lap 43, after 10 laps within one second of Verstappen, Hamilton decided to pit again, committing to a two stop strategy, while Red Bull kept Verstappen out. Simultaneously, Perez finally overtook Ricciardo for fifth, and Leclerc was able to keep his position in fourth. Hamilton with better tyres, finally overtook Verstappen in lap 60, and since Bottas had already pitted again, Verstappen could get a free stop and push for the fastest lap.[20][21]
The top ten was rounded by Ricciardo, Sainz, Norris, Ocon and Gasly.[20][21]
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| Previous race: 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2021 season | Next race: 2021 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2020 Spanish Grand Prix | Spanish Grand Prix | Next race: 2022 Spanish Grand Prix |
