Hamilton wins Spanish GP ahead of Verstappen

Montmelo (Spain): Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen in a thrilling duel to win the Spanish Grand Prix and increase his championship lead over his top rival on Sunday.

Verstappen's Red Bull edged the pole-sitting Hamilton to the first curve to snatch the early lead.

But Mercedes' use of two pit stops to give Hamilton fresher tires down the final stretch paid off and allowed him to overtake the Dutchman with six laps remaining.

Red Bull got a great start, Hamilton said.

I was hunting .... It was a long way to come back from, 20-odd seconds back. But it was a good gamble.

Hamilton followed his 100th career pole on Saturday by taking his 98th career win. He also tied Michael Schumacher's mark of six victories at the Spanish Grand Prix, including the last five in a row.

Hamilton increased his lead to 14 points over Verstappen, who grabbed a bonus point for the fastest lap.

Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas steered his Mercedes to a third-place finish.

Verstappen got the jump on Hamilton off the starting line, recovering the scarce meters that separated them on the grid down the first straight. They entered the first curve side-by-side and appeared to graze one another before Hamilton backed off, as Verstappen pulled away. The superior tire strategy kicked in on lap 25 when Verstappen came in to swap his soft tires for the more durable mediums. Hamilton stayed out to take the lead for three laps before he ceded it back to Verstappen when he had to change his tires to mediums as well.