Hamilton took the lead on pace. A virtual safety car locked it in.

· Spanish Grand Prix

We missed Monaco. We were offline for a bit, recharging before the second half of the season. We're back for Barcelona, and it did not disappoint.

Hamilton took the lead on pace

A virtual safety car at the perfect time locked it in

44 alerts across 66 laps

Live alerts fired during the Barcelona-Catalunya GP

Russell started on pole and led the early laps. Hamilton started on the softest tyres, which wear out faster but are quicker while they last, and made his second pit stop on lap 27, ahead of Russell. By lap 37, both Russell and Antonelli had also made their second stops, planning to finish the race on those tyres. The time Russell lost in that stop handed Hamilton the lead. Neither of them knew it yet, but what happened next would decide the whole race.

Undercut attempt: Hamilton just pitted, possibly trying to gain track position on Russell. He's on fresh medium tyres.
Hamilton makes his move Hamilton's second stop, fresh tyres on. Russell's later stop is what handed Hamilton the lead.

Then, on lap 41, Alonso's car needed recovering from the track and race control called a virtual safety car. Everyone has to slow down while it's cleared, which locks the order in. Hamilton still had another pit stop to make, so he took it right then, while it cost almost nothing. Russell and Antonelli had nothing left to give back. From that point, Hamilton's lead was safe. What happened behind him was a different story.