2025 F1 Spanish GP: Preview and Predictions

The 2025 F1 Spanish GP might just be the most important race of the season. This is the 9th event of the year, but the most crucial bit about the race is the fact that this is the one where the FIA technical directive comes into effect. The governing body had announced the clampdown on the flexing of the front wings from Barcelona onwards, and teams would be bringing their solutions to this race.

How much of an impact it has on the cars is going to be critical because, as it stands, the championship is still open. The gap between the McLaren duo at the top is in single digits, but even the drivers behind them are not too far behind.

Max Verstappen is only 25 points behind the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, and even George Russell and Charles Leclerc would fancy their chances if McLaren is the biggest loser after the clampdown.

The races in Barcelona tend to be one of the better judges of how a car would do in general, and hence the race is important for all teams. With that being said, what can we expect from the 2025 F1 Spanish GP? Let's take a look.

2025 F1 Spanish GP: Preview

Key Storylines

#1 The FIA clampdown

As we said earlier, this might be the most important race of the season for everyone. This is going to be the race where we see the FIA clampdown. As part of the clampdown, there's going to be a stiffer limit on how much the front wing can flex.

This is certainly going to have an impact on multiple teams. While the focus has been on McLaren because it has been the frontrunner in terms of making the most of the flexi wings, the reigning F1 champions are not the only ones. It's going to take a few races before we finally see the overall impact, but if we see a few teams suddenly drop a few tenths of performance, then we might know what the contributing factor was.

#2 The title battle

The top 3 drivers in the championship are now separated by just 25 points. To add to this, the F1 Spanish GP comes at a point when Lando Norris appears to be getting better in qualifying and finding a better balance on how to tame McLaren.

It is interesting to see that there have not yet been any fireworks between the rivals, but at some point, it's going to happen for sure, and it would be interesting to see who would be the first one to bite.

#3 Aston Martin's progress

Aston Martin's upgrade in Imola has turned a few heads because that has coincided with two top 10 starts for Fernando Alonso. There's something that has worked with the car now that was probably missing even compared to the midfield, and the F1 Spanish GP might just be the race where the home favorite starts scoring a few points.

Form Guide

On Form

Lando Norris appeared to be down in the dumps after Miami. It was another race where Oscar Piastri outsmarted him and got what was a 4th consecutive win. Since then, Norris nibbled a bit on the championship lead in Imola. He's followed it up with a commanding win in Monaco.

The gap between the McLaren duo is just 3 points heading into the F1 Spanish GP, and the people who counted Lando out are already having a rethink.

Out of Form

Lewis Hamilton is slowly running out of excuses for why the deficit continues to be there between him and Charles Leclerc. The 7x F1 champion is heading to Barcelona with a 7-1 deficit in races and qualifying.

For his confidence and for Ferrari's, the driver would be hoping to get a clean weekend over Charles Leclerc, especially on a track where he's won half a dozen times.

Driver with the biggest spotlight

The crowd at Barcelona is spoiled for choice between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, but it's safe to say that the passion that the 2x F1 champion brings from the fans is something different. Both of the Spaniards would be keenly followed this weekend for sure, but maybe Alonso might be the one with the biggest spotlight.

2025 F1 Spanish GP: Predictions

Who wins the race?

The track layout at Barcelona is front-limited, and at the same time, there are quite a few high-speed sections. The areas where McLaren tends to hold the edge over its rivals are more on the rear-limited tracks, while Red Bull excels in the high-speed sections. If Imola showed something, then it was the fact that the RB21 is now able to keep the tires in a decent window.

We're going with Max Verstappen to win the F1 Spanish GP even though tire wear might prove to be a factor at this track.

Biggest surprise of the weekend? (Team)

Aston Martin's upgrades at Imola were interesting because it opened the team to a whole new world where the car can now compete in the midfield. The team is still not looked at as one that can fight at the front of the second group, though.

The F1 Spanish GP is going to change that, as this is the first time we'll see Aston Martin surge to the front of the midfield.

Biggest surprise of the weekend? (Driver)

Carlos Sainz has had the short end of the stick in terms of luck far too many times at Williams this season, and as a result, if we look at the points standings, the gap between him and his teammate is massive. With that being said, the F1 Spanish GP is one of those races where the Spaniard tends to do well.

Williams will have a strong car around Catalunya, and we're backing Sainz to have a stronger weekend compared to Alex Albon.

Biggest disappointment of the weekend? (Team)

Haas once again got points on the board with Esteban Ocon at Monaco, as the French driver's strong qualifying helped him. The F1 Spanish GP, however, is not going to be a race that favors the car.

The fast-speed sections are just not in the Haas wheelhouse right now, and the car tends to struggle when we have these tracks. Unfortunately, the pattern is going to continue this weekend.

Biggest disappointment of the weekend? (Driver)

Franco Colapinto's start to life at Alpine has been rocky at best. The Argentinian has not even come close to replicating what Jack Doohan was doing in the car before he was replaced.

After Imola and Monaco, we're heading to a track that should favor Alpine because of the fast-speed sections. While that is the case, it does appear that Colapinto is yet to get comfortable with the car and start performing. The F1 Spanish GP might not see the best of him, and we might have to wait a few races before we see his true level.