F1 Spanish Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri wins ahead of Lando Norris, Max Verstappen crashes into George Russell
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrates his fifth grand prix win of the season, converting pole postion into victory in Barcelona. (Getty Images: PA Images/Bradley Collyer)
Oscar Piastri has won the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix from pole position, while world champion Max Verstappen had a moment of fury and appeared to crash into a rival.
Piastri extended his narrow lead in the F1 drivers' championship to 10 points over McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who was second in Barcelona, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claiming third.
But the major talking point out of the race was Verstappen appearing to deliberately drive into Mercedes driver George Russell.
Verstappen was running third when a late safety car bunched the field. While other teams were able to put soft tyres onto their cars, Red Bull only had a set of the slower hard compound left.
Off the restart, he immediately fell to fourth behind Leclerc, and then was forced up the escape road by Russell, who was trying to overtake.
Verstappen retained fourth, which appeared to be fair, but Red Bull advised him to give up the position, believing he would receive a penalty for maintaining fourth place by going off track.
An irate Verstappen then appeared to slow down, let Russell get past him into a corner, then kept his car pointed straight to hit Russell.
Max Verstappen suffered a catastrophic end to the Spanish Grand Prix, falling from third to 10th. (Reuters: Juan Medina)
In an interview with Sky Sports, Verstappen was asked directly if the move into Russell was deliberate.
"Does it matter?" he replied.
"I prefer to speak about the race, [rather] than just one single moment."
In another interview with F1TV, the defending four-time world champion again offered no interest in discussing the moment.
"I don't need to say anything about it," he said.
"It doesn't matter anyway, you know. We can't be critical about anything."
Verstappen crossed the finish line fifth but was handed a 10-second penalty, demoting him to 10th.
Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, believed Verstappen was lucky not to be shown a black flag and disqualified from the grand prix.
"It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent and go ramming into him, just like you felt like the other guy rammed into you," he said on commentary for Sky Sports.
"That is something that is extremely unacceptable.
"If you wait for your opponent just to bang into him and crash into him, then that's a black flag."
Verstappen's actions have been called into question previously, including last year in Mexico when he was accused of deliberately forcing Norris off the track.
In 2021, in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen made contact with Lewis Hamilton after he was instructed by his team to let the then-Mercedes driver through to avoid a penalty.
For Russell, he said the situation was puzzling, but he was not going to bother mulling over it.
"I've seen those sort of moves before in go-karting and simulator racing, but never in F1," he told the media.
"It was a bit surprising. It cost him and his team a lot of points."
At the front, Piastri was clinical to secure his fifth grand prix win of the season.
The Australian got off to a great start and was not challenged for the lead at turn one.
Oscar Piastri held a comfortable lead after the first turn, which was key to his victory. (Getty Images: Formula 1/Clive Rose)
Verstappen getting ahead of Norris allowed the Australian to build a nice gap in front, as McLaren clearly had the fastest car.
A late safety car, called after Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli suffered a power failure and had no control of his car going into gravel, was the only potential moment of peril for Piastri.
But he handled the restart with aplomb and took the chequered flag.
"Hard to complain, it has been a great year and this weekend has been exactly the kind of weekend I've been looking for," he said.
"It is a lot of fun winning races at the moment."
Look back at how the action unfolded in the ABC Sport live blog.
Submit a comment or question
Live updates
That is all for the live blog tonight
Oscar Piastri wins again this season, converting pole position into victory at the Spanish Grand Prix.
His lead over teammate Lando Norris in the drivers' championship is 10 points.
Max Verstappen's hopes of a record-equalling fifth title have taken a body blow.
ABC Sport will return in a fortnight for a live blog of the Canadian Grand Prix.
We hope you join us then.
Goodnight.
Verstappen has not interest in talking about Russell incident
Verstappen again throwing his toys out of the cot .
- Brooks
In an interview with Sky Sports, Verstappen was asked directly if the move into Russell was deliberate.
"Does it matter?" he replied.
"I prefer to speak about the race, than just one single moment."
In another interview, he again has no interest in discussing it.
"I don't need to say anything about it," he tells F1TV.
"It doesn't matter anyway, you know. We can't be critical about anything."
Nico Rosberg believes Max Verstappen should have been disqualified
Nico Rosberg was commentating for UK broadcaster Sky Sports.
At the time, he believed Max Verstappen should have been disqualified for appearing to deliberately crash into George Russell.
With about 30 minutes to reflect, Rosberg said he stood by his belief.
"It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent and go ramming into him, just like you felt like the other guy rammed into you," the 2016 world champion says.
"That is something that is extremely unacceptable.
"If you wait for your opponent just to bang into him and crash into him, then that's a black flag."
George Russell speaks on contact with Max Verstappen
George Russell has spoken to the media following the incident where it appeared Max Verstappen crashed into him.
"My perspective was I just got crashed into," Russell says.
"I don't really know why, or what the thinking was behind it.
"From my side, glad I was able to finish the race. Not really sure what he was thinking, because he's cost himself and his team a lot of points."
The top 10 of the Spanish Grand Prix
- 1.Oscar Piastri, McLaren Mercedes
- 2.Lando Norris. McLaren Mercedes
- 3.Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- 4.George Russell, Mercedes
- 5.Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber Ferrari
- 6.Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- 7.Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Honda RBPT
- 8.Pierre Gasly, Alpine Renault
- 9.Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Mercedes
- 10.Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT
Oscar Piastri becomes third McLaren driver to record eight consecutive podiums
This win means Oscar Piastri has been on the podium for eight consecutive F1 grands prix.
Only two drivers have managed that for McLaren — Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton.
I wonder if they were any good?
It's Oscar on top in Barcelona
What is a black flag?
What’s a black flag in F1? Commentators said it should have been used for Max deliberately crashing into George.
- Jess
G'day Jess.
On the broadcast from the UK's Sky Sports, 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg called for a black flag to be shown to Max Verstappen, after he appeared to deliberately drive into Geroge Russell.
A black flag in F1 is a disqualification.
What happened to Max Verstappen at the end?
So, here is what happened to Max Verstappen.
Safety car: Max Verstappen pits, and all his team has left are new hard tyres. This is clearly slower than the used soft tyres that everyone else has.
Lap 61: On the safety car restart, Max Verstappen goes onto the curb on the straight and he NEARLY spins. Charles Leclerc passes him, with a little contract. Mercedes driver George Russell then goes for a dive up the inside, touches Verstappen, and forces him up the escape road. Verstappen retains fourth.
Lap 64: Red Bull tells Verstappen to let Russell pass. Verstappen is fuming. He slows down to let Russell pass, then appears to speed up and crash into Russell.
End of race: Max Verstappen crosses the line fifth, but is given a 10-second penalty. Verstappen finishes 10th.
Oscar Piastri speaks after winning the Spanish Grand Prix
Oscar Piastri is speaking after winning the Spanish Grand Prix.
"It was a great weekend, the pace was good and just really proud," he says.
"A much better bounce back from Monaco. A superb weekend."
Piastri was scrappy in Monaco, so this win felt nice.
"Hard to complain, it has been a great year and this weekend has been exactly the kind of weekend I've been looking for," he says.
"It is a lot of fun winning races at the moment."
Max Verstappen given a 10-second penalty
The contact between Max Verstappen and George Russell, where they touched as Verstappen was allowing Russell through, has resulted in a 10-second penalty.
Verstappen crossed the line fifth, but he will be classified as 10th.
Verstappen was fuming after his team told him to let Russell through because of a previous moment.
It really looked like Max deliberately turned into Russell.
OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
Australian Oscar Piastri has won the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.
McLaren teammate Lando Norris is second.
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) is third, George Russell (Mercedes) is fourth.
Lap 64: Verstappen and Russell touch! It looked deliberate
Max Verstappen was told by his team to let George Russell through.
Russell appeared to touch Verstappen, which forced Verstappen off track.
Despite Verstappen not appearing to do much wrong, Max Verstappen has been told by his team.
CONTACT.
It looks like Verstappen deliberately drove into Russell.
Lap 63: Oscar Piastri leads by more than one second
Australian Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris, and he is outside of DRS range.
Piastri leads by 1.2 seconds.
Lap 61: Safety car ends and Piastri leads the field away
Oscar Piastri is now in control of the pack.
He will decide when to put the foot down and resume racing.
Piastri waits … waits … waits — GO!
Piastri puts the foot down with two corners left in before the start-finish line.
Piastri holds the lead into turn 1.
Max Verstappen is struggling on the hard tyres.
Verstappen is down to fourth after his car nearly spun on the straight.
Charles Leclerc is third.
Verstappen if forced up the escape road following George Russell trying to pass on the inside.
Russell was alongside Verstappen, but then appeared to force him off the track.
Verstappen holds onto fourth because he went off the track.
We are going to have a six-lap sprint to the end
If it happens,will it be more case of Piastri losing the lead or Norris taking the lead
- Phil
Piastri and Norris pit for used soft tyres, Verstappen has new hards
The top three had enough time to dive in and pit, and still emerge ahead of the rest of the field.
Here are the top four:
- Oscar Piastri — used soft tyres
- Lando Norris — used soft tyres
- Max Verstappen — new hard tyres
- Charles Leclerc — used soft tyres
The outlier is Verstappen. Sure, he has new tyres, but they are the slowest of the set.
You would presume even used softs, for a short stint, will be better than new hards.
Lap 55: SAFETY CAR
The safety car has been called out.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has gone off the track, there is smoke coming from his car. His Mercedes broke down. It appears to be a complete engine failure.
“Absolutely nothing there for Antonelli. Total switch off of the car. Engine goes bang and off he goes – almost locked the rears as it seized up at the back. So that’s Antonelli out and you can see the frustration from Toto Wolff as that happened. Tough day for Mercedes once again.” — Jolyon Palmer, former driver, on F1.com.
A safety car has been deployed. The whole field bunches up.
Oscar Piastri's three-second lead has been wiped out.
Lap 52: Piastri making his way through backmarkers, Norris almost caught out
When Oscar Piastri came out of the pits and immediately needed to get through backmarkers.
As Piastri passes, Norris and Verstappen can catch up a little.
Norris was almost caught out in turn one.
Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson needed to get out of Norris's way.
But Bearman and Lawson were fighting for position, and that has actually held up Norris for a moment.
Verstappen was caught up in that scuffle, and the Dutchman raises his arm in frustration.
Lap 50: Oscar Piastri makes his second stop
McLaren call in Oscar Piastri.
The race leader comes in, hits his marks perfectly, and he is stationary for just 2.2 seconds.
Piastri emerges with a lead over Norris and Verstappen of three seconds.