GPI 2017 Spanish Grand Prix | Page 104

RACE REPORT He emerged almost alongside the Mercedes man and the pair banged wheels in Turn One. Vettel emerged in the lead but Hamilton had the quicker tyres and pressed for a way past. Vettel made his car as wide as possible and a tit-for-tat battle ensued. Behind them Bottas’ race came to an end on lap 39 when his power unit failed on the run through Turn 3. The Finn had been forced to revert to an older engine on Friday night after a water leak was detected on his new unit. At the front Hamilton was still putting pressure on Vettel and eventually, on lap 44, it told. The Briton got a good run out of the final corner and passed the German under DRS into Turn One. Within a few laps though Hamilton was on the radio complaining that the rear of his set of soft tyres were already overheating. With Vettel on the more durable mediums, the race was not yet.As the laps wound down, it became clear it was a case of whether either of the top two would blink. With lap times similar, would Vettel, who had almost a minute in hand over Ricciardo, attempt a three-stop and take on soft tyres for a late attack on Hamilton as his soft tyres faded? If he pitted would Mercedes respond? The answer came on lap 58 when Hamilton was told the gap was sufficient to prevent Vettel from trying a strategic gamble and that he should nurse his Mercedes to the flag. And that was how it remained until the flag. As the front pair threaded their way through traffic the gap widened to o