Oscar Piastri claims fifth victory as Charles Leclerc advances and Max Verstappen falters in dramatic Spanish Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri showcased an impressive performance with a pole-to-flag victory at the Spanish Grand Prix (GP) on Sunday, marking his fifth win of the season, while his McLaren colleague Lando Norris secured second place.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took home third, also his third podium finish of the season, surpassing reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who appeared set for a top-three finish until a late incident with Mercedes’ George Russell resulted in a 10-second time penalty, dropping him to 10^th in the standings.

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg managed a commendable fifth-place finish, overtaking Lewis Hamilton near the end, as the seven-time champion had to settle for sixth place.
This marked Verstappen’s lowest finish in a completed race since 2017, and it was his worst result at the Spanish GP, a track where he had previously celebrated victory four times, including three times leading up to this year. He now holds 138 points in the drivers’ championship, significantly trailing behind Piastri, who leads with 186 points.

Verstappen began the race on soft tyres, employing a three-stop strategy, pitting three times while his closest rivals did so only twice. However, a breakdown of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in the 56^th lap allowed all drivers to pit again without losing their positions.

This situation created a strategic contest between Verstappen and Leclerc. Leclerc’s earlier qualifying session on Saturday ensured he had an extra set of soft compounds available for the main race, while Verstappen was forced to use hard tyres for the final six laps after the safety car period, making it challenging to compete as everyone else was on softer tyres.

Leclerc quickly overtook Verstappen for third place, leading to a minor collision between them. The Dutch driver was eager to regain his position from the Ferrari driver before another altercation occurred involving Russell on turn six. Verstappen was briefly told by Gianpiero Lambiase to concede fourth to Russell. The four-time champion lost the position and ended up hitting Russell from behind, resulting in a penalty.

Piastri, in contrast, executed a flawless race, maintaining his pole position after the first turn and consistently demonstrating control, despite some close challenges from Norris on several occasions.

Norris, meanwhile, had Verstappen closely pursuing him for much of the race and engaged in several battles, particularly following Verstappen’s third pit stop, which caused him to lose a few tenths of a second, ultimately keeping him behind his Australian teammate, who capped off the race with 25 points.