F1 Raceweek: Hamilton looks to match Schumacher - Spanish GP in numbers

Madrid, May 9: Lewis Hamilton will take renewed optimism into this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix after breaking his 2018 duck in fortuitous circumstances in Azerbaijan last time out.

The defending champion moved to the top of the Formula One standings thanks to his win in Baku after Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas suffered a late and dramatic puncture.

Barcelona is a happy hunting ground for the Silver Arrows with three wins in the last four editions of the race, and five pole positions in a row.

Title rival Sebastian Vettel has enjoyed less success at the Circuit de Catalunya, winning just once, but this weekend provides another opportunity for him to reach a milestone.

Meanwhile, Red Bull will be hoping to have a more productive weekend after Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen took each other out in the last race.

Here we look at some of the best Opta facts ahead of the fifth race of the 2018 season:

14 - Hamilton is looking to become the first driver in 14 years to win back-to-back Spanish GPs, the last man to do it was Michael Schumacher.

20 - Pole position is a great place to be in Barcelona, 20 out of the 27 races have been won by the driver starting at the front of the grid.

50 - Vettel has been on 49 wins since his triumph in Shanghai, if the German takes the chequered flag on Sunday he would become the fourth F1 driver to win 50 races behind Schumacher, Hamilton and Alain Prost.

6 - Mercedes will be searching for a sixth consecutive pole position at the Spanish GP, equalling their best streak – currently at the Chinese GP.

1 - The Spanish GP is the only race on the current calendar that Bottas has yet to achieve a top-three finish or set the fastest lap.

93 - Fernando Alonso has failed to win any of his last 93 races, while Kimi Raikkonen's unwanted streak stands at 98. The longest gap between two wins in F1 history is 99, set by Riccardo Patrese.

18 - Max Verstappen became the youngest F1 winner in history at the 2016 Spanish GP in what was his first race for Red Bull – he was 18 years, seven months and 15 days old.

139 - No driver in F1 history has recorded as many races without reaching the podium as Nico Hulkenberg.

Source: OPTA/OmniSport