Spanish Grand Prix: Race Recap

Hulkenberg took the start from 13th position on Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires and made up three places to hold a spot inside the top 10, before ceding a spot in the first stint to the recovering Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Hulkenberg stopped for Yellow medium tires on lap 12 before taking on White hard tires at his second stop on lap 38. Hulkenberg maintained 11th through the closing stint and held a sufficient advantage over the chasing pack to negate the effect of a five-second time penalty for pit speeding.

Magnussen started from 16th place on soft tires and preserved his position through the course of the opening lap, before coming in to pit on lap 10 for medium tires. Magnussen was subsequently judged to have undertaken a false start and was issued a five-second time penalty, which was served at his second stop on lap 30 – where he took on hard tires. Magnussen emerged at the rear of the 20-car field but worked his way up to 17th at the checkered flag.

Up front Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen claimed victory, the 61st of his career, ahead of McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris and Mercedes AMG’s Lewis Hamilton.


Nico Hulkenberg:

“All in all, it was a more positive than negative Sunday for us. We had pretty good competitive pace throughout the race, so that makes me happy. It’s encouraging for the next couple of weeks and months. I enjoyed the race, but it was missing a little bit, ultimately, we needed a better qualifying yesterday and to start further ahead to have a chance at points. We need to optimize our qualifying in the next couple of races.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“Unfortunately, I got that jump start and that’s on me of course. I had that impulse and let it go a little bit, so we got the penalty, and we had a slow stop also, so it’s just been a tough day. It’s not been a great weekend here so hopefully we can do better in Austria.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Overall, I think in terms of performance there’s lots of positives, and I think we raced stronger than I anticipated. Of course, P11 is kind of the worst place to finish, just being outside of the points, so that’s pretty frustrating. Nico had a good start and Nico’s pace in the first stint was strong – he stayed in front of the Red Bull – so that was good. On the second stint with the medium tire, neither driver was happy, but again Nico’s pace was pretty decent, but on the last stint he was on the hard unfortunately because he had a five-second time penalty for speeding. We knew we had to push to catch Ocon, and then create a five-second gap, and that’s not great for tires. Considering all of that, he raced very well and showed the performance of the car – decent but just not good enough. From Kevin’s side, because of his starting position, he lost a lot of time in traffic and then when the tire is on the edge, especially in that second stint, and you get overtaken, it’s very difficult. Kevin’s third stint was mainly spent in traffic also, and he couldn’t maximize the potential of the car.”

Today's Data:

Event: Spanish Grand Prix – Sunday June 23
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
Layout: 4.657-kilometer (2.893-mile), 14-turn circuit 
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 24 degrees Celsius (75.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)
Race Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing
Team Result:    
Nico Hulkenberg – Started 13th / Finished 11th (Running – 66/66 laps)
Kevin Magnussen – Started 16th / Finished 17th (Running – 65/66 laps)