Piastri strikes back: The Spanish Grand Prix is the Australian's!

The race itself started strangely, as Aston Martin announced without any substantial explanation that they would only be participating with one car, and Lance Stroll would not be at the Spanish Grand Prix! This, of course, did not affect the outcome, and Oscar Piastri achieved another brilliant victory.

Piastri had a perfect start, but so did Max Verstappen, who immediately moved up to second place. Charles Leclerc also showed a nice recovery, the Scuderia Ferrari driver was already closing in on the leading group within 2 laps, as well as on Lewis Hamilton. By the seventh lap, the field had seriously split, with Piastri leading Verstappen by three seconds and more than four seconds ahead of Norris. Soon, Leclerc also passed Hamilton, while Norris overtook Verstappen and set his sights on Piastri.

Red Bull quickly reacted to this and executed the first pit stop of the field with Verstappen, followed shortly by several members of the leading group. After the pit stop, the field was rearranged, with the difference that Norris significantly reduced his gap to Piastri. The battle between the two, along with Verstappen's different strategy, held some excitement, but otherwise, the race was not very sparkling. Not to mention the ever-unpredictable variable in the equation! With ten laps to go, Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes suddenly gave up, triggering a safety car phase. This meant more pit stops and the disappearance of the gaps that had been built up, as well as a big opportunity for Norris to win the race and for the others to get on the podium!

Physics did not betray itself; Verstappen, who switched to fresh hard tires, could not hold his position, allowing Leclerc to overtake him. However, no other changes occurred, so Oscar Piastri won the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, once again increasing his lead in the championship.

Photo: EPA