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Dreadfully boring! 2020 Spanish GP had very little to write home about

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Lewis Hamilton (Mark Thompson / Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton (Mark Thompson / Getty Images)
Mark Thompson

• Lewis Hamilton won the 2020 Spanish GP.

• The win was the 88th of his career.

• Hamilton lapped every driver up until the fourth position.

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In what came as little surprise, Lewis Hamilton had won the 2020 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix by a more than comfortable margin.

Having led from start to finish, Hamilton crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of the second-placed Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) and Mercedes team mate, Valtteri Bottas, in third place.

In the process, Hamilton increased his championship standing to 132 points, 37 clear of Verstappen in second place on 95 points. And though it is impressive, Hamilton is getting ever closer to Michael Schumacher's record 91 F1 wins after taking the 88th of his career in Spain.


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But while these numbers seem impressive, it is not representative of what happened in the race.

(Yawn) Still no change?

Hamilton and Mercedes were always going to be the duo to beat, and it was the reality when the race came about. At the start of the race, Verstappen got the jump on Bottas for second place, while Bottas fell behind both Racing Point drivers. Though he made the positions up, he could not get close enough to Verstappen and pass him for second place.

While Bottas had a tough time in third place, Hamilton was cruising to ahead; eking out a gap over Verstappen with each passing lap. But once the race settled and got into a groove, things stayed mostly the same. Overtaking was difficult, and following another driver closely was challenging for everyone.

This highlighted an age-old issue in F1: it is still not possible for drivers to overtake. If, for instance, the DRS (Drag Reduction System) was not available, we would probably have not seen any overtaking. 2020's F1 cars are struggling to race in the 'dirty' air of another car, and it has to result that no one can overtake.

Adding to the boredom

The lack of overtaking had a severe impact on how the race was watched and enjoyed. It was predictable and far from anything that claims to be the 'pinnacle of motorsport'. While we can't blame Mercedes-AMG F1 for maximizing the regulations by producing the best car, it is not good for the sport when one team walks away with the championship. READ: Walk, not run.

Hamilton, Verstappen, and Bottas lapped every driver behind them. Even when Hamilton made his second pit stop, and several drivers unlapped themselves, he just came back to lap all them in a matter of minutes. There was no answer to his or Mercedes' dominance, and we can expect more of the same throughout 2020 and 2021.

Kudos to Verstappen, though, for always putting himself in the mix and being the only driver to challenge the Mercedes duo. Verstappen is driving beyond his Red Bull's capabilities and would be deserving of more wins in 2020 when the opportunity presents itself.

But as far as today's race is concerned, I'd have had a much more enjoyable time watching paint dry.

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