McLaren Goes 1-2 in Spain While Verstappen Plays Pinball With a Mercedes

BARCELONA, SPAIN – JUNE 01: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 01, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Oscar Piastri won the Spanish Grand Prix Sunday. That part was tidy. Calm. Surgical. The kind of win you frame and hang on the wall. He beat teammate Lando Norris to the flag to give McLaren a clean 1-2 finish — the kind of thing McLaren fans used to dream about on warm nights with a bottle of wine and some vintage Senna posters.

But behind them? Absolute carnage. The final laps of the race devolved into what can only be described as Formula One’s version of a demolition derby, complete with carbon fiber confetti and Max Verstappen playing the role of bowling ball.

It started off like any Spanish Grand Prix. That is to say: not Monaco. There was actually passing.

When the lights went out, Piastri launched like he’d been personally insulted by the start light. He held the lead into Turn 1 while Norris, who might’ve been thinking about lunch, got mugged by Verstappen around the outside. It was a Red Bull sneak attack worthy of Daniel Ricciardo in his prime — except the tire grip apparently had other ideas.

Behind them, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton found their groove early, muscling past George Russell, who had the kind of start usually reserved for rental cars in the rain. Kimi Antonelli settled in behind his teammate, while Pierre Gasly, Isack Hadjar, and a very awake Nico Hülkenberg rounded out the top ten.

Hamilton, meanwhile, spent the early laps trying to hold off Leclerc — a bit like trying to stop a mountain goat with a shopping cart. Eventually, Mercedes gave the “suggestion” for Hamilton to move aside, which he did. Sort of. Slowly. With the enthusiasm of someone handing over the last slice of pizza.

Up front, Verstappen was busy complaining about “no grip,” which is F1 code for “this car is terrible and I’d like everyone to know it.” Norris swooped past on lap 13 like a man late for a flight, and Max dove into the pits one lap later for what would be the first of three stops — because of course it was.

“It was a bit of a surprise to see Max try a three-stop,” said Piastri afterward, with the calm bemusement of someone watching their friend order sushi at a barbecue joint. “But, yeah, it was a great weekend overall. Just very proud of the work we’ve done.”

Verstappen, now on the march with fresh tires and a grudge, cut through the midfield like a buzzsaw. He overtook Hadjar, passed Antonelli, and hunted down Russell — who decided he wanted no part of that fight and politely exited to the pit lane.

The McLarens boxed, Max took the lead, and for a brief moment it looked like he might just pull off the most Verstappen-y comeback in recent memory.

Then came lap 54.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli’s engine let go like it had suddenly remembered it wasn’t supposed to be that fast. Cue the Safety Car and the mad dash to the pits. Everyone bolted in for a final set of Softs. Everyone except Verstappen, who had to bolt on the dreaded Hard tires — the ones you only use if the race lasts until Tuesday or you’ve made a terrible strategic decision.

When the race restarted, the McLarens took off like scalded cats. Verstappen, meanwhile, struggled for grip and got swarmed like a guy bringing a knife to a gunfight. Leclerc passed him with a bit of contact and a lot of conviction.

Russell — who apparently woke up and chose chaos — tried to divebomb Max into Turn 1. They made contact. Max used the escape road. The team told him to give the place back. He did. And then hit Russell again.

For this, Verstappen received a 10-second penalty, which feels generous considering most of NASCAR would’ve black-flagged him, fined him, and made him build a new front wing by hand.

Lando Norris, ever the diplomat, shrugged it all off after finishing second: “Oscar drove a very good race today. Didn’t quite have the pace to match him, but we gave it our best shot… It was a good fun race, you know, and for us as a team to finish one-two is even better.”

George Russell held on for fourth, and in perhaps the biggest surprise of the afternoon, Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg outfoxed Hamilton after the restart to grab fifth. Let me repeat that: Kick Sauber. Fifth. Spain. No, you’re not dreaming.

Hamilton finished a grumpy sixth, with Hadjar, Gasly, Alonso, and Verstappen — fresh off his audition for Mad Max: Pit Lane Fury — rounding out the top ten.

As for Lance Stroll? He sat this one out with a wrist injury. Probably for the best.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – JUNE 01: Oscar Piastri of the McLaren Formula 1 Team celebrates after Formula One Spanish Grand Prix 2025 at the Circuit of Catalunya, in Barcelona, Spain on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Pablo Morano/Anadolu via Getty Images)

F1 Spanish GP Results

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Greg Engle

Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community.

Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.

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