After posting a fantastic lap on Saturday to secure pole position, Nico Rosberg got off to a faultless start as the five red lights went out. Lewis Hamilton who started from the front row of the grid got off to a sluggish start allowing Sebastian Vettel to jump up to second going in to the first corner. This proved to be the turning point of the race as the Brit spent the first stint trying to pass the four-time champion. In the interim, Rosberg was comfortably gaining a cushion over second placed Vettel. With Rosberg inching towards a win, Mercedes had to change Hamilton's strategy to bring him up to second place. The Silver Arrows team lengthened the second stint for the reigning champion thanks to which he was able to jump ahead of the Ferrari in the during the pit-stop. This victory allows Rosberg to close the gap on to Hamilton in the championship table to just 20 points.
Podium for Vettel
Although Vettel got off to a good start from his third place in qualifying he couldn't quite defend Hamilton's attack for the entire race. The German kept Hamilton at bay for two entire stints but Mercedes' change in strategy gave them an edge over the Scarlet team. Vettel's third place gave him his fourth podium place in five races. No other drive has secured so many podiums in his first five races for Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen on the other hand Finn battled hard throughout the race, first with Felipe Massa and then with Valtteri Bottas. He commenced the race from seventh place and made up only two places to take the chequered flag in fifth.
Williams earns some point
Valtteri Bottas drove well to defend Raikkonen's attack towards the wee end of the race. Fortunately for him, the Finn's option-prime-option strategy didn't work as well as it did in Bahrain and it was just enough for Bottas to defend his fourth place. This fourth place finish allows Bottas to cut down Raikkonen's lead on the championship table by a few points. Having started the race in ninth place, Felipe Massa too fought hard with Raikkonen, but couldn't pass him and had to settle for a sixth place finish. The Brazilian was last of the finishers to not be lapped by the dominating Rosberg.
Red Bull vs Toro Rosso
Although both the Toro Rosso drivers had qualified ahead of Raikkonen, the Renault powered cars just didn't have the performance especially in the DRS zone. Rookie Max Verstappen finished just outside the points paying positions in 11th but team-mate Carlos Sainz fought till the end with Daniil Kvyat for a couple of points. The two were engaged in a last lap tussle for ninth place. In fact they even made contact going into T1, and despite going wide, Sainz stayed ahead of the Russian to earn two points for the team.
European Leg Commences
With the Spanish Grand Prix, the European leg of the season commences, as the championship will now continue at Monaco. Hamilton is comfortably leading the table with 111 points, 20 points clear of team-mate. Both the Ferrari drivers stand third and fourth. Fernando Alonso has still not made an impact on the score sheet and this is the first time since 2008 that the Spaniard hasn't score in his home race. As of now, the only team that can come close to challenging the Silver Arrows duo is the Ferrari, and if they want to cut down on the lead on the points table, they need to earn some race wins.
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