Nico Rosberg has spent most of the past year coughing from the exhaust of his teammate Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. Even his second place finishes have left him feeling frustrated despite the points he has racked up. Rosberg needed a win, badly.
The Spanish Grand Prix seemed like his best bet in the days leading up to the race. Rosberg led in two of the three practice sessions and scored his first pole position of the season. Of course, that was no guarantee for a win, considering that Rosberg nabbed 11 poles in 19 races in 2014 and only converted three into victories. (His other two wins came when he did not have the pole.)
This time, however, Rosberg had another edge. Hamilton had been very busy in the weeks between Bahrain and Spain, constantly flying back and forth across the Atlantic, making appearances at social events such as the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and the Met Gala. Hamilton's hectic night life may have thrown him off his game.
Rosberg capitalized immediately, shooting forward and solidifying his place in front of the pack. Hamilton got off to a slow start and was passed by Sebastian Vettel for second place. The Toro Rosso drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen, had qualified a surprising fifth and sixth respectively, but quickly fell when passed by veteran Kimi Raikkonen in the opening seconds of the race. Just two laps later, Felipe Massa, who ran wide on the first turn of Lap 1 and had been complaining of vibrations from the front right wheel, easily got by Sainz, and would slip past Verstappen on the next lap. With Pastor Maldonado's pass on Sainz on Lap 5, Toro Rosso's phenomenal positions had dissipated.
Up front, Nico Rosberg was pulling away from the rest of the drivers, having built a six and a half second lead over Vettel after just nine laps. Vettel was also increasing the gap between him and Hamilton, who was complaining to his team that he couldn't get close enough to Vettel while still protecting his tires. Despite the fact that the Catalunya track is known for severe tire degradation, Hamilton's team called for "hammer time," which is Lewis Hamilton-speak for "give it all you've got." Even with a mistake from Vettel, running just wide on Turn 12 of the 13th lap, Hamilton still couldn't catch up, and came into the pits on the next lap. It seemed like an eternity before the Brit was back on the track, his pit taking 5.3 seconds due to error on the left rear tire. By the time he was out again, he had fallen to 7th place. Vettel meanwhile, boxed on the next lap, and his phenomenal pit time of 2.3 seconds meant he only dropped to fourth place. The field was reshuffled during the next few laps, when the other drivers came in for a new set of tires, so that by Lap 18, the order was back to Rosberg, Vettel, Hamilton.
For the next fifteen laps, Hamilton chased Vettel, always right behind, but never close enough to get by. After these intense laps, Hamilton's tires were torn up, and he had to come in for a new set. He emerged into 5th place behind Bottas and Raikkonen, but easily sped past the Ferrari and Williams, although he remained 20 seconds behind Vettel. The average pit lane time at this point in the race was about 22 seconds, but Hamilton whittled Vettel's lead to 10 seconds, making Vettel's unbelievable pit time of 2.2 seconds irrelevant. Hamilton even briefly gained first place, but Rosberg patiently waited for his opportunity. His team told him to maintain 2 second gap between the cars and preserve his tires, expecting Hamilton to have to run on a 3-stop strategy.
This tactic worked brilliantly and after Hamilton pitted Rosberg cruised to an easy and much-needed victory. Hamilton, however, held off the four-time World Champion Vettel, who felt he was unfairly blocked by lesser drivers whom he was lapping. Caught up in the traffic of cars, he screamed over his radio for blue flags but to no avail.
Meanwhile, the most dramatic battle was for fourth place where Williams driver Valteri Bottas held off the faster Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. Superb pit stops of 2.9 and 2.5 seconds definitely helped him maintain his lead over Raikkonen, who took a bit longer in the pits. On Lap 60 however, the increasingly desperate Raikkonen was right on Bottas' tail, but a costly mistake at Turn 16—running wide, kicking up turf, and almost losing control—meant The Ice Man could not improve upon his fifth place position. Raikkonen began complaining of an issue with grip in his front tires two laps later, and would finish behind Bottas.
The rest of the Spanish Grand Prix was relatively drama-free but there were a few quirky moments. Fernando Alonso was heartbroken when a brake problem at Lap 27 sent his McLaren-Honda skidding wide, demolishing all hopes of a points-earning finish at his home race. Worse, when Alonso came into the pit stops at the end of the lap, his brakes locked up again, and in a flurry of smoke, he drifted right through the middle of his pit crew, coming to rest about ten feet away. His pit team raced after him, and began to push the car back towards their tools, but the brake calipers overheated and the car was soon engulfed in smoke. Unfortunately Alonso was forced to retire for the second time this season.
The Spanish Grand Prix seemed like his best bet in the days leading up to the race. Rosberg led in two of the three practice sessions and scored his first pole position of the season. Of course, that was no guarantee for a win, considering that Rosberg nabbed 11 poles in 19 races in 2014 and only converted three into victories. (His other two wins came when he did not have the pole.)
This time, however, Rosberg had another edge. Hamilton had been very busy in the weeks between Bahrain and Spain, constantly flying back and forth across the Atlantic, making appearances at social events such as the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and the Met Gala. Hamilton's hectic night life may have thrown him off his game.
Rosberg capitalized immediately, shooting forward and solidifying his place in front of the pack. Hamilton got off to a slow start and was passed by Sebastian Vettel for second place. The Toro Rosso drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen, had qualified a surprising fifth and sixth respectively, but quickly fell when passed by veteran Kimi Raikkonen in the opening seconds of the race. Just two laps later, Felipe Massa, who ran wide on the first turn of Lap 1 and had been complaining of vibrations from the front right wheel, easily got by Sainz, and would slip past Verstappen on the next lap. With Pastor Maldonado's pass on Sainz on Lap 5, Toro Rosso's phenomenal positions had dissipated.
Up front, Nico Rosberg was pulling away from the rest of the drivers, having built a six and a half second lead over Vettel after just nine laps. Vettel was also increasing the gap between him and Hamilton, who was complaining to his team that he couldn't get close enough to Vettel while still protecting his tires. Despite the fact that the Catalunya track is known for severe tire degradation, Hamilton's team called for "hammer time," which is Lewis Hamilton-speak for "give it all you've got." Even with a mistake from Vettel, running just wide on Turn 12 of the 13th lap, Hamilton still couldn't catch up, and came into the pits on the next lap. It seemed like an eternity before the Brit was back on the track, his pit taking 5.3 seconds due to error on the left rear tire. By the time he was out again, he had fallen to 7th place. Vettel meanwhile, boxed on the next lap, and his phenomenal pit time of 2.3 seconds meant he only dropped to fourth place. The field was reshuffled during the next few laps, when the other drivers came in for a new set of tires, so that by Lap 18, the order was back to Rosberg, Vettel, Hamilton.
For the next fifteen laps, Hamilton chased Vettel, always right behind, but never close enough to get by. After these intense laps, Hamilton's tires were torn up, and he had to come in for a new set. He emerged into 5th place behind Bottas and Raikkonen, but easily sped past the Ferrari and Williams, although he remained 20 seconds behind Vettel. The average pit lane time at this point in the race was about 22 seconds, but Hamilton whittled Vettel's lead to 10 seconds, making Vettel's unbelievable pit time of 2.2 seconds irrelevant. Hamilton even briefly gained first place, but Rosberg patiently waited for his opportunity. His team told him to maintain 2 second gap between the cars and preserve his tires, expecting Hamilton to have to run on a 3-stop strategy.
This tactic worked brilliantly and after Hamilton pitted Rosberg cruised to an easy and much-needed victory. Hamilton, however, held off the four-time World Champion Vettel, who felt he was unfairly blocked by lesser drivers whom he was lapping. Caught up in the traffic of cars, he screamed over his radio for blue flags but to no avail.
Meanwhile, the most dramatic battle was for fourth place where Williams driver Valteri Bottas held off the faster Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. Superb pit stops of 2.9 and 2.5 seconds definitely helped him maintain his lead over Raikkonen, who took a bit longer in the pits. On Lap 60 however, the increasingly desperate Raikkonen was right on Bottas' tail, but a costly mistake at Turn 16—running wide, kicking up turf, and almost losing control—meant The Ice Man could not improve upon his fifth place position. Raikkonen began complaining of an issue with grip in his front tires two laps later, and would finish behind Bottas.
The rest of the Spanish Grand Prix was relatively drama-free but there were a few quirky moments. Fernando Alonso was heartbroken when a brake problem at Lap 27 sent his McLaren-Honda skidding wide, demolishing all hopes of a points-earning finish at his home race. Worse, when Alonso came into the pit stops at the end of the lap, his brakes locked up again, and in a flurry of smoke, he drifted right through the middle of his pit crew, coming to rest about ten feet away. His pit team raced after him, and began to push the car back towards their tools, but the brake calipers overheated and the car was soon engulfed in smoke. Unfortunately Alonso was forced to retire for the second time this season.
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean also brought some excitement to the pits. During his second pit stop of the race, Grosjean didn't stop soon enough, plowing into his front jackman, and launching him through the air. Remarkably, the crewman was still able to lift up the front of car enough so the tires could be changed. A few minutes later, he was shown clutching a ice pack to his crotch, as his fellow pit crew members laughed. While not a pleasant experience for the mechanic, this was a memorable moment in a relatively humdrum race.
Of course, there is no such thing as a Grand Prix where something strange doesn't happen to Pastor Maldonado. On Lap 9 of the race, the lower section of Maldonado's rear wing had collapsed inward, but Lotus decided they would not attempt to change it at his next stop, because that is a very long procedure. Seven laps later, he pitted, and while stopped one of the crew members grabbed onto the section of the wing, and with all his might, tore it off. Maybe Lotus should have taken the time to replace Maldonado's wing, because he ended up having to retire on Lap 48.
Like in Bahrain, where Daniel Ricciardo's engine blew right before the finish line, there was some last lap entertainment. In a desperate battle for 10th, and the final points available at the Spanish Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat collided with Carlos Sainz Jr as he was trying to pass around the outside. Luckily, Kvyat was able to pull his car away quickly, preventing any serious damage. Sainz would end up in 9th, with Kvyat taking 10th position.
Of course, the main focus of the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg's win, his first of the season. The phenomenal race propelled him 11 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel and just 20 points behind Lewis Hamilton. If he can continue winning, than 2015 should be an interesting battle between the two Mercedes and Vettel's Ferrari.
Of course, the main focus of the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg's win, his first of the season. The phenomenal race propelled him 11 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel and just 20 points behind Lewis Hamilton. If he can continue winning, than 2015 should be an interesting battle between the two Mercedes and Vettel's Ferrari.
