More than half the race was decided by the gap between Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen. Except for Fernando Alonso, who was one of the few, perhaps the only one, to bring some excitement to this Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. It was a race in which, once again, Barcelona decided everything in terms of strategy. Alonso scored his first points of the year with a commendable 9th place finish (thanks to a penalty for Verstappen), while Carlos Sainz could only manage 16th.
Piastri beats Norris and extends his lead. Verstappen penalized, finishes 10th
It was a race of calculations. Engineers weighed their options to see if, with a bold move, Red Bull could get the better of McLaren. This reached the current maximum expectation for the Dutchman: to reach the final laps on equal tire terms and within a few seconds of his competitors.
Just ask Verstappen, who had his best chance to fight for victory with six laps to go in this Spanish Grand Prix on the hard tire, the only one he had left, and it was a used one at that. Norris and Piastri, after the Safety Car came out due to Antonelli’s retirement and engine failure (another Mercedes…), had to deal with soft tires at a crucial moment in the race.
But Spain, beyond being a venue where most of the victory and points are decided in the pits, also has important parts of a historic track, and Alonso can attest to that. Because the Asturian, who finished ninth, in the points for the first time all season, in a race that clearly deserved it, made four overtakes on the big bend, number three. Four overtakes on the outside on Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Bearman, and Lawson, the latter twice. Four overtakes of pure genius that, although others tried, no one else was able to match.
Alonso finishes 9th after battling with an Aston Martin that struggles in the race
Because what we saw is that although Aston Martin has taken an important step forward in qualifying, on one lap, it still struggles a little more in the race. From the onboard footage, it was clear that the AMR25 continues to suffer from problems which, although minor compared to previous races, have certain flaws that cause it to understeer and have poor cornering control. This is why Alonso took a trip through the gravel after noticing significant stability problems, which caused him to lose ground against Hulkenberg, who took a sensational 5th place with his Sauber.
It was a race of pace, degradation, and strategy, as expected, driven by the 30°C ambient temperature, which was almost 50°C on the track. The first few laps saw Hamilton defend strongly against Leclerc, who was faster and needed a couple of scares and the intervention of the team before the seven-time champion let him pass.
Thus, after more than 80% of a race in which the temperature on the track only increased, the last five laps provided the spectacle that was expected, motivated, of course, by the Safety Car that marked the race. The battle between Russell and Verstappen was one of the most tense moments, with the Dutchman even coming under investigation for aggressive maneuvering against his rival.
Nothing seems to have changed after the introduction of the new front wing regulations. McLaren’s superiority could only be spoiled at Montmeló by their own mistakes. On the first lap, where Verstappen had already left them exposed several times, or through strategy, the great weakness of Zak Brown’s team, with Piastri and Norris.
Charles Leclerc took advantage of the turmoil to secure an unexpected podium finish, with Max Verstappen ending the race very angry and in fifth place, behind George Russell, with whom he had several collisions but whom he was finally able to overtake. Fifth place went to Nico Hülkenberg, who had an exceptional race for the Sauber team, scoring ten points to add to the six he had already scored so far.
As for Carlos Sainz, the Williams driver had a weekend to forget. His poor qualifying (18th on the grid) left him with no options at the Montmeló circuit, which does not suit his FW47. The Madrid driver had little impact on the race.
Halfway through the race, he had a duel with Fernando Alonso to defend his position when both were clearly out of the points, with the Asturian coming out on top in that little battle. In the overall standings, everything remains the same after what happened in Barcelona. Piastri remains the clear leader, while Norris and Verstappen complete the provisional podium.
As for the Spanish drivers, neither Carlos Sainz nor Fernando Alonso improved their position after the Barcelona GP, but the Asturian managed to get off the mark by scoring his first points. The Williams driver is in 12th place with 12 points, while the Aston Martin driver is 18th.