Spanish GP conclusions: Hamilton sends Bottas a message

Lewis Hamilton served up a timely reminder of why it is foolish to doubt him as he claimed a comprehensive win in Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The five-time world champion halted Bottas’ momentum in its tracks in Barcelona as he led home another dominant Mercedes 1-2, while Ferrari’s blunders showed no signs of stopping at round five of the 2019 season.

Here are some of the main talking points from the Spanish Grand Prix…

Hamilton’s emphatic response

Lewis Hamilton responded to teammate Valtteri Bottas’ commanding pole position lap in crushing fashion, with a controlled and flawless drive to victory in Barcelona.

Hamilton cut a frustrated figure on Saturday evening after ending up behind Bottas in qualifying for the third successive race, leading to talk that Bottas was beginning to get under the reigning world champion’s skin in a similar manner to how Nico Rosberg did when he beat Hamilton to the title in 2016.

Bottas’ 0.634s margin in qualifying inflicted Hamilton's heaviest Q3 deficit to a teammate since the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix, with the revitalised Bottas gaining yet more momentum following a string of strong performances early on in 2019.

Victory for Bottas in Spain would have increased his advantage over Hamilton in the world championship standings and Hamilton knew he needed to respond. He did so within seconds of the race getting underway on Sunday.

The Briton kept up his recent run of strong starts with cat-like reactions as the lights went out. Hamilton held the inside line on the long drag down to Turn 1 and was level with his teammate in the braking zone. Unlike the previous race in Baku - where Hamilton had respectfully given Bottas room and ultimately lost out - Hamilton was later on the brakes and snatched the lead to come out on top in a three-way tussle with Bottas and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Thereafter, Hamilton was utterly dominant. He stormed into a 10 plus second lead in the first stint and despite seeing his advantage eradicated by a late Safety Car, he quickly built another sizeable buffer with a burst of qualifying-esque laps to ensure he remained untroubled. A third win of the season and a first fastest lap point saw Hamilton claw back the championship lead from Bottas, who he now heads by seven points.