Formula 1®
DHL Fastest Lap Award: FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA EMIRATES 2018
Key Takeaways
- Daniel Ricciardo takes the DHL Fastest Lap in the Spanish Grand Prix
- The Red Bull driver sets a new track record in Barcelona
- Ricciardo takes the lead in the DHL Fastest Lap Award
Daniel Ricciardo secures the DHL Fastest Lap in Barcelona
Lewis Hamilton dominated the Formula 1 opener in Europe. The Mercedes driver took his first win of the season in Barcelona, crushing the opposition and further expanding his lead in the world championship. Hamilton leads Sebastian Vettel by 17 points after the first five races of the season.
Hamilton posted the third-fastest lap of the race behind Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, who booked the DHL Fastest Lap for the third time this season. The Red Bull driver finished fifth in the grand prix, setting a new lap record for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the final stages of the race.
Ricciardo posted a time of 1:18.441 on Lap 61, beating Kimi Räikkönen’s previous lap record by more than three seconds. "There were moments where the car was really fast but it was just too difficult to get it every lap. I would set the fastest lap and then the next lap I would nearly spin", he said. "There is potential but it’s just hard to extract consistently at the moment, so we have some more to learn with this new package."
Sebastian Vettel had set the second-fastest lap time at the fall of the checkered flag but the Ferrari driver was not really pleased with finishing fourth. The German driver was beaten to the podium following a pit stop strategy that went wrong.
"Our tires didn't last as long as for the others, so we couldn't follow the same strategy. We had to stop again and we obviously lost two positions, and also a bit of time during the pit-stop itself. But staying out was not an option today. We had problems finding the right balance of the car and we were struggling with the front tires", Vettel explained.
Fastest laps: FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA EMIRATES 2018
- 01 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull): 1:18.441 - on Lap 61
- 02 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 1:19.128 - on Lap 61
- 03 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1:19.133 - on Lap 64
- 04 Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1:19.422 - on Lap 62
- 05 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1:19.478 - on Lap 56
- 06 Kevin Magnussen (Haas): 1:20.246 - on Lap 64
- 07 Fernando Alonso (McLaren): 1:20.727 - on Lap 64
- 08 Sergio Pérez (Force India): 1:21.128 - on Lap 43
- 09 Carlos Sainz (Renault): 1:21.324 - on Lap 61
- 10 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso): 1:21.439 - on Lap 63
History: DHL Fastest Laps in the FORMULA 1 SPANISH GRAND PRIX
With his DHL Fastest Lap of 1:18.441, Daniel Ricciardo smashed Kimi Räikkönen’s record for Barcelona set in 2008, which at 1:21.670 was more than three seconds down on Ricciardo’s new time. Lewis Hamilton’s DHL Fastest Lap from last year was some five seconds slower.
In addition to the lap record, the all-time track record was also beaten by Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. He clocked a time of 1:16.173 as he took pole position, posting the fastest lap ever seen at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Ricciardo takes lead in DHL Fastest Lap Award
Ricciardo already holds three fastest race laps after this season’s five races and leads the DHL Fastest Lap Award. The Red Bull driver set the fastest lap in both Australia and China and now in Spain. Valtteri Bottas is Ricciardo’s only rival with two DHL Fastest Laps to his name.
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