TLDR: McLaren 1,2 finish. Verstappen throws points away. Hulkenberg 5th.

Race

The Spanish Grand Prix gave fans a thrilling race from the very first second. When the lights went out, Oscar Piastri blasted off the line like a rocket! He left his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, far behind and put big pressure on George Russell and Max Verstappen. Norris, who started in second place, was quickly passed by Verstappen as they charged into Turn One.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari now, made a strong move and got ahead of Russell. Charles Leclerc, also in a Ferrari, had a brilliant start too, moving up two spots into fifth place.

Verstappen tried to catch Piastri early on, but his Red Bull just didn’t have enough speed. The hot weather made it harder too, as the tyres wore out faster when following close behind.

Further back, Alex Albon had a rough start. He got hit in Turn One and damaged his front wing. That meant an early trip to the pits on Lap 7, where he got a new wing and another set of soft tyres.

Hamilton and Leclerc were racing close together. Leclerc was faster, so on Lap 10 the Ferrari team told Hamilton to let Leclerc pass. Teamwork matters!

Norris wasn’t giving up. He was told to catch Verstappen and began pushing hard. On Lap 11, he was right behind the Red Bull, and it only took him a few more laps to pass. Verstappen didn’t even try to fight back. Norris was flying and already looking ahead to catch Piastri. He was half a second faster each lap!

Verstappen pitted on Lap 14 for a fresh set of soft tyres. Red Bull started thinking less about McLaren and more about beating the Ferraris, as the undercut (pitting earlier to gain time) seemed powerful.

Hamilton came in lap 17 for a new set on mediums in the attempt to protect an undercut.

Verstappen used his new tyres to storm through the field and climb back to third place.

Norris finally came into the pits on Lap 21, after staying out longer than most. Piastri pitted one lap later. That meant Verstappen briefly led the race, but he hadn’t yet used two different types of tyres, which is required in F1. McLaren had already done that, so they had the upper hand.

Then came disaster for Williams. Albon colliding again this time with Lawson, and had to retire. Not a good weekend for the team. Their car just isn’t built for Spain’s long corners. There are few track like Spain luckily.

By Lap 30, Verstappen pitted again for medium tyres and came out in fourth place. He was still in the fight, but he needed to manage his tyres well.

Lawson was in the wars again. He banged wheels with Oliver Bearman, diving in too fast and making contact. That was his third time hitting someone! A penalty seemed certain but it never came.

On Lap 41, Leclerc pitted again for fresh medium tyres. He was quietly becoming a big threat for the podium.

Norris kept up the speed and closed in on Piastri again. The McLarens were fast, but Verstappen was still lurking behind. However, he couldn’t get too close or he’d wreck his tyres.

Hamilton came in for his second stop on Lap 47, which meant he had less of a chance to catch Leclerc. Then Verstappen pitted again on Lap 48, his third stop! Red Bull was taking big risks.

McLaren acted fast. To block Verstappen’s undercut, Norris pitted on Lap 49 and Piastri on Lap 50. McLaren didn’t want to take any chances.

But then, trouble with slower cars! Lawson and Bearman held up Norris and Verstappen. Lawson made it hard for Norris to pass, but seemed to let Verstappen by more easily. Shock. Bearman neutralised that gain however taking the racing line into the hairpin.

Then came a big shake-up. Antonelli’s car broke down with engine failure, and the Safety Car was called. That allowed most drivers to pit again.

McLaren switched both drivers to soft tyres, which are fast. But Red Bull put Verstappen on hard tyres, big mistake! Hard tyres are slow to warm up and not great for restarts. Behind Verstappen were Leclerc and Russell, both on softs. Not good news for Max.

The Safety Car stayed out for a while because the backmarkers were too slow to catch up. Finally, on Lap 60, racing began again.

Leclerc made a move straight away. He passed Verstappen on the straight, just before Verstappen nearly spun out at Turn 14! They made contact, but Leclerc was already ahead. Verstappen didn’t look happy.

Next, Russell sent a bold move into Turn 1 and pushed Verstappen wide, forcing him off the track. A few laps later, the team told Verstappen to give the place back. But instead, Verstappen rammed his car into Russell on purpose! A shocking move from a 4-time world champ.

The stewards gave Verstappen a 10-second penalty. He fell from 5th to 10th. Many thought he should have been disqualified. Intentional crashes are not okay in racing.

At the front, Piastri kept his cool and drove to victory. It was a McLaren 1–2 finish with Norris right behind! That made Piastri the third McLaren driver ever to score eight podiums in a row.

Ferrari also celebrated, as Leclerc finished third. But the biggest surprise? Nico Hülkenberg! He started in 15th and finished 5th in his Sauber. What a drive!

Analysis

Tyre Strategy Analysis:

Tyre strategy played a crucial role in the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, with most drivers opting for a two-stop strategy involving medium and soft compounds however the safety car pushed it to a three. Notably, front-runners such as Piastri and Norris began on softs, switched to mediums around lap 22, and returned to softs for the final stint, likely aiming to maximise grip in the closing laps. Verstappen opted for a 3 stop and then with the safety car a 4 stop. Most teams opted for used tyres in the final phase, although drivers like Alonso (ALO) and Hulkenberg (HUL) benefitted from fresh sets. The consistency in strategies among the leaders underscores the importance of balancing tyre wear with track position on this circuit.

Race Standings Analysis:

The race standings chart for the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix shows a dynamic and competitive race. Oscar Piastri (PIA) maintained a strong and consistent lead throughout, securing the win. Lando Norris (NOR) and Charles Leclerc (LEC) also delivered impressive performances, finishing in the top three. The graph highlights significant position changes, notably George Russell (RUS) climbing into the top five and Lewis Hamilton (HAM) gaining ground early on however the safety ended up giving him a lackluster performance. In contrast, Alex Albon (ALB) had a turbulent race, losing positions early and struggling to recover. Considerable mid-field movement suggests a variety of strategies and on-track battles, especially around the pit stop phases and tyre changes. The undercut was strong roughly 3 seconds

Pit Times Analysis:

The average pit times for the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix reveal significant variation among teams, with VCARB delivering the fastest average stop at 21.95 seconds, closely followed by Red Bull and Sauber. Most teams are clustered around the mean of 22.5 seconds, reflecting generally consistent pit performance across the grid. However, Williams stands out with a markedly slower average of 28.60 seconds, significantly above the rest and well above the mean, due to Albon’s wing issues and retirement. This inefficiency would have had a notable impact on their race result, particularly in an event where every second is vital for track position.

Summary

Overall the race was quite predictable for the first 50 laps however the Safety car brought us some entertainment and shook up the leaderboard. For a high degradation track I thought we may see some more undercut opportunities however McLaren drivers pull a nice lead in the WDC.

Question

Question of the Week: Did Verstappen deserve a more severe penalty? send @f1d8aanalyst on X

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Standings

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