Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 in F1 Spanish GP as Verstappen rages

Canada Standard

6 days ago

by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Oscar Piastri claimed his fifth win of the 2025 Formula One season on Sunday, surviving a late safety car scare to lead a McLaren 1-2 at the Spanish Grand Prix, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen saw his race unravel after a late collision with Mercedes' George Russell earned him a 10-second penalty and dropped him to tenth.
Piastri, who started from pole at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, controlled the race from the outset and held firm through a late safety car period to seal victory, finishing 2.4 seconds ahead of Norris. Charles Leclerc completed the podium for Ferrari after Verstappen's penalty erased his on-track fifth-place finish.
McLaren's dominance over the weekend, including their first front-row lockout since 1998, defied hopes that new FIA flexi-wing regulations would help rivals close the gap. The rule change, intended to prevent front wings from bending at high speed, forced teams to stiffen their designs, prompting speculation that McLaren's early-season supremacy may be challenged.
At lights out, Piastri made a clean getaway, while Norris dropped behind Verstappen into Turn 1. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton came under pressure early and was instructed to let teammate Leclerc through after struggling for pace. As Norris reeled in Verstappen, the Dutchman began to complain of tyre degradation, allowing the Briton to retake second on lap 13.
A flurry of pit stops followed. Verstappen, who elected to pit three times while most others did so only twice, came in to ditch his worn softs, temporarily regaining track position. But the McLarens, now on fresher medium tyres, quickly chased him down. Piastri regained the net lead after the final round of stops, with Norris holding station behind.
The race was neutralized on lap 55 after Kimi Antonelli's car came to a halt in the gravel with a power unit failure. A rush into the pits followed, but while most drivers took on soft tyres, Verstappen was forced to switch to the hard compound after having used up his allocation of softs - a call the Dutchman questioned immediately over team radio.
At the restart on lap 61, Verstappen lost rear grip and was passed by Leclerc, and the two cars touched as the Ferrari moved back towards the racing line. Russell then dived down the inside of Verstappen at turn 1 and the two cars touched, with Verstappen holding the position by taking to the escape road.
Red Bull then ordered an unhappy Verstappen to give Russell back the position he had gained off-track, but as the Dutchman appeared to let Russell by, he instead moved to the inside and made contact with the Mercedes. The stewards deemed the collision deliberate, handing Verstappen a 10-second penalty that dropped him from fifth to tenth in the final classification.
Leclerc inherited third, while Russell survived the contact to finish fourth. Nico Hulkenberg produced one of the drives of the day to finish fifth for Sauber, passing a dispirited Hamilton late on. Isack Hadjar impressed again with seventh for Racing Bulls, ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly, while Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso snatched his first points of the season in ninth at his home race.
The weekend ended early for Alonso's teammate Lance Stroll, who was withdrawn following qualifying due to lingering wrist pain. The Canadian, who had suffered multiple hand and wrist fractures in a 2023 cycling crash, is now a doubt for his home race in Montreal in two weeks' time.
Piastri's win puts him on 186 points, ten ahead of second-placed Norris, with Verstappen third on 137.
In the Constructors' standings, McLaren now has 362 points, more than double the tally of second-placed Ferrari on 165. Mercedes is third with 159 points.