Oscar Piastri found his way back into the win column to close out the European tripleheader at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off his teammate Lando Norris to increase his small advantage in the championship standings. The 24-year-old Aussie converted from pole position after a daring lap in qualifying on Saturday to secure his first victory since Miami.

With Norris able to hold off the field for second after a late safety car tightened up the pack, drama played out in the final few laps of the race. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen got away poorly on the restart and made contact with Charles Leclerc and George Russell on the ensuing lap, eventually earning himself a 10-second penalty for an incident with the latter. The head-scratching collision knocked the Red Bull down to 10th, while Leclerc earned the final spot on the podium. 

Here’s what you need to know from the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix:

Piastri Strikes Back

The last two race weekends in Imola, Italy, and Monaco weren’t poor for Piastri by any means, but a pair of third-place finishes did allow Norris to climb back within three points of the championship lead. Piastri would’ve benefitted greatly from a statement in Barcelona and he did exactly that, beginning in qualifying on Saturday.

Norris wasn’t entirely sharp on his final flying lap in Q3, which opened the door for Piastri to ace his last opportunity, beating out his teammate by more than two-tenths of a second. Piastri then got away well at the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix, leaving his teammate in a scrap with Verstappen and giving himself ample time to get away down the road. 

From there, McLaren managed an excellent race. Opting for a two-stop strategy for both cars, Piastri maintained his advantage on track for the majority of the afternoon. McLaren made the right calls to cover off Verstappen’s three-stop plan and allowed both of their drivers to have enough life in their tires to keep the charging Red Bull away. 

Piastri’s usual calmness was on full display. When Norris began to make up ground in the middle of the race, the Aussie appeared to be managing his tire wear, allowing him to be quicker at the end of his second stint and extend the gap back out. 

Sunday’s win didn’t need to be flashy, but it’s the kind of Piastri performance that will keep him in the driver’s seat in the battle for a title.

Verstappen Boils Over After Disastrous Restart

“I’ve done that before. In Mario Kart.”

That was what Lando Norris had to say of Verstappen’s head-scratching collision into the side of George Russell on the first lap after the safety car restart that resulted in a 10-second penalty for the Red Bull driver. The costly move knocked Verstappen all the way back to 10th, his worst result in a race that he finished since 2017. 

The penalty was the result of a series of late blunders for Red Bull and the four-time world champion, beginning with the decision to pit during the safety car caused by Kimi Antonelli’s venture into the gravel. Verstappen was third at the time, on similarly worn soft tires as the two McLarens ahead, but came in for a stop having just a single set of hard tires remaining. He immediately went on the radio to complain about the decision, knowing that the tire compound would put him at a disadvantage during the restart.

Not surprisingly, that’s exactly what happened. Verstappen nearly went off the track on his own accord before even reaching the starting line and Leclerc, who lightly came into contact with the Red Bull, raced past him shortly thereafter. He then touched George Russell while going around Turn 1 and was forced to bail out down the safety road, only to emerge ahead of the Mercedes driver a few seconds later. 

Verstappen received the advice from race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to give fourth place back to Russell for having gained an advantage off of the main race track. That seemed to not sit well with Verstappen, who griped about having to do so. However, the Red Bull driver then slowed down for an instant, as if to give Russell the place, only to speed back up rapidly and ram into the side of the Mercedes.

Broadcaster Nico Rosberg was among those to take Verstappen to task for what Rosberg thought to be a deliberate move. Verstappen remained defiant when speaking with Sky Sports after the race, asking if it mattered whether or not the crash into George was deliberate.

On purpose or not, the collision and subsequent penalty is a huge blow to Verstappen’s hopes of keeping pace with Piastri and Norris. Now nearly 50 points behind, the reigning world champion will have to summon a number of heroic drives, all while answering for his actions on the track.

Ferrari Shows Some Fight 

Elsewhere at the front, Ferrari took advantage of Verstappen boiling over to get back onto the podium for the second weekend in a row. But that was only possible due to a strong start from both drivers in red. 

Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both darted off the line, with the latter quickly overtaking Russell for fourth. Leclerc continued to move up picking off the other Mercedes of Antonelli and also sliding past Russell to get into fifth. From there, the 27-year-old showed significantly better pace than Hamilton, causing Ferrari to make the call from the pit wall to swap positions. 

The F1 Spanish GP podium
Leclerc (right) got Ferrari on the podium with a third-place finish. | David Ramos/Getty Images

It’s clear that Prancing Horse isn’t in the same stratosphere as McLaren this season—though, to be frank, it doesn’t seem like any other team is either. However, by maximizing opportunities like it did Sunday, Ferrari has climbed the ladder back into second in the constructors’ championship standings, six points clear of Mercedes and 21 points ahead of Red Bull.

That being said, Hamilton still sounded rather despondent after crossing the line in sixth in Barcelona. The seven-time world champion hasn’t finished better than fourth this season and seems uncomfortable in his first year with a new car. If Hamilton is able to identify the problem and show any sort of improvement, Ferrari should become the clear favorite to be the second-best team on the grid.

The Plight of the Second Red Bull 

Ferrari has, in part, launched its way back into contention among the top teams because of how poor Yuki Tsunoda has performed since getting elevated into the second Red Bull seat in Japan. That race, Tsunoda’s home Grand Prix, was the only time he came within a half second of Verstappen in qualifying while in the Red Bull. He previously lined up in fifth and ninth on the grid in Australia and China—when he was still driving for Racing Bulls. 

Spain became a new low point for the 25-year-old as he qualified in 20th on Saturday—dead last and by a decent margin. Red Bull opted to make some adjustments to his car, causing him to start from the pit lane, and he only managed to climb back up into 13th by the end of the race Sunday.

It’s frankly baffling that Red Bull is unable to get anything from the non-Verstappen half of its garage. Sergio Pérez bowed out at the end of last season on a miserable run of form. Liam Lawson was demoted back to Racing Bulls after just two races in 2025, only to score points in Monaco and look rather competitive in Barcelona. His teammate at Racing Bulls, rookie Isack Hadjar, has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, scoring points for the third straight race in Spain and ranking ninth overall in the standings. 

After the recent carousel of driver movement at Red Bull, it seems unlikely that the team would make another change this season. But the problem extends far beyond whoever is operating the car at this point. The 2025 season seems lost from a team perspective, but with new regulations coming next year, Red Bull needs to ensure that it gets each step right—from the car to the driver and everything in between.

Hulkenberg Headlines Savvy Veteran Outings

On a happier note, a handful of experienced drivers on midfield and below teams conjured up some positive results in Barcelona. None more so than Nico Hulkenberg, who put Sauber on the board for just the second time this season with a fifth-place finish. 

The 37-year-old delivered the first top-five finish for the team since 2022, back when Sauber was still Alfa Romeo and Valtteri Bottas broke through for a strong result in Imola. And he was genuinely competitive, holding off Hamilton’s Ferrari and a number of other challengers in the closing laps after the restart.

Hulkenberg wasn’t the only one to impress with his result. Pierre Gasly finally converted off of a strong qualifying session to finish eighth for Alpine, keeping the team from falling too far off the back of the pack in the standings. 

And Fernando Alonso, in his return to his native Spain, got into the top 10 for the first time this season with a ninth-place finish. It’s been a challenging year for the 43-year-old at Aston Martin, but after qualifying in 10th on Saturday and without Lance Stroll starting the race due to injury, the pressure was on Alonso to deliver. He did exactly that, giving the home fans something to cheer for as the checkered flag waved.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Spanish Grand Prix Takeaways: Piastri Redeems As Verstappen Costs Himself Late.

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