Oscar Piastri wins his 5th race in the 2025 F1 season and extends his lead in the driver’s championship. The Australian had the entire race under control from the start until the late safety car. Lando Norris tried to put pressure on his teammate; however, Piastri quickly pulled away and ensured that he had a 10-point gap going into the Canada GP.
For a race with multiple strategies, the late safety car changed the entire complexity of the race. From slides on the main straight to wheel banging, the final six laps were a rollercoaster ride. Let’s look into the key points of the interesting 2025 Spanish GP.
Key Talking Points of the 2025 Spanish GP
1. Subline Pace from Piastri and McLaren in Spain
Oscar Piastri once again wins in the 2025 F1 season. Everybody was hoping that McLaren would be pegged back after the new flexi wings regulations. This was not the case, and the Papaya team was dominant throughout the weekend. After the first lap, it looked like Verstappen could take away the team’s 1-2 finish. However, the pace and their good tire handling capability allowed Norris to overtake and fend off any challenges.
2. Max loses it in the Spanish GP
Max Verstappen had an impressive start to the 2025 Spanish GP. After being overtaken by Norris, the Red Bull strategy team decided to go for a three-stop race. This looked like a great strategy at that time, but after the late safety car, it backfired. Once Antonelli retired due to engine failure and triggered the safety car, Verstappen only had the slow, hard tires left. So, when the race restarted, he couldn’t get the tires up to temperature and was overtaken by Ferrari on the straight.
Going into the first corner, Russell had his car ahead, but not decisively, and Verstappen had to take the escape road. After a few laps, the team told Verstappen to give back the position to Russell. This triggered him, and he crashed into the Brit when he tried to overtake him. This was a similar incident where he brake-tested Hamilton in the 2021 Saudi Arabia GP. Eventually, he was handed a 10-second penalty, and he was classified 10th on the road. The worst part is that the stewards never asked the team to give back the place to Russell.
3. Lucky Podium for Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc continued his good vein of form with a podium in Spain. The Spanish GP track didn’t look to suit the Ferraris, but they showed great race pace. After overtaking both the Mercedes and his teammate in the early part of the race, it looked like he’d finish 4th at the end of the race. Leclerc had a great middle part of the race and was there to capitalize when the late safety car came out to overtake Verstappen and be on the podium.
4. Kick Sauber Picking Impressive Points in the 2025 Spanish GP
Kick Sauber will be kicking themselves after claiming a surprise 5th position with Nico Hulkenberg. The most experienced driver to never step on the podium had an impressive race after a great opening lap. Once the safety car was deployed, he was back in the hunt behind Hamilton. Everyone expected the 7-time champion to stay ahead of a slow Sauber, but the Hulk was hard to resist. These are valuable points for the team in the Constructors Championship.
5. First Points for Fernando Alonso in the 2025 Season
The unluckiest driver in F1 finally got his first points this season. The Spaniard was celebrating his qualifying lap as if he would start in the first few rows, but eventually started in 10th. The race was an up-and-down affair, with great overtakes and cheeky passes for Alonso. He was another driver who gained from the safety car as he came back to finish 9th after Verstappen’s penalty.
6. Tough Day For Williams
After an excellent start to the 2025 season with double points scores in the past 2 races, Williams was on a high. Going into this race weekend, the expectations were lower. With a poor Saturday qualifying session, the team hoped to get a few points at the end of the race. However, this was not to be, and Alex Albon had to retire after damaging his front wing two times during the race. The home hero Carlos Sainz failed to score points for the first time in his home race after finishing 14th. The team will hope to forget this weekend and move forward this season.
Final Standings for the 2025 Spanish GP
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Franco Colopinto (Alpine)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
DNF. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
DNF. Alex Albon (Williams)
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