New Delhi: Oscar Piastri wins his fifth race of the season as McLaren secured their third 1 and 2 finish of the season in the Spanish Grand Prix, their seventh overall podium finish this season. Charles Leclerc bagged his second podium finish of the season. Before the race had even started with Lance Stroll pulled out of the race after experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, leaving Aston Martin with just Fernando Alonso on the grid and finishing with his first score of the season.
Earlier, it was the dream start for Ferrari, who overtook George Russell early, with Mercedes combating the trouble of overheating the tyres. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had almost gone wheel to wheel before the Briton picked the slipstream and moved from the outside. Oscar Piastri started perfectly, going clear in the front, as Red Bull driver Max Verstappen easily went past Lando Norris to move to the second place.
PIASTRI WINS IN SPAIN!! 👏👏
He secures the victory in dominant fashion! 💪#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/ghuaB76CmD
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025
In the early parts of the race, Hamilton defended the position well against his teammate, with Leclerc constantly threatening to go past. Even Verstappen in the opening stages kept the heat on Piastri. However, the McLaren strategy was on point throughout and made the best of the tyre management. It was a poor outing for Williams as well, with Alex Albon retiring before the halfway mark while Carlos Sainz finished 15th.
Chaotic closing laps
Until the 55th lap, it was business as usual at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which had not even had a yellow flag incident in the last two years. However, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli’s horrid run continued as he faced a power issue and went straight to the gravel in turn 10. Safety car was deployed, which rewrote most of the 19-car race result.
Right before the track was cleared of the safety car, Piastri slammed on his brakes, slowing down the traffic behind him and then stamped on the throttle, and Norris followed Verstappen, who was on hard tyres, felt the pressure and skidded as Leclerc waded past the Red Bull. In the process, the two cars made contact, which did leave Verstappen red-faced. This was followed by a contact with Russell as well.
Max Verstappen’s misery and points table
When Verstappen was asked to let Russell pass, he again made contact, denying the overtake, but the Briton ultimately managed to go past the Dutchman. In the whole chaos, Nico Hulkenberg managed to go past Hamilton, finishing fifth in the race, giving Sauber their best finish of the season. Leclerc finishes in. surprise podium with Russell in the fourth place following a poor Monaco outing. Verstappen finished tenth, earning a ten-second penalty, following an investigation that stewards found him guilty of making contact with Russell.
The result leaves the two Papaya team drivers with a gap of just 10 points of each other, with Piastri maintaining his place at the top. George Russell is still in fourth place, but the gap has reduced with Verstappen’s third place by 26 points. As for the teams, Ferrari are now in the second place, going past Mercedes by just six points. Despite their 165 points, McLaren’s 362 points is a far cry.
Driver of the Day
While Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were on their elemental best, with the British driver managing to retake his second-place from Verstappen after losing it in the first turn, it is the surprise that Leclerc sprung up that is the talk of the town. After Ferrari decided that Hamilton had let him pass, Leclerc took all the advantage of it, putting pressure on Verstappen and going past him. A second podium finish does aid in his bid to climb to fourth place in the driver’s championship.
Oscar Piastri takes his fifth win of the season in the Spanish Grand Prix as McLaren secure their seventh double podium finishes of the season with Charles Leclerc securing his second podium of the season. Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
