For a race filled with drama, Oscar Piastri made it look easy in winning the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona (June 1). Last week’s race winner, Lando Norris, earned second, with Charles Leclerc finding his second-straight podium finish by taking third.
George Russell, who waged a late-race war with Max Verstappen, finished fourth, with Nico Hulkenberg a surprising fifth. Lewis Hamilton came home sixth in what seemed to be a frustrating performance, as Isaak Hadjar continues to amass points for Racing Bulls by following in seventh.
Pierre Gasly avoided controversy, wheel-to-wheel confrontations, or any other challenge to take eighth, with Fernando Alonso finally finding the points by grabbing ninth as his home GP. Max Verstappen originally crossed the finish line in fifth but secured a 10-second penalty for banging into Russell when he was in the process of supposedly letting him pass.
Piastri reflected by saying, “I’m really happy to have won today. It was a great weekend overall. The pace was really good. We could turn it on when we needed to. It’s been a great year so far and this weekend’s been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for.”
His comment that McLaren could turn it on when they needed to sums up everything about the pace the team showed. Without the safety car, the McLarens might have finished 20 seconds ahead of the field. They had everyone covered.
Piastri leads in the drivers standings 186–176 over Norris. Verstappen is holding down third at 137 points. In the constructors title, it may not be statistically possible for McLaren to wrap up the championship by the summer break, but it sure feels like it. They hold down first with 362 points, with Ferrari now moving into second with 165 and Mercedes sitting third with 159.
The Race
The start held the drama that F1 fans pine for. Though Piastri made a clean getaway, Verstappen pushed his way past both Norris and Russell, sliding into the second spot. Hamilton followed through past Russell, with teammate Leclerc managing his way in front of the Mercedes driver.
Further back, Alex Albon found himself the meat in an F1 sandwich that caused front wing damage to his Williams. The race settled down by lap three, with the drivers forming a gentlemanly parade, though Albon pitted on lap seven for new hardware and resumed in 19th.
By lap 15, Leclerc had overtaken Hamilton, followed by Norris overtaking Verstappen. After last week’s trip to Monaco, the sport looked like a whole different version of itself with all this passing. Alonso gave the home crowd a scare by driving through a gravel trap on lap 13, but other than losing positions, he resumed in what has truly been a woeful season (though he did rebound to finish with his first points of the season).
The shakeout of pitstops that began on lap 15 put Verstappen into the lead via his undercut, though much of the order fell back in line with their positions before visiting their friends to get fresh tires.
On Lap 55, Kimi Antonelli beached his car at Turn 10 and brought out the safety car, bringing an end to the varying strategies that were playing out. It also closed the field so that the major gap that the McLaren duo had developed was brought down to a minuscule one – though not enough of one to be a threat.
Piastri and Norris scooted away and saw no threat as the rest of the field fought over the scraps.
The Good
McLaren covered the field in a way that we haven’t seen since Hamilton and Nico Rosberg combined to blow out the field in the mid-2010s. Their cars were so superior that the team scoffed at the whole flexi-wing scrutiny and feared no strategy concern, as they knew they could easily outpace everyone. While dominance can be boring, seeing McLaren return from being a laughingstock just five years ago is a remarkable thing.
The Bad
Whenever Max Verstappen finds himself challenged, he lets the red mist take over his brain and becomes an unpredictable animal. Sunday saw no different. Though he had been quiet for much of the race
Alex Albon had one to forget after seeing his day go asunder with two broken wings. The Williams team had been performing admirably but looked to have reverted to their form from 2023 in Barcelona. While disaster may be a bit harsh, disappointing might not be enough.
At Mercedes, George Russell has put together a strong season by qualifying well, then racing clean – mainly by not having anyone in his general area – and finishing on the podium; last week at Monaco being an exception. Rookie driver, Kimi Antonelli, however, is
The Questionable
Lewis Hamilton got the full Ferrari experience as he watched his excellent start go for naught. His car was difficult to drive, with its rear end consistently stepping out, and lacking pace compared to Leclerc. Then, Ferrari overplayed their strategy and watched it go awry with a 4.9-second stop during Hamilton’s last visit to the pits. Seeing Nico Hulkenberg pass Hamilton in the final laps served as icing on the proverbial cake. Analysis of the radio communiques should be good theater this week.
The Gridwalk
With Martin Brundle off for the Spanish Grand Prix, Simon Lazenby and Nico Rosberg handled the “Grid Walk” duties for Sky Sports. After some token conversations with a variety of team principals and race engineers, the celebrity quotient picked up when Lazenby and Rosberg chatted with English football legend and national team captain Harry Kane. While Rosberg fanboy’d over Kane, who also plays for Rosberg’s favorite Bundesliga squad, Bayern Munich, Kane professed his hopes for a Lando Norris win. This would have been a perfect opportunity to follow up and ask Kane, “As a member of the English national team, aren’t you more qualified to predict who’s not going to win?”
Then, the Sky Sports team talked with another English footballer, the towering Dan Burn, who stands 6’6” tall, or roughly two Yuki Tsunoda’s. Like Kane, Burn was gracious in answering questions. But that’s where the goodwill from English footballers ended. Lazenby tried to get a word with Bukayo Saka, but Lazenby’s advances were red-carded by Saka, who snubbed the interview attempt. After the interaction, or lack thereof, Rosberg said of Saka, “That was not very friendly,” while the internet collectively exiled Saka to the social media doghouse.
The Driver
If ever the F1 driver of the day gives a snapshot of humanity, this week does the trick as Max Verstappen earned the official vote. He started fourth, originally finished fifth, then got penalized to 10th. Sure, that makes sense. How about we instead give the award to a deserving driver, and not one who won because of Mercedes haters, which means that Nico Hulkenberg looks like the way to go. He failed to make it out of Q3, starting 16th, yet continued to work his way forward and ultimately claimed Kick Sauber its best result of the year. Well done.
The Results: FORMULA 1 ARAMCO GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 2025 – RACE RESULT 30 May – 01 Jun 2025; Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | TIME/RETIRED | PTS |
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 66 | 1:32:57.375 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 66 | +2.471s | 18 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 66 | +10.455s | 15 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 66 | +11.359s | 12 |
| 5 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 66 | +13.648s | 10 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 66 | +15.508s | 8 |
| 7 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 66 | +16.022s | 6 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 66 | +17.882s | 4 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 66 | +21.564s | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 66 | +21.826s | 1 |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 66 | +25.532s | 0 |
| 12 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 66 | +25.996s | 0 |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 66 | +28.822s | 0 |
| 14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 66 | +29.309s | 0 |
| 15 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine Renault | 66 | +31.381s | 0 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 66 | +32.197s | 0 |
| 17 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 66 | +37.065s | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 53 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 27 | DNF | 0 |
As a writer and editor, Ava anchors the Formula 1 coverage for the site, while working through many of its biggest columns. Ava earned a Masters in Sports Studies at UGA and a PhD in American Studies from UH-Mānoa. Her dissertation Chased Women, NASCAR Dads, and Southern Inhospitality: How NASCAR Exports The South is in the process of becoming a book.