Truly, it was taken from us too soon
SPANISH GRAND PRIX RESULTS
They say that history repeats itself, and for those in the Top Three Championship who survived the height of Mercedes domination from 2014 to 2016, the start of this year must be beginning to feel familiar indeed. With a fifth consecutive 1-2 finish for the Silver Arrows now in the books, all but the most stubborn punters have begun to predict a sweep of the top two spots for the dreaded squad from Brackley.
With the return of Mercedes domination comes a return to the dark ages of the competition, where huge swings between victory and defeat come solely based on the order one has put the silver cars atop the podium. So it was in this case: victory went to the 56% of the competition who had Hamilton ahead of Bottas, with the less fortunate 22% who had Bottas ahead ruing the collapse of what must have looked like a very good prediction after qualifying. Congratulations are in order for
Black_Flag_11, Espo, mcdo, Lotus49, robins13, Jenson's Understeer, Bentrovato, Mayhem, Icemanjee1, Mod Titanium, Exediron, Jezza13 and Mod Onyx!
A special consolation prize goes out to RustyRockets44, who was the only entrant to have Max Verstappen in third. If not for Hamilton's superior start, he might well be looking at the first Perfect Podium of the season. Also of special mention are the only two predictors who were bold enough to put a car other than a Mercedes atop the podium; we salute their bravery, if not prescience. They were Herb and Mod Blue.
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First Place - 8 points
Black_Flag_11, Espo, mcdo, Lotus49, robins13, Jenson's Understeer, Bentrovato, Mayhem, Icemanjee1, Mod Titanium, Exediron, Jezza13, Mod Onyx
Second Place - 5 points
JN23, P-F1 Mod, CarlPotter
Third Place - 1 point
RustyRockets44
The Rest - 0 points
cm97, Remmirath, coulthards chin, Herb, Mod Blue, Charles LeBrad
Did Not Start
No one!
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Individual Standings - Round Five
After three races atop the standings, the reign of Charles LeBrad is ended by backing the wrong Mercedes. Espo now leads the individual standings, ahead of Mod Titanium by dint of more wins -- with three consecutive wins, the Drive Sauber driver has a sizable momentum at the moment.
Lotus49, Icemanjee1 and Jezza13 are only a single point behind, completing the top five. A further two points back are the No Limit Excedrin Racing pair, tied on 14 points apiece, with Jenson 's Understeer ahead on tiebreakers -- they sit sixth and seventh. Completing the top ten are CarlPotter (also on 14 points, but without a win), former championship leader Charles LeBrad (13 points), and P-F1 Mod (also 13 points).
It's tight just outside the top ten as well, with the next four competitors covered by just two points: Mayhem, Mod Onyx, robins13 and mcdo cover the points from 13 to 11. Then it's a gap of two more points back to Black_Flag_11 (who went from 1 point to 9 this round). Just behind him are cm97, JN23 and Bentrovato, all on 8 points. RustyRockets44 is just behind on 7 points.
At the back of the field, coulthards chin is sitting on 5 points, leading Herb and Remmirath (4 points apiece) and Mod Blue (3 points). Every entrant is currently within a Perfect Podium of the top, with Mod Blue exactly 14 points behind the championship leader.
Team Standings - Round Five
In the team standings, the large haul of points from this race has shaken up the picture to a significant degree. Two teams -- Sand Bag'n and No Limit Excedrin Racing -- share in the team victory, taking a maximum result of 16 points with a double individual win.
But it's the 'A' mod team Management in Crisis that still occupies the top of the standings. They sit 2 points ahead of the defending (and two-time) champions No Limit Excedrin Racing, who are benefiting as usual from consistent scoring by both drivers.
A four point gap behind them leads into the ultra-tight midfield: Mission Copy James, Sand Bag'n and The Also Rans are covered by just a single point, from 24 to 23. Behind them, four more teams -- Drive Sauber, Lotus-CC Racing, Victorious Secret and Jalopy Racing -- are separated by just another point, with all having 21 points except for Jalopy Racing, who have 20.
Crisis in Management and We The North currently occupy the last two spots, tied on 15 points apiece.
NEXT RACE
The next race will be Monaco, in two weeks' time. I'll be at the Indy 500, so expect a delayed update!