Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix - Barcelona 2025
STARTING GRID:
1) PIASTRI 2) NORRIS 3) VERSTAPPEN 4) RUSSELL 5) HAMILTON 6) ANTONELLI 7) LECLERC 8) GASLY 9) HADJAR 10) ALONSO 11) ALBON 12) BORTOLETO 13) LAWSON 14) BEARMAN 15) HULKENBERG 16) OCON 17) SAINZ 18) COLAPINTO 20) TSUNODA
LAP 1: Into the first corner, a great start from Piastri as he moved away. Russell, Norris and Verstappen were side by side. Verstappen went round the outside and moved into second, a move similar to his from Imola just a few races ago. Hamilton then took advantage of the situation going past Russell into 4th.
A number of cars used the escape road between turns 1 and 2, with a Mercedes and both Sauber’s part of that collection of cars. A few corners later, George Russell was passed by the other Ferrari, not an ideal start for the Mercedes driver. At the end of lap 1, Piastri was 0.8 seconds clear of Verstappen.
LAP 13: Lando Norris was just 0.4 seconds from Max Verstappen going onto the pit straight. He closed the gap quickly in order to make a move into the first corner with help from the DRS. He made the pass with relative ease as it seemed that he chose not to fight the overtake attempt. Perhaps from knowing that his Red Bull is not on the same level this weekend so he would be passed regardless.
LAP 19: After pitting Verstappen found himself behind Isaac Hadjar but he moved his way past not just him but Antonelli and Russell to move back up into 3rd. A great pass on Antonelli going round the last few corners, as he moved round the outside and got the move done before the last corner.
A replay then showed one of the home favourites in Spain, Fernando Alonso, making it past Franco Colapinto and Carlos Sainz to go to P17 in the race. He moved closer and closer to Colapinto through each of the opening corners before swooping round the outside at turn 3. A fantastic overtake for the Spanish driver in his home race.
LAP 26: An investigation from the Stewards at turn 1 between Liam Lawson and Alex Albon. The replay showed Lawson trying to make a move up the inside of turn 1 on Albon. He seemed to out brake Albon and make the move but Albon went on the exit road and kept the place when returning to the track.
Then a further replay showed another incident between the pair at turn 1 again. This time Lawson went round the outside, clipping the front wing of Albon losing the corner of his wing and further damage as it remained on his car.
He later had to retire the car on lap 29, less than half the distance of the race which would not have been how Albon or Williams would have wanted the race to finish for one of their cars.
LAP 32: Another incident involving Liam Lawson, this time with the Haas of Ollie Bearman at the same corner of the track. The replay showed a late lung into turn 1 from Lawson, with contact between Lawson’s front left and Bearman’s rear right tires as a result.
Not the best move from Lawson as he dived into the corner which was never really his. Good driving from Bearman stopped a costly crash from happening for both cars it would seem. Bearman took the escape road to avoid the on rushing Lawson and managed to keep the place when returning to the track.
LAP 36: Max Verstappen once again dropped back due to another pit stop as he seemed to be on a 3-stop strategy, a bold move from Red Bull. Verstappen was able to move past Charles Leclerc back into the podium positions within a few laps of the pit stop. A move once again a driver seemed to choose not to fight.
LAP 52: As the tension mounted between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen going down the pit straight, Ollie Bearman and Liam Lawson’s battle emerged in front of them. Bearman with extensive defending methods on the straight and into the first corner, as Bearman needed to take the escape road again.
The Racing Bulls driver then realising he needed to get out of the way of Lando Norris coming through as Bearman came back onto the track ahead of him yet again. Max Verstappen then seemed to be catching Lando due to the carnage ahead of him which seemed to hold Norris up. Lawson and Bearman had to let both drivers through before resuming their battle.
LAP 53: The person that seemed to gain the most from the incidents on the previous lap appeared to be Fernando Alonso. Lawson moved past Bearman eventually then Alonso moved past Bearman also. The former World Champion made the most of his opportunities, with the home crowd cheering him on to give him an extra boost if he even needed it.
LAP 55: Double waved yellow flags on track as Kimi Antonelli goes into the gravel at turn 10. He appeared to have smoke coming from the back of the car but he was able to make it out of the car easily and safely.
The Safety Car was then deployed before the end of the lap with the car being in a difficult place. Max Verstappen then had a gap to make a pit stop but with McLaren ahead, he could have stayed out if they pitted and gambled on the possible outcome of the race.
McLaren decided to pit both of their drivers and double stack them, which worked effectively. However, somewhat surprisingly Red Bull decided to bring Verstappen in and also put on the hard tyres. An interesting choice of strategy with most others putting on soft tyres due to their only being 10 laps left. The commentary team also seemed surprised with Nico Rosberg saying “wow that’s shocking”. Even Verstappen questioned his team on the decision when he left the pits.
LAP 60: The Safety Car ended and the race resumed. Both of the McLaren’s move away well with gaps for both cars. Going around the final corner, Verstappen almost lost the rear of the car, which didn’t help his progress with Leclerc moving in more and more down the straight.
LAP 61: As they move past the start line, Vertsappen is side by side with Leclerc, he moved past but replays showed they actually touched as they were side by side. Verstappen once again was in danger as Russell tried a move up the inside of turn 1, forcing Max to take the escape road and come back onto the track behind Leclerc.
There was continued pressure from Russell throughout the lap on Verstappen who complained about being rammed by either Leclerc but on replay it didn’t appear that anyone did that. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg was able to move into 7th and past Hadjar and start to close in on the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.
LAP 62: The Stewards started to investigate the turn 1 incident between Verstappen and Russell in which there was contact between the pair. However, most would have said that Russell went in too deep with the lunge and there was nothing Max could do but use the escape road. Quite possibly a racing incident.
LAP 64: The Red Bull pit wall tell Max to let Russell through as they seem to believe they may get a penalty if they do not swap the positions. A feisty exchange between GP (Verstappen’s Race Engineer) and Verstappen as it was argued that he pushed him off the road with GP saying “but that’s the rules”.
In the end, Verstappen let Russell pass into turn 5 but then appeared to ram into the side of the Mercedes. A shock to everyone watching and especially to George Russell. Into the final corners, Russell did get past Verstappen but the corners and incident beforehand would be talked about long after the race.
LAP 65: Just a couple of laps left in the race. At the start of the lap, Nico Hulkenberg goes up the inside of Lewis Hamilton to move into P6. A great drive by the German driver, another to make the most of the incidents going on during the last 15 laps. Disappointing for the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, in which it later was announced that he did have an issue with his car, therefore lacking the pace of his teammate.
At the start of the same lap, just behind Hulkenberg and Hamilton, Fernando Alonso also took his opportunities from the restart and was in 10th. The first points of the season beckoned for the Spanish driver in his home race.
LAP 66: The McLaren domination continues with back to back wins for the team and a 1-2 to go with it. A superb drive from Oscar Piastri who took the chequered flag, held up by Barcelona Striker Robert Lewandowski, to take his lead to 10 points in the World Championship over his teammate.
Nearly 2.5 seconds separated Piastri and Norris who also picked up valuable points for himself and McLaren in the Constructors Championship. A perfect result for McLaren, especially given the performance of other teams in the race.
The podium places were completed with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who finished in 3rd. His teammate Lewis Hamilton finished in a disappointing 6th but with issues with his car it will still be a good points scoring weekend for them.
George Russell ended the day in 4th even with the damage to his car from the ram from Verstappen. A good result for the British driver being the only points scoring Mercedes in the race, with Antonelli not able to finish the race due to engine failure.
A fantastic result for Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber as he ended the race in 5th, a great effort from him and the Sauber team for some much needed points. Another strong performance from Isaac Hadjar saw him rewarded with P7. The Alpine of Pierre Gasly finished well to get more points for Alpine in 6th.
Meanwhile, a terrific drive in his home race for Fernando Alonso saw him eventually make it to P9. Being the only Aston Martin on the grid due to Lance Stroll’s injury, he carried the team on his back with the support of his home crowd to get him to one of the last points positions.
The last of the top 10 was rounded out by Max Verstappen. A moment of madness from the Dutch driver saw him cost himself and his team some valuable points. After the incident was looked at by the Stewards, Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty. This dropped him from P5 to P10. He also received 3 penalty points, in which if he was to get 1 more he would receive a suspension. An afternoon to forget for the World Champion and Red Bull.
RACE RESULT:
PIASTRI 2) NORRIS 3) LECLERC 4) RUSSELL 5) HULKENBERG 6) HAMILTON 7) HADJAR 8) GASLY 9) ALONSO 10) VERSTAPPEN 11) LAWSON 12) BORTOLETO 13) TSUNODA 14) SAINZ 15) COLAPINTO 16) OCON 17) BEARMAN 18) ANTONELLI (DNF) 19) ALBON (DNF)
