A McLaren masterclass in Barcelona as Oscar Piastri extends his Championship lead! 

Pre-race 

After Qualifying, Aston Martin made the announcement that Lance Stroll wouldn’t take part in the Spanish race due to Stroll experiencing issues with his previously injured wrist. Aston Martin made it clear the Stroll would go through an operation to resolve the injury, meaning the race would only start with 19 drivers. 

Lights out 

Lights out saw an amazing race start for Oscar Piastri. Piastri got away quickly, Lando Norris tried to catch up but found it difficult before he gave up. 

Lap 4 

Lap 4 saw an unhappy George Russell as he found it difficult to catch up with the pack and finding frustrations with the others braking, sharing his complaints on the radio: 

“These ***** are moving under braking! What is going on?!” – Russell 

“George, concentrate.” – Toto 

Lap 7  

During lights out, Alex Albon made contact with Liam Lawson which saw damage being down to his front wing. 

Lap 7 saw Albon pitting early for a new front wing before Albon rejoined P19. 

Lap 9 

Leclerc gained pace on his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, before he attempted an overtake which didn’t work out. 

Later on in Lap 9 however, Ferrari was quick to make the call to swap positions, Leclerc moving up to P4 as Hamilton moved down to P5.  

Lap 12 

Max Verstappen was quick to report is complaints about the tyres with: “No Grip, compared to them that is.” 

Verstappen’s grip seemed to worsen as Norris overtook him to claim P2. Verstappen then pitted for new tyres as he rejoined P8. 

Lap 17 

Verstappen made his way up the leaderboard before overtaking Kimi Antonelli for P4 and moments later he overtook Russell for P3. 

Lap 19 

Lap 19 saw Ferrari bringing Hamilton in early, which he wasn’t too happy about. Hamilton making his opinions clear on the radio:  

“Why did you pull me in so early?” – Hamilton 

“Protecting from a possible undercut from behind.” – Engineer 

Lap 21 

On Lap 21, McLaren to secure Piastri’s race lead decided to continue instead of pitting in the lap 15 – 19 windows, making sure he was comfortable with this decision on the radio:  

“How far do you think we could get with these tyres? Lap 25 possible?” – Engineer 

“Possible but difficult.” – Piastri 

Lap 22 

McLaren started their first rounds of pits as they brought in Norris as he rejoined P3. 

Later McLaren continued their pit stops as they brought Piastri into the pits which gave Verstappen the race lead.   

Lap 26 

Lap 26 saw Lawson making another overtake attempt on Albon which ended in the two clipping tyres once more. 

Albon saw damage to his front wing once more as he was brought into the pits, before he could make it to the pits however, he was handed a ten second penalty for causing a collision which he quickly served before continuing. 

The next lap however, Albon headed back to the pits to finally retire. 

Lap 30 

On Lap 30, Red Bull brought Verstappen into the pits for softs as he rejoined P4, which led to Piastri taking back the race lead.  

Lap 34 

Verstappen continued which his complaints about the car on the radio, which led to a back and forth with his engineer, giving a nod to his Monaco radio: 

“It feels like I have no clutch when upshifting.” – Verstappen 

“1973!” – engineer 

“I think it’s 74 now.” – Verstappen 

Lap 37 

On Lap 37, Verstappen was able to find his pace again as he overtook Leclerc for P3. 

Lap 51 

Verstappen pitted once more on Lap 51 for fresh softs, he continued before he made a complaint yet again about the car: 

“Mate, the ride of the car is completely broken.” – Verstappen 

Lap 52 

Oliver Bearman and Lawson got into their own battle for positions, however neither were aware of Verstappen and Norris who were close behind and about to lap the two. 

Bearman dove around the outside of Lawson as Norris and Verstappen were coming round, narrowly missing the two. Verstappen quick to complain on the radio: 

“F*****g idiots!” – Verstappen 

Lap 55 

Lap 55 Mercedes were met with disappointment as Antonelli went off track which brought out the Safety Car as his race was ended early. 

Lap 57 

Drivers started to pit under the Safety Car conditions which included Verstappen. 

However, Red Bull ran out of the needed tyres for Verstappen, which caused confusion on the radio: 

“What the F**k? What is the tyre?” – Verstappen 

“We’re on hards.” – Engineer 

“Why are we on hards??” – Verstappen 

“It was the only option we had.” – Engineer 

Lap 59 and 60 

As the safety car was about to end, lapped cars were given the go ahead to overtake the Safety Car. 

The drivers went back to racing as the Safety Car was brought back to the pits, Leclerc not wasting any time as he overtook Verstappen for P3, the two making brief contact which Verstappen wasn’t too happy about. 

“Oh my, mate! He just rammed into me! That’s a penalty!”- Verstappen 

“Charles just slammed straight into me!” – Verstappen 

“He needs to give the position back.” – Verstappen 

Lap 65 

On the last lap, the drama continued. Russell tried to overtake Verstappen which Verstappen quickly reacted on as the two made contact.  

With a back and forth being seen on the Red Bull radio: 

“Max, can you let Russell through, please?” – Engineer 

“What? I was ahead, mate. What the f**k?” -Verstappen 

“My advice is to let him through.” – Engineer 

“I was ahead!” – Verstappen 

“That’s the rules.” – Engineer 

Soon enough, Verstappen on an attempt to give the position back ended up colliding with Russell which was quickly put under investigation by the stewards. 

Lap 66 

On Lap 66, Verstappen was given a ten second penalty which pushed him down to P10. 

On the other hand, Piastri crossed the finish line as he claimed the Barcelona win! He was followed by his McLaren teammate, Norris in P2 and Leclerc in P3! 

UP NEXT: Next up is the Canadian Grand Prix the 13^th to the 15^th of June!