Formula One returns to its heartland as the European season officially commences this weekend, with the running of the Spanish Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race from 10pm AEST.
The traditional start to the European leg of the championship sees all the challengers arrive with a raft of upgrades, with hope of edging out their competition.
Significant updates have been made to the two title protagonists in Mercedes AMG and Ferrari, as they both stand at two wins apiece for 2017.
Sebastian Vettel maintains his lead in the standings, following a disaster of a Russian Grand Prix for Lewis Hamilton – who returns to scene of his infamous first lap clash with ex-teammate Nico Rosberg last year.
As they get set to do battle for the fifth occasion this year, the stage will be the 4.6km Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – a circuit the combatants have had much mileage at from pre-season testing.
The race itself will see 66-laps contested, with Pirelli leaning towards a harder selection of tyres this weekend. The soft, medium and hard rubber will be on hand, with the former two being the preferred race compounds.
An under-pressure Hamilton has struck back, claiming an important 64th career pole position ahead of Vettel in the Ferrari and his Mercedes AMG teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The run to Turn 1 is quite long in Barcelona, so making any gains at the start of the race will be crucial, as passing opportunities are limited during the race.
Last time out in Russia, it was Bottas from that familiar third place on the grid that bolted into the lead and eventually won the race.
Red Bull’s upgrades have seemingly done little to bridge the gap to the front-runners, with fifth and sixth to be the positions 2016 race winner Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo to be racing for.
A surprise result of seventh in qualifying will buoy Spanish superstar Fernando Alonso, as McLaren’s engine troubles continue. Though whether he can see the chequered flag will be another question.
Force India, Williams, Renault, Toro Rosso and Haas all look primed to duke it out in the mid-field once again, with some serious points on the cards for those who take the initiative.
The last ten editions of the Spanish Grand Prix have seen ten different victors. Can we see another driver add their name to the list after 66-laps of grand prix racing?
Tune in from 10pm AEST on The Roar for live blog coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix to find out.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Well that about wraps it up for The Roar's live blog coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso might not be present for Monaco in a fortnight's time, but we will for the next grand prix and live blog for F1 in 2017. Thanks for tuning in and good night.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 104 - Sebastian Vettel 98 -- Lewis Hamilton 63 -- Valtteri Bottas 49 -- Kimi Räikkönen 37 -- Daniel Ricciardo 35 -- Max Verstappen 34 -- Sergio Perez 19 -- Esteban Ocon 18 -- Felipe Massa 15 -- Carlos Sainz 14 -- Nico Hulkenberg 6 --- Pascal Wehrlein* 5 --- Romain Grosjean 4 --- Kevin Magnussen 4 --- Daniil Kvyat 0 --- Marcus Ericsson 0 --- Lance Stroll 0 --- Fernando Alonso 0 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 0 --- Jolyon Palmer 0 --- Stoffel Vandoorne *Pending penalty to Pascal Wehrlein.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 161 - Mercedes AMG 153 - Scuderia Ferrari 72 -- Red Bull Racing 53 -- Force India Mercedes 19 -- Scuderia Toro Rosso 18 -- Williams Mercedes 14 -- Haas Ferrari 9 --- Renault Sport 6 --- Sauber Ferrari* 0 --- McLaren Honda *Pending penalty to Pascal Wehrlein.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT Lewis Hamilton has shaded Sebastian Vettel and the Ferrari threat to win a stellar Spanish Grand Prix, closing the gap in the 2017 Formula One world championship to just 6-points. In what was a tale of two strategies between Mercedes AMG and Ferrari, the former had utilised a two-stop strategy – whilst seemingly forcing the German onto a three-stopper. At the start, both Hamilton and Vettel made equal getaways though it was the Ferrari that took the advantage going into Turn 1. A stint during the middle of the race on the medium tyres is what ultimately gave Hamilton the advantage, as he would emerge in the final phase of the 66-lap thriller on the much faster soft compound tyres. The race wasn’t free of incidents, with the first lap seeing big name causalities in 2016-race winner Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen. Williams veteran Felipe Massa was involved in multiple tangles, including a first lap clash with his former teammate Fernando Alonso – who from seventh on the grid dropped outside of the top ten. Later, the Brazilian came to blows with the other McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne, who ended his own race with broken suspension and triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes-Benz motor also expired during the race, ending his hope of a podium finish. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo benefitted from all the retirements ahead of him, to bag a surprise podium – whilst the team’s upgrades hadn’t bridged the gap to the leaders as such, finishing more than 70 seconds behind the race winner. Seventh was hotly contested throughout the race, with Pascal Wehrlein putting in a sterling job to take the honours on-track, though will be given a 5-second time penalty for a pit-lane infringement. Wehrlein utilised a one-stop strategy to perfection, being the only driver to have taken the gamble. The Sauber driver still scores points, albeit behind the two Toro Rossos and the Haas of Romain Grosjean. Force India will celebrate their fifth consecutive race in 2017 where both cars have scored points. Sergio Perez finished a season high fourth, whilst Esteban Ocon claimed a career best fifth.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
STAND-BY FOR UPDATED CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AND RACE REPORT
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Podium Interviews - Hosted by Pedro de la Rosa HAMILTON - "The team did a great job with the strategy. I didn't know what happened with the start." VETTEL - "I had a really good start." "Obviously Lewis did the opposite." "He just flew past." RICCIARDO - "Feels good. We had a little bit of fortune today and we take what we can."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks for tuning in Scott! It was a cracker of a race in the end. A tale of two strategies between the two drivers who are going to fight closely for the championship this season. Whilst Red Bull are still quite far off the leaders, a podium for Dan is still a solid takeaway.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS AFTER 66-LAPS OF THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX 1 L. Hamilton 2 S. Vettel 3 D. Ricciardo 4 S. Perez 5 E. Ocon 6 N. Hulkenberg 7 P. Wehrlein* 8 C. Sainz 9 D. Kvyat 10 R. Grosjean 11 M. Ericsson 12 F. Alonso 13 F. Massa 14 K. Magnussen 15 J. Palmer 16 L. Stroll RET V. Bottas RET S. Vandoorne RET M. Verstappen RET K. Räikkönen *5-second time penalty to be applied to Wehrlein's time.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Cheers for the call Jawad. Been good to follow while doing a bit of writing on Nick Kyrgios this evening. Seems like a pretty convincing win for Hamilton in the end. Good to see our man Ricciardo up there on the podium.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS A STELLAR SPANISH GRAND PRIX! The Briton shades Sebastian Vettel, who pushed hard on an alternate strategy for the win but was bested by the Mercedes AMG. And Daniel Ricciardo lands his first podium of the season, with a lonely drive to third.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 66/66: FINAL LAP
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 65/66: PUNCTURE FOR MAGNUSSEN! And that explains why he has dropped away from Kvyat and also behind his Haas teammate Grosjean.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 65/66: Kvyat it appears is all over the rear of Magnussen and gets past the Haas to put his Toro Rosso P9, only for the positions to be swapped around again! Massa lunges past Stroll for P14, as both Williams look to scoring zero points.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 64/66: Vettel still trying to shave off any tenths he can, though at this late in the piece it does seem a little in vain. 3.6 seconds between Hamilton and Vettel.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 63/66: FOUR LAPS TO GO
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 62/66: "Why is it does have to be Massa?" says Vettel unsurprisingly. Alonso dispatches both Williams cars and takes P13 on his fresh tyres.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 61/66: Vettel being balked by lapped Massa once again, as it had appeared that he was starting to get the superior grip from his medium tyres.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 59/66: Sainz getting a little crossed up on the replays, though he'll have to be patient with the Wehrlein penalty ahead. Massa about to pass Stroll for P13, following his incident ridden race.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 58/66: HAM VET RIC PER OCO HUL WEH* SAI MAG KVY the top ten.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 57/66: 4 seconds between Hamilton and Vettel now.