Oscar Piastri kept his cool in another F1 win in Spanish GP from Lando Norris, as Charles Leclerc comes through to secure a podium finish.
It was a clean start in F1 Spanish GP at Barcelona for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to lead the way from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had a better start than McLaren’s Lando Norris to take second, as Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton moved up to fourth along with teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth.
Both the Ferrari made up places on the Mercedes pair as George Russell was taken by the Monegasque at the curve. Russell’s teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli had to take a wide run to drop back to sixth from a fighting pair of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar.
The Top 10 was rounded out by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso but not for long as Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was on his tail soon. The German eventually cleared him for 10th but the Spaniard came back at him. The Aston Martin driver, though, couldn’t get through him back.
Replays showed Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson having a tap on the inside at Turn 1 but escaped damage. Just ahead of him there was minor touch involving Hulkenberg and Williams’ Alexander Albon, where both had to take the run-off at Turn 1. Even Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto did the same.
Hulkenberg was investigated for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, but cleared by the FIA stewards. At the front, Norris caught the back of Verstappen and within two laps, he managed to clear him for second. The Dutchman eventually pitted on Lap 14 as his tyres were done.
Just behind them, Ferrari swapped between Hamilton and Leclerc after a try from the Monegasque to pass him. The two pitted on Lap 17 and Lap 18 to cover off the Mercedes pair. Outside the Top 10, Alonso had a moment on the gravel which cost him places to Lawson and Bortoleto.
Williams’ race dipped after damage to Albon on Lap 1 which required a front wing change. There was damage to Carlos Sainz’s car too, which dropped him to the back. The Thai was having a forgetful race. He retained track position despite Lawson’s move at Turn 1 which seemed fair.
Lawson argued to give back the place but Albon continued on. The Kiwi tried another move around the outside the Turn 1 and took the place. But in doing so, the left side endplate was broken off. The Thai was handed a 10s stop and go penalty which he served before retiring from the grand prix.
Ahead of them in the points, Hadjar cleared Gasly for eighth, with the Frenchman losing out to Hulkenberg as well for ninth. Verstappen, meanwhile, committed to a three-stop after stopping the second time on Lap 30 to hand back the lead to Piastri, with Norris in second.
Verstappen dropped behind Leclerc, but he recovered in handful of laps to clear him for third. Hamilton dropped far behind but couldn’t shed off Russell from his tail. The fight for points intensified between Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Lawson, who made another contact in the grand prix.
The Kiwi tried an optimistic move at the inside but Bearman turned to a minor touch. The Brit had to take the run-off to continue ahead. Lawson waited for couple of laps and eventually got through to hop on in the Top 10. The pit stop gamble saw Leclerc and Russell pit one after another.
Interestingly, Hamilton stayed out in their fight for fourth, fifth and sixth. He pitted eventually on Lap 47 to drop behind the Brit and Antonelli which included a slow stop. The front-runners stopped again one after the other, where Piastri maintained F1 Spanish GP lead from Norris and Verstappen closely.
It got close between Norris and Verstappen when they caught the back of a fighting Bearman and Lawson. The Kiwi tried a move on the Brit and almost made the move stick when the Brit took the run-off. In the melee, the Kiwi had to give way to Norris and Verstappen.
The Dutchman was not happy with either, as Bearman started ahead of Lawson. The Kiwi eventually came back to clear him but the move was put under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Things changed when the safety car was deployed due to Antonelli’s retirement.
An oil pressure ended his race as everyone pitted which included a double for McLaren. With no tyres left, Verstappen was on the hard compound against the soft. It was Piastri in the lead from Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Gasly and Lawson in the Top 10.
The re-start saw Piastri and Norris maintain their position, but Verstappen got out of shape on the kerb which allowed Leclerc to get through him. The two touched on the main straight which allowed Russell to come side-by-side him when the two made contact going into Turn 1.
Verstappen had to take the run-off. He was asked to give back the place but he continued his argument on the radio. He gave back the place but deliberately rammed into Russell in the corner. The Dutchman remained ahead but the Mercedes driver eventually got through him for fourth.
Hamilton had to fend off Hulkenberg, who got through Hadjar on the re-start. Gasly was ninth from Lawson, who had to defend from Bortoleto and Alonso. At the front, Piastri had enough to win another F1 race in Monaco GP from Norris, with Leclerc ending up third and on the podium.
Russell was fourth from Verstappen, but the Dutchman was handed a 10s time penalty. Hulkenberg was fifth in the end after clearing Hamilton, who had to be content with sixth. Hadjar moved up to seventh from Gasly, as Alonso cleared both Bortoleto and Lawson to get into the points.
He was ninth in the end to score his first points, as Verstappen dropped to 10th. Lawson missed out in 11th from Bortoleto, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, Sainz, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Ocon and Bearman to round out the 17 finishers. The hit between Leclerc and Verstappen was put under investigation.
UPDATE: The FIA explained the reasoning for a 10s time penalty for Verstappen and three penalty points on his license. Interestingly, the stewards were not to penalise the Dutchman for his pass on Russell at Turn 1 on re-start, but because Red Bull asked to give back the position, the situation arose which led to the contact.
The stewards blamed Verstappen for slowing down initially and hitting the side of Russell. The Dutchman now has 11 points on his super license and one more in Canada and or Austria, he will be handed a race ban. He has until June 30 to not get into any such acts, which could lead to a penalty.
Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1929207019535217031
Bearman, though, was handed a 10s time penalty for going off against Lawson. The stewards believed that the Kiwi had the overtake done at Turn 1 but the Brit went off and continued on. Lawson had to overtake him on the next lap. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1929208283144876079
Lawson, meanwhile, was cleared of contact with Albon at Turn 1 when the Thai clipped his endplate against the rear wheels of the Kiwi. The stewards didn’t think Lawson was at fault. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1929215899006894274
In another incident between Lawson and Bearman, there was no action. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1929216781358403887
Both Leclerc and Verstappen were cleared of their contact on the main straight. While both agreed that it could have been a major incident, no one was to be blamed for it. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1929223971888607664
Final: https://x.com/fia/status/1929225306910404780
