Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won in Spain for the fourth year in a row on Sunday to celebrate a record 156th podium finish and stretch his already commanding lead to 37 points.

The victory from pole position on a sweltering afternoon at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, in a race without spectators due to the pandemic, was the 88th of the Mercedes driver’s career, and one of the more straightforward.

The six-times champion lapped all but the top three in a race that offered few thrills other than for fans of tyre management.

“I was in a different zone — I didn’t even realise it was the last lap,” said Hamilton, who described the race as one of his best in terms of how he drove.

“I was just in a daze out there...I was ready to keep going,” he added, speaking of how he felt completely at one with the car.

Hamilton is now just three wins short of Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s unmatched 91, and the podium ended another of the German’s records that he had shared with the Briton since last Sunday at Silverstone.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Hamilton’s closest challenger after six races and winner a week ago of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, finished runner-up but a massive 24.177 seconds behind.

Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes, having taken the fastest lap after a late stop for fresh tyres, in another big setback for the Finn.

Verstappen has now beaten Bottas in the last four races and been second to Hamilton in three of them. Hamilton has 132 points to Verstappen’s 95, with Bottas falling further behind on 89.

“The weakness for Valtteri today was the start. He caught up to Max but he couldn’t overtake as the soft tyres didn’t work as expected,” commented Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

<h3>WARNING FLAGS</h3>

Verstappen had lined up third on the grid but grabbed second at the start as Bottas was squeezed on both sides and dropped to fourth, taking back third place four laps later.

Canadian Lance Stroll took fourth place for Racing Point with Mexican team mate Sergio Perez ahead of him at the finish, on a one-stop strategy, but with a five-second penalty for ignoring blue warning flags.

Stroll had seized third at the start with an impressive surge past his team mate, who was returning from two weeks in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.

“I saw a gap on the inside went for it, and it really set me up,” said the Canadian, whose team were again protested by Renault afterwards as at the previous four races. Stewards applied a reprimand, as before.

Racing Point have already been docked 15 points and fined 400,000 euros for a breach of the sporting regulations with a car that is a close copy of last year’s Mercedes but Renault are appealing for a heavier punishment.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz was sixth for McLaren and Sebastian Vettel seventh for Ferrari, after doing close to 40 laps on one set of soft tyres, with Red Bull’s Alexander Albon eighth for Red Bull.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was ninth and Lando Norris took the final point for McLaren.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the sole retirement of the afternoon, having spun off after an engine cut-out due to an electrical problem, possibly caused by a kerb.

The Monegasque got the car started again but headed straight to the pits and retired from last place.

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won in Spain for the fourth year in a row on Sunday to celebrate a record 156th podium finish and stretch his already commanding lead to 37 points.

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won in Spain for the fourth year in a row on Sunday to celebrate a record 156th podium finish and stretch his already commanding lead to 37 points. The victory from pole position on a sweltering afternoon at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, in a race without spectators due to the pandemic, was the 88th of the Mercedes driver’s career, and one of the more straightforward. The six-times champion lapped all but the top three in a race that offered few thrills other than for fans of tyre management. “I was in a different zone — I didn’t even realise it was the last lap,” said Hamilton, who described the race as one of his best in terms of how he drove. “I was just in a daze out there...I was ready to keep going,” he added, speaking of how he felt completely at one with the car. Hamilton is now just three wins short of Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s unmatched 91, and the podium ended another of the German’s records that he had shared with the Briton since last Sunday at Silverstone. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Hamilton’s closest challenger after six races and winner a week ago of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, finished runner-up but a massive 24.177 seconds behind. Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes, having taken the fastest lap after a late stop for fresh tyres, in another big setback for the Finn. Verstappen has now beaten Bottas in the last four races and been second to Hamilton in three of them. Hamilton has 132 points to Verstappen’s 95, with Bottas falling further behind on 89. “The weakness for Valtteri today was the start. He caught up to Max but he couldn’t overtake as the soft tyres didn’t work as expected,” commented Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. WARNING FLAGS Verstappen had lined up third on the grid but grabbed second at the start as Bottas was squeezed on both sides and dropped to fourth, taking back third place four laps later. Canadian Lance Stroll took fourth place for Racing Point with Mexican team mate Sergio Perez ahead of him at the finish, on a one-stop strategy, but with a five-second penalty for ignoring blue warning flags. Stroll had seized third at the start with an impressive surge past his team mate, who was returning from two weeks in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19. “I saw a gap on the inside went for it, and it really set me up,” said the Canadian, whose team were again protested by Renault afterwards as at the previous four races. Stewards applied a reprimand, as before. Racing Point have already been docked 15 points and fined 400,000 euros for a breach of the sporting regulations with a car that is a close copy of last year’s Mercedes but Renault are appealing for a heavier punishment. Spaniard Carlos Sainz was sixth for McLaren and Sebastian Vettel seventh for Ferrari, after doing close to 40 laps on one set of soft tyres, with Red Bull’s Alexander Albon eighth for Red Bull. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was ninth and Lando Norris took the final point for McLaren. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the sole retirement of the afternoon, having spun off after an engine cut-out due to an electrical problem, possibly caused by a kerb. The Monegasque got the car started again but headed straight to the pits and retired from last place.

Dazed Hamilton takes dominant win in the Spanish heat

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/search?q=Lewis+Hamilton">Lewis Hamilton</a> beat Valtteri Bottas in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday to replace his team-mate as world championship leader as Mercedes' extended their record start to the season with a fifth 1-2 finish.

The defending five-time world champion seized the initiative at the start in Barcelona and led from lights to flag with a consummate demonstration of his speed and race-craft at the Circuit de Catalunya.

It was his third win this year, the 76th of his career and his fourth in Spain following victories in 2014, 2017 and 2018. &nbsp;

Responding to being outpaced by Bottas in qualifying, Hamilton came home 4.074 seconds ahead of the Finn who was second ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Pierre Gasly was a solid sixth in the second Red Bull ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas, home hero Carlos Sainz of McLaren, Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso and Romain Grosjean in the second Haas.

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A first <a href="https://twitter.com/DHL_Motorsports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHL_Motorsports</a> Fastest Lap Award of the season for <a href="https://twitter.com/LewisHamilton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LewisHamilton</a> ⏱️ 
 
And a valuable bonus point for him in the title race 🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpanishGP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SpanishGP</a> 🇪🇸 <a href="https://t.co/ojtyIRoIBL">pic.twitter.com/ojtyIRoIBL</a>
— Formula 1 (@F1) <a href="https://twitter.com/F1/status/1127600146374635526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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It was the 16th time that Hamilton won a Grand Prix after leading every lap of the race.

Hamilton’s triumph hoisted him back to the top of the standings with 112 points, including one for fastest lap, ahead of Bottas on 105

"I have to put it down to this incredible team,” said Hamilton. “This is history in the making to have five 1-2’s. I am very proud of that!

"It's definitely been a bit of a hard first four races. Naturally we have a great car, but we don't always get along. I'm grateful in the race that we managed to settle our differences.”

Bottas said: “I lost it there, at the start. The clutch was strange – bite and release, bite and release. I’ve never had that before.”&nbsp;

Lewis Hamilton beat Valtteri Bottas in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday to replace his team-mate as world championship leader as Mercedes' extended their record start to the season with a fifth 1-2 finish.

Lewis Hamilton beat Valtteri Bottas in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday to replace his team-mate as world championship leader as Mercedes' extended their record start to the season with a fifth 1-2 finish. The defending five-time world champion seized the initiative at the start in Barcelona and led from lights to flag with a consummate demonstration of his speed and race-craft at the Circuit de Catalunya. It was his third win this year, the 76th of his career and his fourth in Spain following victories in 2014, 2017 and 2018. Responding to being outpaced by Bottas in qualifying, Hamilton came home 4.074 seconds ahead of the Finn who was second ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. Pierre Gasly was a solid sixth in the second Red Bull ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas, home hero Carlos Sainz of McLaren, Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso and Romain Grosjean in the second Haas. A first @DHL_Motorsports Fastest Lap Award of the season for @LewisHamilton ⏱️ And a valuable bonus point for him in the title race 🏆#F1 #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/ojtyIRoIBL — Formula 1 (@F1) May 12, 2019 × It was the 16th time that Hamilton won a Grand Prix after leading every lap of the race. Hamilton’s triumph hoisted him back to the top of the standings with 112 points, including one for fastest lap, ahead of Bottas on 105 "I have to put it down to this incredible team,” said Hamilton. “This is history in the making to have five 1-2’s. I am very proud of that! "It's definitely been a bit of a hard first four races. Naturally we have a great car, but we don't always get along. I'm grateful in the race that we managed to settle our differences.” Bottas said: “I lost it there, at the start. The clutch was strange – bite and release, bite and release. I’ve never had that before.”

Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish Grand Prix, takes championship lead

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Dazed Hamilton takes dominant win in the Spanish heat

Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish Grand Prix, takes championship lead