Spanish Grand Prix – Race: Oscar Piastri imposes his law, Max Verstappen breaks down at the end of the race

An excellent start from Oscar Piastri who was not caught off guard. The Australian launched perfectly from the grid, unlike his teammate who lost ground. George Russell was close to making a big move, but he didn’t take any risks at the first corner. He lost two positions.

Isack Hadjar attempted a very bold overtake on the outside against Fernando Alonso in the last sector. The audacity paid off for the Frenchman. Pierre Gasly retained the advantage from his good qualifying; the Alpine driver was in eighth place at the end of the second lap.

Max Verstappen, who had been forgotten, remained in Oscar Piastri’s gearbox, already relegating the competition to nearly three seconds behind. The McLaren driver reacted quickly and moved aside from a potential attack.

A first stop very early

The Ferraris were battling for many laps. Lewis Hamilton, ahead of his teammate, never left the door open. No instructions from the Scuderia, despite the Monegasque seeming faster. The radio message came very late. The engineers favored Charles Leclerc’s staggered strategy.

The first pit stops occurred on the tenth lap, particularly for Williams drivers Ollie Bearman and Yuki Tsunoda. For the Japanese driver, this is surprising since he started on medium tires, unlike the others who had soft tires.

On the 13th lap, Max Verstappen could do nothing against Lando Norris. The Red Bull was severely struggling against the McLaren. Fernando Alonso, having trouble with his Aston Martin, went straight off at turn 5 and visited the gravel trap.

Strong pace from McLaren

The Dutchman, thanks to fresh tires, was racing at a blistering pace. He made a magnificent overtaking move on the outside in the last sector on Kimi Antonelli and his well-worn tires. Meanwhile, the McLarens continued their race with the starting set of tires at a quite respectable pace.

Shortly before the midpoint of the race, the strategic choice was good for Max Verstappen. With soft tires that were about ten laps old, the Red Bull driver kept the two McLarens on new mediums at bay. The degradation came almost all at once, with the lead shrinking from five to two seconds in a short period of time.

Alexander Albon was the first man to retire. The Thai driver had just collided with Liam Lawson at the first corner. Little damage, but a second damaged wing in one race for the Williams driver.

Red Bull implemented a very aggressive strategy for its drivers. Thanks to this, Max Verstappen was able to put pressure on the two McLarens. The four-time world champion made up a phenomenal amount of time on the two papaya cars.

Withdrawal for Kimi Antonelli

Far down in the standings, Fernando Alonso performed miracles with an Aston Martin that severely lacks pace in the race. The Spaniard used his experience to extricate himself from some difficult situations and gain positions.

Kimi Antonelli saw smoke escaping from his car. The Mercedes #63 came to a stop in the gravel at turn 10. The safety car intervened. The leaders went into the pits to put on new tires.

When the safety car turned off its lights, Oscar Piastri slammed on the brakes, which could have been catastrophic as Lando Norris and Max Verstappen almost got caught out. At the restart, the Red Bull driver on soft tires missed the mark and lost a place to Charles Leclerc. The Dutchman nearly lost control of his car and ended up in the wall. At the first turn, he was hit by George Russell and was sent into the escape route.

Nasty maneuver by Max Verstappen

Nico Hülkenberg gained a new place in this section of the race, moving up to seventh place. This restart did not bother Oscar Piastri, who maintained control of the event.

Annoyed, Max Verstappen hit George Russell’s Mercedes. This follows the restart maneuver. An investigation has been opened. Behind them, Nico Hülkenberg overtook Lewis Hamilton for sixth place.