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Spanish Grand Prix: Piastri wins from pole as late penalty drops Verstappen to 10th

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Oscar Piastri earned his fifth victory of the Formula One season at the Spanish Grand Prix, leading team-mate and title rival Lando Norris in a McLaren one-two in Barcelona.

The McLaren duo pulled further clear of four-time defending Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship standings, with the Dutchman slipping to 10th after receiving a 10-second penalty in a dramatic conclusion to the race. 

Piastri dominated from the moment the cars first hit the track for practice on Friday, and he led Sunday's race from the front to extend his championship lead to 10 points, while he is now 49 clear of Verstappen.

Piastri had seen a comfortable lead wiped by a safety car, which was introduced when Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli experienced a power unit failure and ran onto the gravel on lap 55.

The Australian emerged unscathed from that safety car, but Verstappen was less fortunate after a three-stop strategy forced him to finish on unfavourable hard tyres.

Charles Leclerc surged past Verstappen when racing restarted with six laps to go, with the Dutchman furious that the Ferrari made contact as they merged onto the straight.

Verstappen protested over team radio that Leclerc had rammed him, with stewards launching an investigation, though replays showed the contact was minor and occurred after the overtake. 

However, that was only the start of the drama, as Russell appeared to clip Verstappen at turn one on lap 63, and one lap later, a heavier collision between the pair led to a penalty for the champion.

A frustrated Verstappen was advised over team radio to let Russell take fourth as he continued to struggle on the hard tyres, but after braking to let Russell in, the Red Bull rammed into his rival. 

After Russell was given the position on the third-to-last corner, Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, though his rivals may argue disqualification was a more fitting punishment.

Sauber's Nico Hulkenburg was promoted to fifth, having failed to finish higher than 12th at any of his last seven races, with another disappointing outing for Lewis Hamilton ending with a sixth-place finish.

Isack Hadjar was seventh for Racing Bulls, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso also ranked ahead of Verstappen. 

Data Debrief: Moment of madness costs Verstappen

There is no race on the F1 calendar where Verstappen has achieved more podium finishes (eight) or victories (four) than the Spanish Grand Prix. 

He entered this weekend with 168 career points at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, knowing a top-four finish would make it his most prolific race, overhauling his 178 points won in Austria.

For much of Sunday's race, the world champion looked set for a comfortable podium finish and maybe even a tilt at victory, but the late safety car left him vulnerable, and his bizarre collision with Russell dropped him to the bottom of the points places.

Piastri's victory, meanwhile, was the 50th by Australian drivers in F1, with Australia the seventh nation to reach that number of victories in the sport.

Piastri has also scored points at each of his last 35 grand prixs, with only Hamilton (48 from Silverstone 2018 to Bahrain 2020) and Verstappen (43 from Emilia-Romagna 2022 to Australia 2024) enjoying longer streaks in the sport's history.

TOP 10 

1) Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

2) Lando Norris (McLaren)

3) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4) Georga Russell (Mercedes)

5) Niko Hulkenberg (Sauber)

6) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

7) Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

8) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

9) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

10) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers'

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 186 

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 176 

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 137

Constructors' 

1. McLaren – 362 

2. Ferrari – 165 

3. Mercedes – 159