Spanish GP 2025: Piastri wins as Verstappen clashes with Russell

Oscar Piastri won the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona from pole position, leading a McLaren one-two 2.471 seconds ahead of Lando Norris. It was his fifth win in nine rounds, and it took his championship lead over his team-mate from three points to ten. Charles Leclerc finished third after a late safety car reshuffled the order, while Max Verstappen, fifth on the road, was classified tenth after a 10-second penalty for colliding with George Russell.

How Piastri won in Barcelona

Piastri kept the lead into Turn 1. Verstappen, third on the grid, went around the outside of Norris for second, but Norris used DRS to take the place back on lap 13. From there the front of the race settled into a McLaren procession with a Red Bull trying to break it up on strategy.

Red Bull committed Verstappen to three stops, and he briefly led while the McLarens made their first visits to the pits. When he made his third stop, McLaren brought both cars in straight after to shut down the undercut. Piastri was never seriously threatened.

Safety car, hard tyres and a penalty

Then Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes lost power while he was running in the points, and he stopped in the gravel at Turn 10. The safety car came out and almost everyone pitted for used softs. Verstappen had none left. Red Bull fitted hards, the slowest tyre to bring up to temperature, and told him it was the only option.

Leclerc passed him at the restart, with brief contact that the stewards looked at after the race. Russell attacked next; the two banged wheels, Verstappen went through the escape road and rejoined ahead. Told to give the place back, he slowed, then drove into the Mercedes as Russell went past. Russell said it "felt deliberate in the moment". Ten seconds were added to Verstappen's time, which put him behind Nico Hülkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso.

The teammate duels in Spain

McLaren. Piastri beat Norris on Saturday and on Sunday, keeping him behind at the start, through the stops and at the restart. In their head-to-head, Norris still leads qualifying 5–4 in our count, but Piastri now leads the races 5–4. The duel that decides the title is the one inside the same garage.

Ferrari. Hamilton out-qualified Leclerc, fifth to seventh, and both passed Russell on the opening lap. In the race Hamilton struggled for grip, and Ferrari told him to let Leclerc through. From there it ran one way: Leclerc on the podium, Hamilton sixth after Hülkenberg passed him late. Hamilton vs Leclerc stands at 7–1 to Leclerc in races on F1 Duels.

Sauber. Gabriel Bortoleto beat Hülkenberg in qualifying, then Hülkenberg turned 15th on the grid into fifth, Sauber's best result of the season. Bortoleto finished 12th. Their duel is close on Saturdays (5–4 to Hülkenberg) and less so on Sundays (4–2).

Racing Bulls. Isack Hadjar finished seventh from ninth on the grid, while Liam Lawson was 11th. The rookie has now beaten his team-mate in all six races we count this year. Mercedes produced no verdict: Antonelli's failure takes the race out of our model, as does Alex Albon's retirement with damage at Williams.

What it changes

Piastri leaves Barcelona on 186 points, ten ahead of Norris. Verstappen is third on 137, 49 behind, and the penalty cost him at least nine points. Further back, Alonso scored his first points of the season. Every teammate verdict from the weekend is on the Spanish GP duels page.