2018 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2018 Spanish Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018) is a Formula One motor race that was held on 13 May 2018 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. The race was the 5th round of the 2018 Formula One World Championship and marked the 48th running of the Spanish Grand Prix as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in 1950, and the 28th time that a World Championship round had been held at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.

2018 Spanish Grand Prix
Race 5 of 21 in the 2018 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Race details[1]
Date 13 May 2018 (2018-05-13)
Official name Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018
Location Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Montmeló, Spain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.655 km (2.892 mi)
Distance 66 laps, 307.104 km (190.825 mi)
Weather Partially cloudy and dry, 16°C and cold.
Pole position
Driver
Mercedes
Time 1:16.173
Fastest lap
Driver Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Time 1:18.441 on lap 61
Podium
First
Mercedes
Second
Mercedes
Third
Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the round with a 4-point lead over Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led Mercedes by 4 points.

Report

Circuit changes

Over the winter of 2017–18, modifications were made to the circuit. A new runoff area was installed at turn 12, resulting in the relocation of a grandstand from the entry of turn 12 to the entry of turn 13. Additionally, the track was resurfaced, which saw the Formula One cars break the track record in February testing. These changes were made primarily in response to the demands of MotoGP riders, who expressed their concern over the lack of grip present on the old surface, which had been in place since 2004. Another reason for the improvements was the death of Moto2 rider Luis Salom, who sustained fatal injuries in a crash at turn 12 during the motorcycle race in 2016.

Many Formula One drivers were critical of the new track surface despite the improved ride. Lewis Hamilton was especially critical, stating that the resurfacing was "a waste of money" and that the track had "lost its character" and "is no longer challenging".

Chassis updates

The race saw several teams, particularly Red Bull Racing and McLaren, introduce their first major chassis updates of the season.[2] Ferrari used the race to trial halo-mounted rear view mirrors. Sebastian Vettel claimed that the design improved visibility but Ferrari's approach was controversial because the mirrors incorporated additional fins, which led to accusations that Ferrari had used the pretense of improving visibility to introduce aerodynamic devices into an area of the car where aerodynamic aids are banned.[3] Following an investigation by race stewards, the practice of mounting mirrors with winglets on the halo was banned from the Monaco Grand Prix, with Ferrari permitted to continue using them in Spain because of the complexity and impracticality of converting the SF71H chassis back to its pre-Barcelona specification in time for the race.[4]

Penalties

In the week before the race, Williams filed an appeal against a grid penalty handed down to Sergey Sirotkin. Sirotkin had been penalised three grid places for causing avoidable accidents with Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hülkenberg on the opening lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Williams argued that the penalty was too severe compared to penalties awarded for other, similar incidents during the race and that although the contact had forced Sirotkin to retire, Pérez and Alonso were largely unaffected as both went on to score points. Hülkenberg had retired on lap 11 in a separate accident.[5] The appeal was rejected by the race stewards on the grounds that Williams had not provided any new evidence for review and that the ability of other drivers to continue racing did not offset Sirotkin's role in the incidents.[6]

Driver changes

Robert Kubica replaced Sergey Sirotkin at Williams during the first Free Practice session.[7] Kubica's participation marked his first appearance at a Grand Prix since the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and an injury sustained in a rally car accident in 2011 that came close to seeing his arm amputated.

Practice

Brendon Hartley crashed heavily in third practice (which resulted in his car's rear end snapping in two) and was unable to take part in qualifying, but was cleared to race.[8]

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton took pole position with a time of 1:16.173, a new track record. Valtteri Bottas completed the front row, giving Mercedes their first front row lockout of the season. McLaren made Q3 for the first time in 2018, with Fernando Alonso qualifying in P8. Nico Hulkenberg was out in Q1 after having a gearbox problem. In Q3, some of the top drivers set their laps on the soft tyre, rather than the supersoft, after finding it difficult to get the supersoft in their optimal operating window.

Race

The front runners got away well at the start, but at Turn 3, Romain Grosjean spun across the track, creating a smokescreen from his rear tyres and eliminating Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly in the process. This caused a safety car that remained out until Lap 6. On Lap 25, Kimi Raikkonen lost power in his car and retired with an engine issue. On Lap 40, Esteban Ocon retired with an engine problem in his Force India, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. Vettel pitted under the VSC, rejoining in P4 behind Max Verstappen behind whom he remained until the chequered flag. As this VSC ended, Max Verstappen collided with the rear of Lance Stroll's Williams, causing endplate damage to Verstappen's front wing. The front wing, however, was structurally intact, and so Verstappen did not need to pit. On Lap 47, Stoffel Vandoorne retired at the pit exit with mechanical issues. Hamilton won the race, having been a long way ahead of anyone the entire race, and leading home the first 1-2 of the season for Mercedes. Hamilton extended his championship lead to 17 points and Mercedes gained the lead of the constructors championship, leading Ferrari by 26 points.

Post-race

Romain Grosjean was given a 3 place grid penalty for the next race in Monaco, for his role in causing the first lap collision.

Classification

Qualifying
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.633 1:17.166 1:16.173 1
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.674 1:17.111 1:16.213 2
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:17.031 1:16.802 1:16.305 3
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:17.483 1:17.071 1:16.612 4
5 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:17.411 1:17.266 1:16.816 5
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:17.623 1:17.638 1:16.818 6
7 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:18.169 1:17.618 1:17.676 7
8 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 1:18.276 1:18.100 1:17.721 8
9 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 1:18.480 1:17.803 1:17.790 9
10 8 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:18.305 1:17.699 1:17.835 10
11 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 1:18.885 1:18.323 11
12 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:18.550 1:18.463 12
13 31 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 1:18.813 1:18.696 13
14 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 1:18.661 1:18.910 14
15 11 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 1:18.740 1:19.098 15
16 27 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:18.923 16
17 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.493 17
18 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 1:19.695 191
19 18 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 1:20.225 18
107% time: 1:22.423
— 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda No time 202
Source:[9]
Notes
  • ^1  – Sergey Sirotkin received a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision in the previous round.[6]
  • ^2  – Brendon Hartley failed to set a Q1 time within the 107% requirement and raced at the stewards' discretion. He also received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Race
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 66 1:35:29.972 1 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 66 +20.593 2 18
3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 66 +26.873 5 15
4 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 66 +27.584 3 12
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 66 +50.058 6 10
6 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 65 +1 lap 7 8
7 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 65 +1 lap 9 6
8 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 65 +1 lap 8 4
9 11 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 64 +2 laps 15 2
10 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 64 +2 laps 14 1
11 18 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 64 +2 laps 18
12 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 64 +2 laps 20
13 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 64 +2 laps 17
14 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 63 +3 laps 19
Ret 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 45 Gearbox 11
Ret 31 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 38 Oil Leak 13
Ret 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 25 Turbo 4
Ret 8 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 0 Spin/Collision 10
Ret 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 0 Collision 12
Ret 27 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 0 Collision 16
Source:[10]

Championship standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

References
  1. "Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Pirelli 2017". formula1.com. Formula One Administration. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  2. Somerfield, Matt; Straw, Edd (11 May 2018). "Formula 1: Details of new McLaren upgrade revealed at Spanish GP". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  3. Coch, Mat (12 May 2018). "Vettel: Halo-mounted mirrors improve visibility". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  4. Cooper, Adam (12 May 2018). "FIA tells Ferrari it can't run halo mirror winglets after Spanish GP". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  5. Coch, Mat (8 May 2018). "Williams seeks review of Sirotkin penalty". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  6. Coch, Mat (9 May 2018). "FIA rejects Williams penalty review". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  7. Coch, Mat (10 May 2018). "Kubica confirmed for Practice 1 drive in Spain". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  8. "Hartley sore but fit to race in Spain after FP3 smash". Formula1.com. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  9. "Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  10. "Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018 – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  11. "Spain 2018 – Championship". StatsF1. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
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2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
2018 season		 Next race:
2018 Monaco Grand Prix
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2017 Spanish Grand Prix		 Spanish Grand Prix Next race:
2019 Spanish Grand Prix
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