Oscar Piastri strengthened his lead at the Formula One World Championship, beating McLaren teammate Rand Norris, and Max Verstappen drops to 10th place after a post-race penalty.
Formula One Championship leader Oscar Piastri won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position in McLaren One Two and scored 10 points from his teammate Lando Norris in the World Championship title battle.
Australia’s victory on Sunday in 2.4 seconds at Norris was fifth in nine races this season, while McLaren was seventh.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium on Sunday after finishing six laps from the end of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull after triggering a safe period that sparked a major afternoon buzz when the champions relegated from fifth to tenth.
“It’s a great way to bounce back from Monaco. It’s a great weekend,” said Piastri, who finished third last weekend in a race that won from Norris’ pole.
Verstappen, who made four stops in total and got slower hard tires against his soft rival, collided twice with Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell after a safety car reboot.
The Dutch driver was given a 10-second penalty for Russell’s second collision.
He and Leclerc will also face post-race investigations due to their clashes, which could lead to further sanctions.
“I tried to push him to the left. I got a little contacted, but fortunately there were no results,” Leclerc said. Verstappen claimed that Monegasque plunged into him and that the place should have been returned.
Russell finished fourth after being finally passed by a reluctant Verstappen, as his team told him.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished fifth in the final laps to boost the incredible morale of future Audi teams.
Hamilton was in a disappointing sixth place, with Isack Hadjar seventh in the Racing Bulls and Pierre Gasly eighth in the Renault-owned Alpine.
Home hero Fernando Alonso scored the first points of the season with Aston Martin, who only had one car on the grid due to Lance Stroll’s withdrawal from injury after Saturday’s qualifying.
Piastri puts his cool thing in front
Piastri gave a nice lead in the start with Hamilton and Leclair moving from fourth to fifth at the expense of Russell, and Verstappen, second to Noris, placed second from Norris.
Hamilton passed Leclair on lap 10, 66 laps after two Ferraris ran their tails from their noses.
Norris returned to second place from Verstappen on lap 13, with the Dutch driver not trying to defend the faster McLaren and pitting on the next lap of the new tire.
Verstappen took the lead again on lap 23 after Piastri scored the pit. Norris set the first stop on lap 21 and came out behind Red Bull, which continued until Verstappen pits the second time on lap 30.
Verstappen came to the third stop on lap 47, and Norris later pitted the lap to defend second place.
The safety car was deployed over 55 laps after rookie driver Kimi Antoneri beached Mercedes with gravel and bundled the field to cause a pit stop rash.
McLarens came along for a new tire, double stacking, and reopened comfortably before Verstappen.
The next round of the 2025 season will be the Canadian Grand Prix, held in Montreal on June 15th.
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