The sixth race of the 2020 Formula One season is outlined by our correspondent in Europe Nick van der Meulen in his report F1 Review Spain 2020.

The Spanish round of the craziest year in motorsport history (yes, 2020) took place at Barcelona, Catalunya. The circuit is more suited to motorcycle racing, as it is notoriously difficult to overtake at this track when racing with four wheels. After the heart-stopping action that took place in the motorcycle racing classes in Austria on the same day, Formula One had to deliver to be considered in the same breath as its two-wheeled championship counterparts. Sadly, on this day, it failed miserably. Check out out out Facebook to see horrific crashes from the MotoGP class..

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Untouchable

There was nobody to touch Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) throughout qualifying and on race day. He cleared off at the start and decimated his rivals to take his 88th career victory. The Englishman is well on his way to equal the all-time records of number of world championships (7, currently held by Michael Schumacher) and race victories (91, also Schumacher), however, he surpassed Schumacher’s record of podium appearances, taking his 156th, indicating that Hamilton is undoubtedly the finest racer of his generation.

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Chasing pair

As it has been over the last season and a half, the remaining two podium positions were duked out between Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). Bottas made a relatively poor start, allowing Verstappen to swoop around the outside into Turn 1, while Lance Stroll (Racing Point-Mercedes) forced his way through, too. By the time the Finn negotiated his way past the “Pink Panther” driver, the Dutchman was long gone. Bottas was a disgruntled third across the finish line… after shattering the lap record on the final lap (for a bonus point).

To the Point

The Pink Panthers had a strong showing this weekend and Sergio Perez, returning from quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 a few weeks ago, showed his mettle by finishing fourth, however, he was penalized five seconds for ignoring blue flags. As a result, teammate Stroll claimed fourth and he had to be content with fifth position. Interestingly, he was asking the team how his tyres were performing in the early stages of the race, while other teams were asking their drivers for feedback. There is still drama behind closed doors with regard to the team’s rear brake ducts, with the stewards again reprimanding them for the transgression.

More red woes

Ferrari had a miserable day in Spain, with Charles Leclerc scraping into the top ten in qualifying. He was solid in the race, before his machine gave electrical issues leading to the only retirement of the race. Sebastian Vettel, despite sounding grumpy and despondent over the radio, was more feisty in his race and decided to stop once instead of twice (which was the strategy the majority of the field followed), leading to a seventh place finish and earning the “Driver of the Day” award from the fans.

Also-rans

Honourable mentions in the race include the McLaren team, with both drivers scoring points: hometown hero Carlos Sainz finished sixth and team-mate Lando Norris tenth, and Pierre Gasly’s (Alpha Tauri-Honda) ninth place finish. The Renault team was particularly disappointing, with neither driver finishing in the points, while Alexander Albon (Red Bull Racing-Honda) finished in eighth, just ahead of the driver he replaced in a far inferior car, and miles away from team leader Verstappen.

Spa treatment

There’s a two-week breather before the next round at Spa-Franchorchamps, Belgium. Hopefully, this racers’ circuit will provide more excitement than this weekend’s snorefest.