# 2018 Spanish Grand Prix > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/2018_Spanish_Grand_Prix > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/2018_Spanish_Grand_Prix.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Spanish_Grand_Prix > Source revision: 1346109260 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 2018 Spanish Grand Prix Race 5 of 21 in the 2018 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race → Layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Race details[1] Date 13 May 2018 (2018-05-13) Official name Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018 Location Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Montmeló, Spain Course Permanent racing facility Course length 4.655 km (2.892 miles) Distance 66 laps, 307.104 km (190.825 miles) Weather Partially cloudy and dry, 16°C and cold. Pole position Driver Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Time 1:16.173 Fastest lap Driver Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer Time 1:18.441 on lap 61 Podium First Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Second Valtteri Bottas Mercedes Third Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer Lap leaders Motor car race The **2018 Spanish Grand Prix** (formally known as the **Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018**) is a [Formula One motor race](/source/Formula_One_racing) that was held on 13 May 2018 at the [Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya](/source/Circuit_de_Barcelona-Catalunya) in [Montmeló](/source/Montmel%C3%B3), [Spain](/source/Spain). The race was the 5th round of the [2018 Formula One World Championship](/source/2018_Formula_One_World_Championship) and marked the 48th running of the [Spanish Grand Prix](/source/Spanish_Grand_Prix) as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in [1950](/source/1950_Formula_One_season), and the 28th time that a World Championship round had been held at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit. [Mercedes](/source/Mercedes-Benz_in_Formula_One) driver [Lewis Hamilton](/source/Lewis_Hamilton) entered the round with a 4-point lead over [Sebastian Vettel](/source/Sebastian_Vettel) in the World Drivers' Championship. In the World Constructors' Championship, [Ferrari](/source/Scuderia_Ferrari) led [Mercedes](/source/Mercedes-Benz_in_Formula_One) by 4 points. ## Report ### Background #### Circuit changes Over the winter of 2017–18, modifications were made to the circuit. A new runoff area was installed at turn 12, resulting in the relocation of a grandstand from the entry of turn 12 to the entry of turn 13. Additionally, the track was resurfaced, which saw the Formula One cars break the track record in February testing. These changes were made primarily in response to the demands of MotoGP riders, who expressed their concern over the lack of grip present on the old surface, which had been in place since 2004. Another reason for the improvements was the death of Moto2 rider [Luis Salom](/source/Luis_Salom), who sustained fatal injuries in a crash at turn 12 during the motorcycle race in 2016. Many Formula One drivers were critical of the new track surface despite the improved ride. Lewis Hamilton was especially critical, stating that the resurfacing was "a waste of money" and that the track had "lost its character" and "is no longer challenging". #### Chassis updates The race saw several teams, particularly [Red Bull Racing](/source/Red_Bull_Racing) and [McLaren](/source/McLaren), introduce their first major chassis updates of the season.[2] [Ferrari](/source/Scuderia_Ferrari) used the race to trial [halo](/source/Halo_(safety_device))-mounted rear view mirrors. [Sebastian Vettel](/source/Sebastian_Vettel) claimed that the design improved visibility but Ferrari's approach was controversial because the mirrors incorporated additional fins, which led to accusations that Ferrari had used the pretense of improving visibility to introduce aerodynamic devices into an area of the car where aerodynamic aids are banned.[3] Following an investigation by race stewards, the practice of mounting mirrors with winglets on the halo was banned from the [Monaco Grand Prix](/source/2018_Monaco_Grand_Prix), with Ferrari permitted to continue using them in Spain because of the complexity and impracticality of converting the [SF71H](/source/Ferrari_SF71H) chassis back to its pre-Barcelona specification in time for the race.[4] #### Penalties In the week before the race, [Williams](/source/Williams_Grand_Prix_Engineering) filed an appeal against a grid penalty handed down to [Sergey Sirotkin](/source/Sergey_Sirotkin_(racing_driver)). Sirotkin had been penalised three grid places for causing avoidable accidents with [Sergio Pérez](/source/Sergio_P%C3%A9rez), [Fernando Alonso](/source/Fernando_Alonso) and [Nico Hülkenberg](/source/Nico_H%C3%BClkenberg) on the opening lap of the [Azerbaijan Grand Prix](/source/2018_Azerbaijan_Grand_Prix). Williams argued that the penalty was too severe compared to penalties awarded for other, similar incidents during the race and that although the contact had forced Sirotkin to retire, Pérez and Alonso were largely unaffected as both went on to score points. Hülkenberg had retired on lap 11 in a separate accident.[5] The appeal was rejected by the race stewards on the grounds that Williams had not provided any new evidence for review and that the ability of other drivers to continue racing did not offset Sirotkin's role in the incidents.[6] #### Driver changes [Robert Kubica](/source/Robert_Kubica) replaced Sergey Sirotkin at Williams during the first Free Practice session.[7] Kubica's participation marked his first appearance at a Grand Prix since the [2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix](/source/2010_Abu_Dhabi_Grand_Prix) and an injury sustained in a [rally car](/source/Rally_car) accident in 2011 that came close to seeing his arm amputated. ### Practice [Brendon Hartley](/source/Brendon_Hartley) crashed heavily in third practice (which resulted in his car's rear end snapping in two) and was unable to take part in qualifying, but was cleared to race.[8] ### Qualifying Lewis Hamilton took pole position with a time of 1:16.173, a new track record. Valtteri Bottas completed the front row, giving Mercedes their first front row lockout of the season. McLaren made Q3 for the first time in 2018, with Fernando Alonso qualifying in P8. Nico Hulkenberg was out in Q1 after having a gearbox problem. In Q3, some of the top drivers set their laps on the soft tyre, rather than the supersoft, after finding it difficult to get the supersoft in their optimal operating window. ### Race Before the race, it was indicated that there was an 80% chance of rain during the race, although this never came to fruition. The front runners got away well at the start, but at Turn 3, Romain Grosjean spun across the track, creating a smokescreen from his rear tyres and eliminating Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly in the process. This caused a safety car that remained out until Lap 6. On Lap 25, Kimi Raikkonen lost power in his car and retired with an engine issue. On Lap 40, Esteban Ocon retired with an engine problem in his Force India, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. Vettel pitted under the VSC, rejoining in P4 behind Max Verstappen behind whom he remained until the chequered flag. As this VSC ended, Max Verstappen collided with the rear of Lance Stroll's Williams, causing endplate damage to Verstappen's front wing. The front wing, however, was structurally intact, and so Verstappen did not need to pit. On Lap 47, Stoffel Vandoorne retired at the pit exit with mechanical issues. Hamilton won the race, having been a long way ahead of anyone the entire race, and leading home the first 1-2 of the season for Mercedes. Hamilton extended his championship lead to 17 points and Mercedes gained the lead of the constructors championship, leading Ferrari by 26 points. ### Post-race Romain Grosjean was given a 3 place grid penalty for the next race in Monaco, for his role in causing the first lap collision. ## Classification ### Qualifying Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final grid Q1 Q2 Q3 1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.633 1:17.166 1:16.173 1 2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.674 1:17.111 1:16.213 2 3 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:17.031 1:16.802 1:16.305 3 4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:17.483 1:17.071 1:16.612 4 5 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:17.411 1:17.266 1:16.816 5 6 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:17.623 1:17.638 1:16.818 6 7 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:18.169 1:17.618 1:17.676 7 8 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 1:18.276 1:18.100 1:17.721 8 9 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 1:18.480 1:17.803 1:17.790 9 10 8 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:18.305 1:17.699 1:17.835 10 11 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 1:18.885 1:18.323 11 12 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:18.550 1:18.463 12 13 31 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 1:18.813 1:18.696 13 14 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 1:18.661 1:18.910 14 15 11 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 1:18.740 1:19.098 15 16 27 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:18.923 16 17 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.493 17 18 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 1:19.695 191 19 18 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 1:20.225 18 107% time: 1:22.423 — 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda No time 202 Source:[9] **Notes** - **[^1](#ref_1)** – [Sergey Sirotkin](/source/Sergey_Sirotkin_(racing_driver)) received a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision in the [previous round](/source/2018_Azerbaijan_Grand_Prix).[6] - **[^2](#ref_2)** – [Brendon Hartley](/source/Brendon_Hartley) failed to set a Q1 time within the 107% requirement and raced at the stewards' discretion. He also received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. ### Race Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 66 1:35:29.972 1 25 2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 66 +20.593 2 18 3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 66 +26.873 5 15 4 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 66 +27.584 3 12 5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 66 +50.058 6 10 6 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 65 +1 lap 7 8 7 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 65 +1 lap 9 6 8 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 65 +1 lap 8 4 9 11 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 64 +2 laps 15 2 10 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 64 +2 laps 14 1 11 18 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 64 +2 laps 18 12 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 64 +2 laps 20 13 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 64 +2 laps 17 14 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 63 +3 laps 19 Ret 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 45 Gearbox 11 Ret 31 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 38 Oil leak 13 Ret 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 25 Turbocharger 4 Ret 8 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 0 Spin/Collision 10 Ret 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 0 Collision 12 Ret 27 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 0 Collision 16 Source:[10] ## Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 Lewis Hamilton 95 2 Sebastian Vettel 78 1 3 Valtteri Bottas 58 1 4 Kimi Räikkönen 48 5 Daniel Ricciardo 47 Source:[11] Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Constructor Points 1 1 Mercedes 153 1 2 Ferrari 126 3 Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 80 1 4 Renault 41 1 5 McLaren-Renault 40 Source:[11] - **Note**: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. ## See also - [2018 Barcelona Formula 2 round](/source/2018_Barcelona_Formula_2_round) - [2018 Barcelona GP3 Series round](/source/2018_Barcelona_GP3_Series_round) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Pirelli 2017"](https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/races/2018/Spain.html). *formula1.com*. [Formula One Administration](/source/Formula_One_Group). Retrieved 29 April 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Somerfield, Matt; Straw, Edd (11 May 2018). ["Formula 1: Details of new McLaren upgrade revealed at Spanish GP"](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/135940/details-of-new-mclaren-upgrade-revealed). *[autosport.com](/source/Autosport)*. [Motorsport Network](/source/Motorsport_Network). Retrieved 11 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Coch, Mat (12 May 2018). ["Vettel: Halo-mounted mirrors improve visibility"](https://speedcafe.com/vettel-halo-mounted-mirrors-improve-visibility/). *[speedcafe.com](/source/Speedcafe)*. Retrieved 12 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Cooper, Adam (12 May 2018). ["FIA tells Ferrari it can't run halo mirror winglets after Spanish GP"](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/135972/ferrari-told-halo-winglets-not-allowed-after-spain). *[autosport.com](/source/Autosport)*. [Motorsport Network](/source/Motorsport_Network). Retrieved 12 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Coch, Mat (8 May 2018). ["Williams seeks review of Sirotkin penalty"](https://speedcafe.com/williams-seeks-review-sirotkin-penalty/). *[speedcafe.com](/source/Speedcafe)*. Retrieved 8 May 2018. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SIR_3_places_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SIR_3_places_6-1) Coch, Mat (9 May 2018). ["FIA rejects Williams penalty review"](https://speedcafe.com/fia-rejects-williams-penalty-review/). *[speedcafe.com](/source/Speedcafe)*. Retrieved 9 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Coch, Mat (10 May 2018). ["Kubica confirmed for Practice 1 drive in Spain"](https://speedcafe.com/kubica-confirmed-practice-1-drive-spain/). *[speedcafe.com](/source/Speedcafe)*. Retrieved 10 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Hartley sore but fit to race in Spain after FP3 smash"](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2018/5/hartley-sore-but-fit-to-race-after-practice-smash.html). *Formula1.com*. Retrieved 13 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-qual_9-0)** ["Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018 – Qualifying"](https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/983/spain/qualifying.html). *Formula1.com*. Formula One World Championship Limited. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Emirates 2018 – Race Result"](https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/983/spain/race-result.html). *Formula1.com*. Formula One World Championship Limited. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Championship_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Championship_11-1) ["Spain 2018 – Championship"](https://www.statsf1.com/en/2018/espagne/championnat.aspx). *StatsF1*. Retrieved 20 March 2019. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [2018 Spanish Grand Prix](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:2018_Spanish_Grand_Prix). - [The race on the official Formula One website](http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/championship/races/2018/Spain.html) Previous race: 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FIA Formula One World Championship 2018 season Next race: 2018 Monaco Grand Prix Previous race: 2017 Spanish Grand Prix Spanish Grand Prix Next race: 2019 Spanish Grand Prix v t e « previous Formula One Grands Prix (2010–2019) next » 2010 BHR AUS MAL CHN ESP MON TUR CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR BRA ABU 2011 BHR AUS MAL CHN TUR ESP MON CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU BRA 2012 AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU USA BRA 2013 AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN KOR JPN IND ABU USA BRA 2014 AUS MAL BHR CHN ESP MON CAN AUT GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN RUS USA BRA ABU 2015 AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN AUT GBR HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN RUS USA MEX BRA ABU 2016 AUS BHR CHN RUS ESP MON CAN EUR AUT GBR HUN GER BEL ITA SIN MAL JPN USA MEX BRA ABU 2017 AUS CHN BHR RUS ESP MON CAN AZE AUT GBR HUN BEL ITA SIN MAL JPN USA MEX BRA ABU 2018 AUS BHR CHN AZE ESP MON CAN FRA AUT GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN RUS JPN USA MEX BRA ABU 2019 AUS BHR CHN AZE ESP MON CAN FRA AUT GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN RUS JPN MEX USA BRA ABU --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [2018 Spanish Grand Prix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Spanish_Grand_Prix) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Spanish_Grand_Prix?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.