Oscar Piastri wins the Spanish Grand Prix and McLaren records another 1-2 victory

Oscar Piastri took the victory at the Spanish Grand Prix after a flawless weekend for the Australian driver. Along with his teammate Lando Norris, who finished second, McLaren again secured a dominant 1-2 finish, confirming the British team's excellent form. Charles Leclerc completed the podium, thanks to a solid race and smart strategy from Ferrari.

Photo: Mclaren

The race started with a somewhat slow pace and little on-track action. However, drama soon arose when Alex Albon was forced to retire in the opening laps, resulting in the first DNF of the day. During the early stages, strategy became the determining factor, as is usual at the Catalan track.

The turning point came on lap 55, when an engine failure in Kimi Antonelli's car caused a yellow flag and the deployment of the safety car. Several drivers took advantage of this situation to make their final pit stop. The McLarens opted for new soft tires, while Max Verstappen, with no other options available, had to settle for hard tires.

This difference in tyres was crucial. After the restart, Piastri and Norris set an unbeatable pace, quickly pulling away from the pack. In contrast, Verstappen began to lose performance and was overtaken by Leclerc and then George Russell. In his attempt to defend his position, the Dutchman went off track, triggering a chain of errors.

Red Bull misinterpreted Verstappen's advantage as having gained an advantage outside the track limits and ordered him to give the position back to Russell, even though it wasn't necessary. In his frustration, Max aggressively blocked the Briton's path, causing contact between the two. The maneuver cost him a 10-second penalty and a drop from fifth to tenth, as well as three points on his superlicense. Verstappen now has 11 penalty points and is just one away from an automatic one-race ban, valid until June 30.

Other key figures of the day included Nico Hülkenberg, who staged a spectacular comeback from 15th to fifth, even overtaking Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari driver couldn't find any pace and dropped to sixth, also overtaken by this surprising Sauber.

Youngster Isack Hadjar once again scored points for his team, while Pierre Gasly achieved a creditable eighth place in an Alpine clearly behind the pace of his rivals. The home crowd was also able to celebrate: Fernando Alonso scored his first two points of the season, salvaging some pride for Aston Martin in a difficult season.

In contrast, the weekend was one to forget for Williams, which not only suffered with overall pace but also with Albon's retirement, leaving the team without points again.

With the conclusion of this intense triple date of back-to-back races, McLaren consolidates its position as the strongest team of the moment, and Lando Norris emerges as the driver with the most points over these three days, thanks to two second places and his victory in Monaco.