In an intriguing strategic battle at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Oscar Piastri extended his World Championship lead on Sunday. The Australian McLaren driver calmly claimed victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Lando Norris. Max Verstappen and Red Bull adopted a different tyre strategy (three-stopper) and held out hope for a sporting upset for a long time, but the world champion was flagged off as fifth after a chaotic final phase. Due to a ten-second time penalty, he was demoted to P10!
Here is a brief overview of the Spanish Grand Prix:
ROUND 1/66: Max Verstappen had a good start in the Spanish heat (30 degrees Celsius) and managed to overtake Lando Norris from P3 in the run to the first corner. Pole sitter Oscar Piastri made no mistake and maintained the lead. Notably, Nico Hülkenberg had an excellent start (from P15 to P10), while George Russell had a poor start. The Mercedes driver fell from P4 to P6, behind the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc. Lance Stroll missed the race due to an injury, Yuki Tsunoda started from the pit lane.
9/66: Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were engaged in a fierce battle for P4. The fight was naturally hard on the tyres, but the team management did not intervene. At the front, Piastri was slowly but surely pulling away from Verstappen (margin: over 3.5 seconds) and the latter was coming under pressure from Lando Norris behind him.
13/66: Norris overtook Max Verstappen on the straight at the start/finish line with DRS, who was struggling with understeer. Defending was futile against the McLaren with a surplus of speed. The four-time world champion from Red Bull came in for his first pit stop (from soft to soft) a little later and tried to undercut Norris. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso steered his Aston Martin through the gravel in turn 5.
Verstappen’s Fast Lap Times
22/66: Verstappen was clocking fast lap times, while the McLarens stayed out longer. Norris was the first of the two to come in and returned to the track in third place, about ten seconds behind Verstappen. Piastri came in a lap later as the race leader and swapped his softs for new mediums. He returned to the track five seconds behind Verstappen, in P2. The standings behind the top three were: Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell, Gasly, Antonelli, Hülkenberg, and Hadjar.
Race Highlights
27/66: Alexander Albon loses a piece of his front wing after contact with Liam Lawson in the battle for P12. Shortly after, he comes in to serve a ten-second time penalty, allowing him to start the next race in Canada with a clean slate. A lap later, he definitively comes in, making the British Williams driver the first dropout of the race.
30/66: Verstappen makes his second pit stop, swapping the softs for mediums. He returns to the track just ahead of Lewis Hamilton, in P4. Red Bull, therefore, opts for a divergent three-stop strategy compared to McLaren.
‘All to play for, Max’
42/66: Verstappen flies over the track and drives on fresh rubber towards the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. Verstappen’s engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, indicates that victory still seems within reach: ‘All to play for, Max’. Meanwhile, Verstappen’s teammate Tsunoda – in P13 – is being lapped.
48/66: Max Verstappen comes in for the third time (softs) and tries an undercut at Norris. McLaren reacts, brings in the Brit, last week’s winner of the GP of Monaco, a lap later and parries the attack. Norris returns to the track one second ahead of Verstappen. The Dutchman does immediately come within DRS range.
55/66: Yellow flag! Kimi Antonelli parks his Mercedes car in the gravel due to engine problems. The top of the field reacts. Verstappen also dives into the pits and gets – somewhat surprisingly, even for Verstappen – a fresh set of hard tires. The men in front and behind him are all on used softs.
61/66: The race restart is disastrous for Verstappen. He nearly loses control of the car, Charles Leclerc takes advantage. The two make contact, to Verstappen’s fury. George Russell nearly profits, he also makes contact with Verstappen shortly after, who is forced to choose the escape route. Meanwhile, the McLarens are on their way to a new double victory.
65/66: Verstappen has to give the place back to Russell, to Verstappen’s fury. On the first attempt, the two collide again. Shortly after, Russell overtakes. Standings at the top: Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Russell, Verstappen.
66/66: Oscar Piastri is flagged as the winner of a GP for the fifth time this season, ahead of Lando Norris. Max Verstappen finishes fifth and is furious.
