Another dominant win for Hamilton gives him a 27-point lead in the championship, but it wasn’t all good for teammate Rosberg who finished 3rd after a late attack from Raikkonen. Vettel damaged his front wing which meant he had to pit again and this left him in 5th.
Leading from the start, Hamilton had complete control over the race. Rosberg lost a place to Raikkonen on the first corner and was under pressure from both Ferraris throughout the grand prix. Vettel was running in 3rd when he went off track and damaged his front wing. This ruined his chances of finishing on the podium and he finished 5th, behind Bottas.
Raikkonen went on a different strategy than the other front runners, opting for the medium compound in his second stint. In the end this paid off and he overtook Rosberg for second in the closing stages of the race.
Jenson Button didn’t start the race due to technical issues with his car. Another driver who as in trouble at the start was Massa, who failed to start on the formation lap, meaning he had to start in the pits. He fought through the field and made it to 10th despite damage on the car caused by a collision with Pastor Maldonado.
Ricciardo’s race ended dramatically, with his engine exploding as he crossed the line. He was classified 6th, followed by Grosjean and Perez. His teammate Kvyat finished in 8th.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton P1, Nico Rosberg P3
A brilliant drive from Hamilton saw him lead almost every lap of the grand prix. He pulled out a good lead in the opening laps but pitted 2 laps after Vettel, meaning his lead had vanished when he left the pits. He gradually rebuilt his lead, completely in control of the race. Rosberg lost a place in the opening lap and was fighting with the Ferraris for most of the race. He passed Raikkonen on lap four and then went on to take Vettel a few laps later. But, when he pitted, he found himself behind Vettel again, this happened at the second pit stop too. But Vettel made a mistake, allowing Rosberg to overtake. Later in the race, Rosberg came under threat from Raikkonen, who was lapping 2 seconds faster than him. Eventually, he was overtaken after his brakes failed and he finished 3rd.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen P2, Sebastian Vettel P5
With Kimi Raikkonen finishing in second, Ferrari were very pleased. But, for Vettel, the result wasn’t so good. He finished fifth after having to pit again due to damage to the front wing. He came out behind Bottas and was unable to overtake to finish 4th. But overall, they got a strong result this weekend once again proving that they have the pace to challenge Mercedes
Williams
Valtteri Bottas P4, Felipe Massa P10
There was trouble for Williams on the formation lap as Massa failed to start the car. This meant that he had to start in the pit lane. His car was damaged after contact with Pastor Maldonado, meaning he didn’t have as much downforce. After fighting through the pack, he finished in 10th. Bottas had a strong race, managing to defend from Vettel in the closing stages of the race to hold on to fourth position.
Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo P6, Daniil Kvyat P9
Starting in 17th, Kvyat did very well to finish in ninth. Daniel Ricciardo drove a good race, too, despite his engine blowing up as he crossed the finish line. He finshed in 6th which meant the team scored strong points this weekend to overtake Sauber in the constructors championship.
Toro Rosso
Max Verstappen DNF, Carlos Sainz DNF
A very disappointing race for Toro Rosso saw both drivers retire. Sainz had an issue with one of the wheels being loose and was forced to pull in having completed 29 laps.
Sauber
Felipe Nasr P12, Marcus Ericsson P14
A poor race for Sauber saw neither driver finish in the points. Ericsson could have finished in the points, but a long pit stop meant his race was ruined. A loss of power at one point meant that Nasr, who had been fighting with Massa and Maldonado, lost a lot of time.
Force India
Sergio Perez P8, Nico Hulkenberg P13
Sergio Perez picked up 4 points after an 8th place finish, followed by Kvyat and Massa. He managed his tyres well and made the two-stop strategy work for him which allowed him to finish in a strong place. For Hulkenberg, however, the race didn’t go so well. He says:
“We didn’t seem to be able to find the same level of grip we had in qualifying and that made it really hard in the car. We were in a few battles, but we just couldn’t get the right edge, which is a shame. We seemed to be struggling to preserve the tyres compared to the cars around us and this cost us positions.”
McLaren
Fernando Alonso P11, Jenson Button – did not start
A strong race by Alonso saw him finish just one place from the points. Alonso was pleased with the result saying:
“It was important to finish the race and get some laps done. We have an important three weeks ahead to increase the performance and reliability. But to finish the race more less competitively is the best news of the day.”
However, for his teammate, Jenson Button, the whole weekend was tough. Button was unable to run in qualifying due to an electrical problem. Having fixed this issue, a new issue occurred so unfortunately he was unable to start the grand prix.
Lotus
Romain Grosjean P7, Pastor Maldonado P15
Once again, Grosjean had a strong race finishing in the points this means he is 9th overall. Maldonado will be glad to have finished the race, as this is is first finish all season. He suffered some damage on the car after a collision early on with Massa and this may have had an impact on the balance of the car.
Manor
Will Stevens P16, Roberto Merhi P17
Stevens had a strong race, finishing over 40 seconds ahead of team mate Merhi. The team, once again, saw both cars finish which is a positive result for the team.
See full race results here.