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The Star
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Motor racing-Piastri says Spanish win was just what he needed
Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - May 31, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri during practice REUTERS/Bruna Casas BARCELONA (Reuters) - Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri said winning Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix was just what he needed after losing out to McLaren teammate Lando Norris over the previous two weekends. "It's been a great year and this weekend's been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for," said the Australian after his fifth win in nine races. "We executed everything we needed to when it counted and that's all you can ask for. The team gave me a great car once again. It's a lot of fun winning races at the moment." The victory, the seventh of the 24-year-old's career, stretched Piastri's lead over second-placed Norris to 10 points after the Briton reduced it to three with his triumph in Monaco last Sunday. Norris also finished second at Imola, the race before Monaco won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with Piastri third. The Australian led from pole position in Spain, the top slot on the grid secured by the biggest margin of the year so far, after also topping the practice times at the Circuit de Catalunya. "It's definitely up there," Piastri said when asked whether it was his strongest yet in Formula One. "I don't know if it's the best one, but certainly it's been a strong one. You know, it's pretty hard to complain with the results we've had this weekend. "Just the effort that's gone in, and analysing some of the things from last week that we could have done better - I think we turned it around very nicely and got back to the form we wanted to be on." Norris, winner of two races this year so far, said he did not feel he had lost anything. "I think Oscar drove a very good race today and had a good day yesterday. I had the pace to go with him but not enough to try and catch up and put him under threat," he said. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Piastri says Spanish win was just what he needed
Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - June 1, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrates with his sister Edie Piastri after winning the Spanish Grand Prix REUTERS/Albert Gea Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - June 1, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrates with his sister Edie Piastri after winning the Spanish Grand Prix REUTERS/Albert Gea Piastri says Spanish win was just what he needed BARCELONA - Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri said winning Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix was just what he needed after losing out to McLaren teammate Lando Norris over the previous two weekends. "It's been a great year and this weekend's been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for," said the Australian after his fifth win in nine races. "We executed everything we needed to when it counted and that's all you can ask for. The team gave me a great car once again. It's a lot of fun winning races at the moment." The victory, the seventh of the 24-year-old's career, stretched Piastri's lead over second-placed Norris to 10 points after the Briton reduced it to three with his triumph in Monaco last Sunday. Norris also finished second at Imola, the race before Monaco won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with Piastri third. The Australian led from pole position in Spain, the top slot on the grid secured by the biggest margin of the year so far, after also topping the practice times at the Circuit de Catalunya. "It's definitely up there," Piastri said when asked whether it was his strongest yet in Formula One. "I don't know if it's the best one, but certainly it's been a strong one. You know, it's pretty hard to complain with the results we've had this weekend. "Just the effort that's gone in, and analysing some of the things from last week that we could have done better - I think we turned it around very nicely and got back to the form we wanted to be on." Norris, winner of two races this year so far, said he did not feel he had lost anything. "I think Oscar drove a very good race today and had a good day yesterday. I had the pace to go with him but not enough to try and catch up and put him under threat," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Motor racing-Hulkenberg's fine fifth lifts Sauber off the bottom
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Monaco Grand Prix - Circuit de Monaco, Monaco - May 23, 2025 Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg during practice REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File photo BARCELONA (Reuters) - Nico Hulkenberg lifted Sauber off the bottom of the Formula One standings with a fifth place at the Spanish Grand Prix for the future Audi team. Sunday's result, in a car with upgrades, was Swiss-based Sauber's best in three years and they left the Circuit de Catalunya eighth overall and ahead of Aston Martin and Renault-owned Alpine. They had not scored points since Hulkenberg was seventh in the Australian season-opener in March. "It was one of those Sundays where everything came together really well," said Hulkenberg, who passed Ferrari's seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton for fifth. "Right from the beginning, we were in the mix; a strong start, a clean first lap, and we were immediately able to fight for points. "Ironically, not having the best Saturday and saving a set of softs gave us a strategic edge with the tyre allocation. The safety car mixed things up a bit, and having those fresh compounds turned out to be a golden ticket." Hulkenberg has scored all of Sauber's points this season with Brazilian rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished 12th, yet to open his account in nine starts. Sauber, who become the Audi factory team next year, are level on 16 points with Aston Martin but ahead on placings. Alpine are last and five further adrift. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
The Star
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Motor racing-Verstappen one point from a race ban after clash with Russell
Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - May 30, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen during practice REUTERS/Bruna Casas BARCELONA (Reuters) -Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban after being punished for driving into Mercedes rival George Russell during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. In addition to a 10-second time penalty, dropping the Red Bull driver from fifth to 10th, stewards handed Verstappen three penalty points on his super-licence. That took his tally to 11 for a 12-month period, with 12 points triggering a one-race ban. Two of those points expire at the end of June but there are two races before that. The Red Bull driver had clashed twice with Russell at the restart following a late safety car period at the Circuit de Catalunya. The pair made contact first at Turn One when Verstappen, who was defending fourth place on hard tyres against a rival on quicker softs, was pushed wide but stayed ahead. He was then told by Red Bull to hand back the place. Stewards noted Verstappen "was clearly unhappy with his team's request. "At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 (Verstappen) significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 (Russell) to overtake," they added. "However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63." 'INTENTIONAL RETALIATION'? The incident, as well as an earlier clash with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, triggered accusations of road rage and a return to the "Mad Max" days of old, before Verstappen's four world titles. "It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn One," said Mercedes' 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports television. "That's something which is extremely unacceptable and I think the rules would be a black flag, yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that's a black flag." McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished second, watched a replay in the cool-down room and commented: "I've done that before in Mario Kart." Russell told reporters he did not know what Verstappen was thinking. "It felt very deliberate. It is something I have seen numerous times in sim (video) racing and i-racing and never have I seen it in a Formula One race so that was something new," added the Briton. "It is a shame because Max is one of the best drivers in the world but manoeuvres like that are totally unnecessary. It lets him down and it is a shame for all of the young kids looking up to us, aspiring to be Formula One drivers. "It is something you see in go-karting but never in F1. It doesn't make sense to crash into somebody and risk damaging your own car and risk a penalty. And he could have come back to fight for the podium." Verstappen, who had accused Leclerc of ramming into him, accepted the two had different opinions. "I'll bring some tissues next time," the Dutch driver said when told of Russell's concerns. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Oscar Piastri extends championship lead with Spanish Grand Prix victory
Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - June 1, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri leads at the start of the race REUTERS/Juan Medina McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri celebrating on the podium after winning the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, on the outskirts of Barcelona, on June 1, 2025. PHOTO: AFP – Oscar Piastri drove with exemplary calm and control in a torrid race on June 1 to beat rival and teammate Lando Norris as McLaren claimed their first Spanish Grand Prix victory since 2005 with a resounding one-two triumph. The 24-year-old Australian came home 2.4 seconds clear of Norris for his fifth win in 2025 to extend his lead over his teammate in the drivers' championship to 10 points, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finishing third after a dramatic finale. Said Piastri: 'A bit of a surprise to see Max (Verstappen) try the three-stop and it nearly worked for him. A great weekend overall. 'The pace was really good, we can turn it on when we needed to. Just very proud of the work we did this weekend. It's a nice way to bounce back from (third place in) Monaco. A superb weekend.' Four-time champion Verstappen of Red Bull, who made four stops in total and ended up on the slower hard tyres against rivals on softs, collided with Leclerc and twice with Mercedes' George Russell after the safety car restart. The angry Dutch driver was given a 10-second penalty added to his overall time for the second Russell collision that was clearly his fault. He and Leclerc also faced a post-race investigation for their clash that could lead to further sanctions. Leclerc said: 'I tried to push him to the left, there was a bit of contact but fortunately no consequences.' Verstappen claimed the Monegasque had rammed into him and should have given back the place. Russell finished fourth after eventually being let through by Verstappen, who reluctantly did as his team told him. Said the Briton: 'I was as surprised as you guys were. I've seen those sort of manoeuvres before on simulator games and go-karting but never in F1. Ultimately we came home in P4 and he came home in P10. I don't really know what was going through his mind. It felt deliberate in the moment, so it felt surprising.' When asked if his collision with Russell was intentional, Verstappen told Sky Sports: 'Does it matter? I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment. 'If there are any (drivers' title hopes), we are way too slow any way to fight for the title, I think that was clear again today. 'We tried to do a three-stop, I thought it was quite good and it was quite racy, and we also needed it because we had quite a bit of degradation on the tyres.' Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg finished a surprising and morale-boosting fifth for the future Audi team after passing Ferrari's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap. Hamilton was a disappointing sixth, Isack Hadjar seventh for Racing Bulls and Pierre Gasly eighth for Renault-owned Alpine. Home hero Fernando Alonso scored his first points of the season with Aston Martin, who had only one car on the grid due to Lance Stroll's withdrawal through injury after qualifying on May 31. Piastri led away cleanly at the start with Verstappen seizing second from Norris while Hamilton and Leclerc moved up to fourth and fifth as Russell lost out. Hamilton let Leclerc through on lap 10 of 66 after the two Ferraris had run nose to tail. Norris took back second place from Verstappen on lap 13, the Dutch driver making no attempt to defend against the quicker McLaren and pitting in the next lap for fresh tyres. Verstappen took the lead again on lap 23 after Piastri pitted, with Norris making his first stop on lap 21 and coming out behind the Red Bull, but that lasted only until Verstappen pitted for a second time on lap 30. He came in for a third stop on lap 47 but Norris pitted the lap after to defend second place. A safety car deployment on lap 55, after Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli beached his Mercedes in the gravel, bunched up the field and triggered a rash of stops. The McLarens came in together for fresh tyres, double-stacking, and resumed ahead of Verstappen, who questioned the switch to a set of hards but was told that was the only option available. AFP, REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
