Nico Rosberg dominates the race in convincing style from the start and thus wins his first race this season. Sebastian Vettel remains dangerous and was able to secure second place in the meantime, but ultimately settles for third place on the podium again.
by B. Fleckenstein
At the first race of the season in Europe, the teams were not yet able to use their innovations with complete satisfaction. At Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel opted for the new version of the Ferrari. That meant new diffuser and side panels should give the Scuderia a new boost. Kimi Räikkönen decided to start with the "old" version. The Silver Arrows used the old clutch again for Rosberg and it seemed to work perfectly. The problem with the brakes also seemed to have faded and the associated memories of the last race, the Bahrain Grand Prix.
A well-mixed starting grid and a clever strategy promised excitement for the race
In addition to Nico Rosberg starting from pole, Sebastian Vettel also got off to a good start and was able to overtake Lewis Hamilton on the starting straight before the first corner and drove into second place. He made it clear that he still wants to fight for victory with the Silver Arrows. Räikkönen, the second Ferrari driver, also improved from seventh on the grid to fifth. By contrast, the Toro Rosos were the losers at the start. Carlos Sainz was unable to maintain his good starting position of fifth and lost three places within a short time. Pastor Maldonado and Lotus once again made a positive impression and were in seventh intermediate position on lap eight.
On lap twelve, Hamilton got into position to overtake Vettel, but then turned off for a pit stop. Ferrari then decided to initiate Vettel's pit stop one lap later. The stop time was 2.3 seconds and Vettel remained in second place with a 1.7-second lead over Hamilton, partly because Hamilton's pit stop with problems with the left rear wheel change played into the Scuderia's hands.
Sauber and Force India in midfield, Lotus and Red Bull in the points
Barcelona, with its long sweeping corners, makes it difficult for drivers to overtake, as you can't get too close to the driver in front of you because the air turbulence can disrupt and reduce downforce. This fact troubled the teams and they tried to counteract it with several strategy options. For example, Kimi Räikkönen switched to the hard tires for the first time on lap 18 in order to run a long stint. At Mercedes, Hamilton switched twice to the soft tires in order to get a grip on Vettel, who was running in second place. In fact, this was accomplished with a third pit stop and Hamilton ultimately drove in second place behind Rosberg again, at times with the idea of challenging his teammate for the win.
Pastor Maldonado had problems with his rear wing and had dropped back to 18th place, but teammate Romain Grosjean was seventh in the points. Sauber's drivers Nasr and Ericsson were running behind each other in 10th and 11th place at times, for example on lap 37, but were unable to stay in the points until the end. Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Perez on Force India moved around the midfield and battled with Sauber for the points. In fact, Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) was able to successfully finish his good grid position in the points with a ninth place. The Red Bulls also drove almost inconspicuously into the points and Williams close behind Ferrari was almost back on the podium with Valteri Bottas. Kimi Raikkonen could not do anything behind him even with new soft tires, not only because Bottas defended superbly, but also because overtaking is very difficult in Barcelona. The race ended with a start-finish victory for Nico Rosberg. The question now is, can he repeat last year's victory in Monaco?
Ranking GP Spain 2015
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1:41:12.555
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1:41:30.106
3 Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Ferrari 1:41:57.897
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams Martini Racing 1:42:11.772
5 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 1:42:12.557
6 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing 1:42:33.869
7 Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing 1:41:40.894
8 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team 1:42:10.553
9 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42:16.264
10 Daniil Kvyat Infiniti Red Bull Racing 1:42:17.749
11 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42:18.843
12 Felipe Nasr Sauber F1 Team 1:42:31.003
13 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India F1 Team 1:42:39.931
14 Marcus Ericsson Sauber F1 Team 1:42:40.584
15 Nico Hulkenberg Sahara Force India F1 Team 1:42:41.185
16 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 1:42:41.983
17 Will Stevens Manor Marussia F1 Team 63 laps, 1:42:35.245
18 Roberto Merhi Muntan Manor Marussia F1 Team 62 laps, 1:41:39.198
19 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team 45 laps, 1:11:54.573
20 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 26 laps, 0:41:35.988
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