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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oscar Piastri wins Spanish Grand Prix, as George Russell and Max Verstappen clash in late drama
Oscar Piastri led from start to finish to win the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday and extend his lead at the top of the drivers' world championship. While Piastri coasted to victory, Max Verstappen and George Russell clashed with just one lap left in the race when Verstappen was ordered to move aside but held his line as his Mercedes rival attempted to overtake on a corner. Advertisement The two cars collided, Russell backed off before being let through shortly afterwards, and Verstappen received a 10-second penalty from the stewards as a result, meaning he finished in 10th place instead of fifth, losing crucial points for the drivers' championship. This is a developing story and will be updated. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
The National
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The National
Oscar Piastri hails 'mega car' after beating McLaren teammate Lando Norris to Spanish GP pole
Oscar Piastri grabbed pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. The championship leader clocked a near flawless final lap of one minute and 11.546 seconds to beat Norris by 0.209 seconds as McLaren claimed a dominant one-two having also topped all three practice sessions. McLaren have won six of the eight rounds so far, and their rivals might have hoped that a clampdown on flexible front wings – which some believe has contributed to the British team's rise – would slow them down. However, the rule tweak has done little to influence McLaren's speed, with Piastri and Norris embroiled in a tense battle for pole. Norris secured top spot in Monaco a week ago before going on to claim his first win since March's season-opener in Melbourne. 'I am very happy,' said Piastri, who is three points ahead of Norris in the title chase and 24 clear of Verstappen in third, after securing his fourth pole in nine races so far this season 'It didn't start off in the best way. I was struggling but I found pace and the car has been mega. 'I improved quite a lot in Turn 1 on my second lap and it all came together. It wasn't the perfect lap. It is going to be an interesting one tomorrow and I am pretty glad I am starting from pole. Norris was left to rue 'a couple of little mistakes' that were to prove costly. 'Turn One, where you don't want to make a mistake because it harms the tyres for the rest of the lap,' said the Briton. 'A couple of little squiggles there. And Turn Four as well. The pace was easily there but a couple of little mistakes.' He added: 'A good result for the team, a nice one-two and an interesting start for tomorrow.' Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. 'Turn 1 was never good even though I tried different approaches,' said Verstappen, who set the same lap time as Russell but will start ahead because he set it a few seconds earlier. 'The rest was fine, the car was in a decent window, unfortunately not fast enough.' Russell – who is fourth in the drivers' championship on 99 points, 62 behind Piastri, said: 'Very close with Max and Lando, definitely not in the fight for pole but other than Monaco we have been in the top five every qualifying. We know that's where the car is on a Saturday. 'Our goal is to try to improve the race pace. We have made some pretty drastic changes to the set-up this weekend, positive that it hasn't hindered qualifying pace but whether it will improve the race pace is another story.' Charles Leclerc was seventh in the second Ferrari ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Racing Bulls' impressive rookie Isack Hadjar and local hero two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin. Hamilton called his car 'undriveable' in practice on Friday, but he will take comfort from out-qualifying Leclerc for the first time since the second round in China, albeit half-a-second back from Piastri. The seven-time world champion said he was 'relatively happy with it' because it had been 'definitely an improvement from where we've been'.
Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
George Russell made Hamilton feelings clear at Monaco after Ferrari switch
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will race against one another at the Monaco GP on Sunday, but it wasn't too long ago that the two Englishmen were team-mates at Mercedes George Russell said that his relationship with Lewis Hamilton didn't change after the seven-time Formula 1 champion announced his move to Ferrari. The two shared one last run with one another at Mercedes in 2024, but when Hamilton broke the news in the February that he was headed to the Prancing Horse for 2025, speculation sparked regarding intra-team dynamics. When asked by GPblog on whether the announcement affected their camaraderie, Russell said: "No, not at all. The relationship's good." However, Hamilton felt sidelined by the team, perceiving favouritism towards Russell as the younger driver received Mercedes' only front wing upgrade at last year's Monaco GP. Speaking about the impact of the upgrade, Hamilton said: "I anticipated it would be difficult to out-qualify George because he has the upgraded component, but it's just great to see that we are bringing upgrades. "But once we got to qualifying...I don't understand. I already know automatically that I'm going to lose two-tenths going into qualifying, and that's definitely frustrating and it's something that I don't really have an answer for at the moment. "I'm not driving any different, the laps were really great, just lacking something. I don't anticipate being ahead of George in qualifying particularly this year, but we've just got to keep pushing, and the races are strong." When probed for more details on why he felt that way, Hamilton replied: "We'll see." Toto Wolff, CEO of Mercedes Petronas, dismissed any notions of favouritism at the time, however. He said: "Aren't all drivers a bit sceptical at times? As a team we have always demonstrated - even in the most tense competitions between team-mates - that we are always trying to balance what is right and be transparent and fair. "I can understand as a driver you want the best out of yourself and the team, and sometimes when it is going against you you can question that. But as a team we are 100 per cent on a mission of giving both drivers the best possible cars and strategies. We are trying to do the best out of the relationship (with Hamilton), trying to maximise the results for what is our final season together. "And that situation between drivers and teams can be tense at times because everybody wants to do the best." The story unfolds as Russell and Hamilton prepare to compete once again at the iconic Circuit de Monaco, this time as competitors rather than colleagues. Russell has had an impressive run so far with Mercedes, teaming up with Kimi Antonelli and securing four podiums. He currently sits fourth in the F1 Championship standings, and close to eclipsing the 100-point barrier. Meanwhile, Hamilton has had a challenging time delivering results at Ferrari - currently two spots below Russell in the standings without any victories or podium finishes. His top performance this season was a fourth-place finish at last week's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Max Verstappen shortens to 10/3 to win his fifth-straight Formula One title following his victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Sunday
Max Verstappen returned to form in style at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix over the weekend - with the four-time reigning champion finishing first past the chequered flag in Italy. As a result of his win, he is third in the standings and sits 22 points shy of the leader Oscar Piastri. With the above in mind - let's take a look at the odds the Dutchman is garnering to win his fifth straight title following his victory on Sunday. At the time of writing - Verstappen has shortened to a boosted 10/3 with Sky Bet to win the title, which is good for third-favourite in the market. He is behind that of McLaren teammates Piastri and Lando Norris - with the pair priced at 10/11 and 5/2 respectively. Piastri has won four races to date this season, while Norris has one win and five podium finishes to his name in 2025. Meanwhile, for those after a considerable outsider in the market - George Russell and Charles Leclerc round out of the five favourites at 40/1 and 66/1. Sky Bet favourites to win the 2025 Drivers' Championship: Oscar Piastri 10/11 Lando Norris 5/2 Max Verstappen WAS 11/4 NOW 10/3 George Russell 40/1 Charles Leclerc 66/1 All odds are correct at the time of publication
Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Max Verstappen's early move on Oscar Piastri secures Imola victory
Never, when leading a race with Max Verstappen in your mirrors, should you assume you can relax. That was the hard lesson the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, learnt at the Tamburello chicane, and the moment a potential victory disappeared into the Italian countryside. Piastri must have known that Verstappen would be aggressive and brave at the first corner. It was evident from the moment Verstappen had qualified on the front row. Team principals, and everyone else, were making clear the first lap would be box office. But Piastri thought he was comfortably in the lead, braked early, and watched the reigning world champion — who at one stage had been third on corner entry — swing by him in a stunning move. Christian Horner, the
