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Delighted Lewis hails 'incredible job'

BARCELONA, Spain - A delighted but dignified Lewis Hamilton thanked his Mercedes engineers after holding off team mate Nico Rosberg to win a thrilling 2014 Spanish GP and take the lead in the Drivers' championship.

After winning by only 0.6sec at Monmelo, outside Barcelona, Hamilton said Rosberg had been the faster driver but he had won thanks to advice from his race team in the closing stages of a dramatic race.

Hamilton said: "A big thank you for my team. They did an incredible job and the support here (in Spain) is the best I have ever had  - my first win in Spain means everything to me."

'NICO WAS QUICKER'

Asked about his frequent questions for his race team, he said: "I was not upset but I was not fast enough today. Nico was quicker. I struggled with the balance and needed to rely on my engineers.

"I was moving my settings up and down and fortunately I was able to keep Nico behind."

In a heart-stopping conclusion to an intriguing 66-lap race, Hamilton resisted the pressure from Rosberg to win, which lifted him to 100 points and into the lead of the title race ahead of Rosberg's 97.

Daniel Ricciardo came home third for Red Bull ahead of his team mate and defending four-times Drivers' champion Sebastian Vettel who started from 15th on the grid.

It was a moment of special satisfaction for Ricciardo as he scored his first F1 podium. He did so in the season-opening 2014 Australian GP, only to be disqualified for a fuel-flow irregularity.

Rosberg, after finishing second behind Hamilton for the fourth consecutive time, said he had needed just one more lap to make a passing move on his team mate - as Tweeted by Wheels.24.co.za during the race.

'I AM GUTTED'

Rosberg said: "I think one more lap and I could have given it a good go. Unfortunately that was it and I am a bit gutted. Still, second, second in the championship, and many more races to go... I will go to Monaco to go one better and try and repeat the win from 2013."

A beaming Ricciardo, who finished 49sec behind Hamilton, said: "We did not have the pace on Mercedes. We had a pretty comfortable third and it is really nice to be on the podium. I'm sure I will get to keep it this time!"

It was Hamilton's fourth win of 2014, his first in Spain, and the 26th of his career while Mercedes' 1-2 stamped the team's complete supremacy on the Constructors' championship which it now leads by more than 100 points.

Valtteri Bottas was fifth for the resurgent Williams team ahead of local hero and double Drivers' champion Fernando Alonso and his Ferrari team mate 2Kimi Raikkonen.

Romain Grosjean was eighth for Lotus, signaling the team's return to some form after a dismal start to 2014, ahead of Sergio Perez and his Force India team mate Nico Hulkenberg, who was 10th.

Hamilton added that he had not dared dream of such a strong start to his second season with Mercedes after his unexpected decision to leave McLaren.

Hamilton now has a 55-point lead over fourth-placed Vettel on the Drivers' log. Vettel said: "That was more fun than the previous race when I had to let people by. All in all, it was the maximum we could do."
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