Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won a tense high-speed F1 duel in the Spanish Grand Prix held at the Circuit de Catalunya (Barcelona ) on Sunday.
This was the fourth victory of the year for the Renault RS27 engine-powered Red Bull Racing’s Vettel. He beat McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton in a hectic race to the chequered flag, with the two separated by just a handful of seconds from start to finish.
Such was their pace that with 20 laps still to go they had already lapped everybody up to sixth place with just 1.5 seconds between them. After their final stops, they emerged less than two seconds apart with 16 laps remaining.
The McLaren driver, who like Vettel stopped four times, set fastest lap using the new Pirelli PZero Silver hard tyre to challenge his Red Bull rival all the way to the flag, ending the 307.104-kilometre race only 0.6s behind. The duo battled with less than a car length between them for the last 10 laps, providing one of the most memorable finishes to a grand prix this season as they carved through the traffic together.
At exactly the same time, there was an equally close fight for the final podium place between their team mates Jenson Button and Mark Webber. Button eventually claimed third thanks to a three-stop race strategy.
The 4.655km Spanish track demands driveability and responsiveness from engines, particularly through the flowing bends on the back section. The long pit straight, however, demands acceleration and power, which Sebastian used to great effect to secure his second consecutive victory and make it four out of five wins this season.
Red Bull Racing-Renault therefore retains the lead of the drivers and constructors’ titles, with Vettel extending his advantage over Lewis Hamilton.
