Oscar Piastri claimed a commanding victory at the Spanish GP, making it his fifth win of the season after a composed drive from pole to flag. The McLaren driver led a one-two race finish ahead of teammate Lando Norris, as chaos unfolded behind them.
Max Verstappen, who started third, found himself embroiled in a tense battle with George Russell in the closing stages, resulting in contact, an investigation, and a time penalty that ultimately dropped him from P5 to P10.
While Piastri’s race was controlled and clinical, the drama further down the field ensured an action-packed afternoon in Barcelona.
Preview of the Spanish GP – What happened so far?
Oscar Piastri claimed a commanding pole position for the race at the Spanish GP after an intense intra-team battle with McLaren teammate Lando Norris. The Australian edged out Norris by just a hundredth of a second, while championship Max Verstappen will line up third on the grid. The session marked McLaren’s continued dominance across the weekend, with both drivers topping all three practice sessions leading into qualifying.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who qualified 14th, didn’t compete in Sunday’s race due to ongoing wrist pain linked to a prior medical procedure. The late timing of his withdrawal prevented the team from replacing him with reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.
Strategy played a crucial role in the Spanish Grand Prix, with tyre choices varying across the front-runners. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, along with Max Verstappen and George Russell, each went into the race with one fresh set of hards, mediums, and softs, as well as some used compounds.
Lewis Hamilton had one new set each of hards and mediums but no fresh softs available. Charles Leclerc also lacked new soft tyres but retained two sets of fresh mediums, potentially giving Ferrari more flexibility for a two-stop strategy.
The race took place under hot conditions, with air temperatures reaching 30°C and the track peaking at 48°C. Pirelli had brought their hardest three compounds to handle the heat, but tyre performance—especially in dirty air—remained an uncertain factor.
Lights out for the 9th GP in 2025
All drivers except for Yuki Tsunoda, who started in P19, started the race on the soft tyres.
Oscar Piastri made a strong start, pulling clear at the front as the field charged into Turn 1. Behind him, Max Verstappen challenged Lando Norris and managed to pass him into the first corner. Further back, George Russell came under immediate pressure, losing out to Lewis Hamilton and then to Charles Leclerc in quick succession. The opening moments saw a dramatic three-wide moment into Turn 1, with several cars jostling for position.
By the end of the first lap, Piastri held the lead with Verstappen already closing the gap, nearly a second behind as DRS was enabled. Norris ran third ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, while Russell found himself down in sixth. Andrea Kimi Antonelli ran seventh after taking to the escape road at the start.
Further back, Nico Hülkenberg gained several places off the line and was up to P11, engaged in a tight battle with Fernando Alonso for the final points-paying position.
As the field settled into rhythm, Verstappen gradually closed in on Piastri, while pulling away from Norris in third.
Meanwhile, Russell expressed frustration over radio communications, citing concerns about drivers moving under braking. His frustration likely stemmed from losing two positions off the start.
The battle for P10 eventually swung in Hülkenberg’s favour as he overtook Alonso—an unpopular moment with the home crowd. Nonetheless, the race was still in its early stages, and with Kick Sauber showing solid pace in practice, Hülkenberg continued to push forward, targeting Hadjar ahead and aiming to distance himself from the Aston Martin behind.
Tyre management began, the first pit stops came
Williams’ struggles continued as Alex Albon rejoined at the back of the field following a front wing change and a fresh set of soft tyres. Meanwhile, the stewards confirmed no investigation was necessary for Nico Hülkenberg’s use of the escape road at the start of the Spanish GP race, deeming it legal.
At the front, Piastri extended his lead over Verstappen to nearly three seconds, with Norris a further second back. The main action unfolded behind them as Charles Leclerc pressured Lewis Hamilton for fourth, the Ferrari appearing to have the stronger pace. Ferrari responded by instructing Hamilton to let Leclerc through, which he did into Turn 1.
The first round of pit stops began shortly after. Carlos Sainz suffered a costly delay in the pits, stationary for over 10 seconds, because he got a new front wing as well. Hülkenberg, Tsunoda, and Bearman also pitted early, with the medium tyres showing signs of rapid degradation for Tsunoda.
Gasly, running in the top ten, pitted to cover off a potential undercut from Hülkenberg and rejoined ahead of Bearman. Now on softs, Gasly faced immediate pressure from Hülkenberg on mediums, who quickly cleared Bearman and began closing in on the Alpine.
On lap 13, Norris made a decisive move on Verstappen with the help of DRS into Turn 1. The Dutchman did not defend aggressively, aware he lacked the pace at that moment to hold position.
Strategy unfolds amid high tyre degradation
Further back, Alonso’s hopes for a points finish faded after a trip through the gravel and a pit stop dropped him to P19. He was later noted by race control for an unsafe rejoin.
Verstappen moved back up the order, passing Russell into Turn 7 to reclaim third. At this stage, both Russell and Antonelli had yet to stop. Russell eventually pitted on lap 21, rejoining in seventh on medium tyres.
By lap 24 of the Spanish GP race, the order saw Verstappen leading those who had already stopped, with Piastri and Norris still circulating on their first stints. Leclerc, Hamilton, and Russell followed, having pitted and resumed in their earlier positions. Gasly, Antonelli, and Hülkenberg completed the top ten, with the latter continuing a strong run in ninth.
Although the undercut worked initially for some, the effectiveness of these early stops remained uncertain with tyre wear likely to play a defining role as the race unfolded.
Further back, a fierce scrap developed between Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, and Alex Albon over positions 12 to 14. Contact occurred between Lawson and Albon, damaging Albon’s front wing for the second time. Replays showed Lawson executing a late move, with Albon clipping the Racing Bulls car while trying to avoid the overtake, resulting in the loss of his endplate.
The stewards opened an investigation into the incident. Albon was subsequently handed a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Despite pitting to serve the penalty—likely to prevent it from carrying over to the next round—he rejoined with the damaged front wing still in place. Williams eventually retired the car, bringing a difficult weekend to an early end.
Halfway point at the Spanish GP race
At the front of the Spanish GP race, Oscar Piastri began closing the gap to Verstappen, reducing the deficit steadily. By lap 31, the McLaren driver led the race by nearly five seconds from Norris, with Leclerc around five seconds further back. Hamilton, in fifth, began voicing concerns over rear grip once again.
Meanwhile, tensions remained high in the lower points-paying positions. Another incident unfolded as Lawson and Bearman made contact while battling for P11, with Alonso in P13 poised to benefit from any further errors.
The race developed into a three-stop contest
As the Spanish GP race progressed, it became clear that high tyre degradation was pushing most of the front-runners toward a three-stop strategy. By lap 39, it was apparent that no one in the top ten could make a one-stop or even a two-stop work effectively, especially under the extreme track temperatures. Pit crews were under mounting pressure with another round of crucial stops still to come.
Back in the midfield, Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman continued their battle for position, with stewards deciding no further action was necessary after their earlier contact. Meanwhile, Verstappen was steadily closing the gap to Norris, sitting just over four seconds behind. McLaren began to wonder whether they should have split strategies between their drivers to better cover Red Bull.
Leclerc blinked first, pitting from fourth to take on a second set of fresh medium tyres—one of the few drivers with two new sets remaining. Verstappen soon followed, switching to used softs—his only remaining option. Red Bull encountered a brief delay behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who was slow to yield, adding to Verstappen’s frustration.
Piastri made his second stop shortly after. It was a clean change to used softs, and the Australian rejoined in the lead, just ahead of Norris and Verstappen. McLaren breathed a sigh of relief, but the battle was far from over.
By lap 52, Piastri led Norris by 2.3 seconds. However, Norris and Verstappen were caught behind Bearman and Lawson, who were locked in their own fight. As Lawson attempted a move, Bearman was forced off the track, further delaying the chasing pair. Verstappen, stuck behind the duelling rookies, was visibly frustrated as the McLaren drivers stretched their advantage.
Safety Car out on lap 55!
A dramatic twist unfolded as the Safety Car was deployed on lap 55 following Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s retirement. The Mercedes driver pulled off into the gravel with what appeared to be a power unit failure, marking another reliability concern for the team after Russell’s issue in Monaco.
The top three—Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen—all took advantage of the Safety Car to make their final pit stops. McLaren managed a clean double-stack stop, maintaining position, but Verstappen emerged on hard tyres, the only compound available to him. He was visibly frustrated over the radio, while the McLarens returned to track on used softs.
As the field bunched up, several other drivers also made their final stops. Most opted for softs, while Ocon stayed out on mediums. Verstappen remained the lone driver on the hard compound, setting up a challenging final stint for the Red Bull driver.
When the Safety Car pulled in on lap 61, Piastri controlled the restart well, backing up the field before making a clean getaway. Norris followed closely, but Verstappen struggled with rear grip and snapped sideways at the final corner.
Leclerc seized the opportunity to overtake Verstappen down the main straight, and Russell dived inside at Turn 1. Verstappen was forced to the escape road, rejoining ahead of Russell.
As DRS was re-enabled at the Spanish GP race, the fight intensified at the front. Norris was immediately on the back of Piastri, setting the stage for a thrilling run to the flag. Meanwhile, Bearman received a 10-second penalty for an earlier move on Lawson, and the incident between Verstappen and Russell was placed under investigation.
Final laps
In the final laps, Max Verstappen was instructed to let George Russell through following their earlier clash under the Safety Car restart. However, as Verstappen hesitated and questioned the call, Russell attempted a move—and the two made contact again.
Amid the chaos, Nico Hülkenberg made a clean move on Lewis Hamilton to take sixth, while Fernando Alonso climbed into the points in tenth. The midfield battle remained intense right to the end.
Despite the drama behind, Oscar Piastri remained composed up front. He maintained a gap of over two seconds to Lando Norris and brought home his fifth win of the season with a commanding drive in Spain.
Norris finished second, with Charles Leclerc completing the podium in third. Russell managed to bring the car home in fourth despite the contact, ahead of Verstappen in fifth. The rest of the top ten were Hülkenberg, Hamilton, Hadjar, Gasly, and Alonso.
In the end, Verstappen was given a 10-second time penalty for his collision with Russell, dropping him from fifth to tenth. He remained in the points, but the big winner was Hülkenberg, who was promoted to fifth; an unexpected but well-earned result.
Final results
- Piastri
- Norris
- Leclerc
- Russell
- Hülkenberg
- Hamilton
- Hadjar
- Gasly
- Alonso
- Verstappen
- Lawson
- Bortoleto
- Tsunoda
- Sainz
- Colapinto
- Ocon
- Bearman
- DNF – Antonelli
- DNF – Albon
