George Russell converts his Pole position in Canada to a race win becoming the fourth different winner of the 2025 season.

Max Verstappen takes second place for Red Bull after having some issues which didn't allow the Dutchman to challenge for the lead as much as he may have wanted but a well-driven race nevertheless. 

It was a great race for the Mercedes team with Kimi Antonelli taking his first podium in Formula One with a brilliant third place finish for the young Italian. He becomes the third youngest podium finisher in Formula 1 history.

A race that was filled with last minute chaos and plenty of different strategies up and down the pack, the Canadian Grand Prix 2025 did not disappoint - especially for those of you who are Mercedes fans!


As it happened

It is only a year ago since George Russell and Max Verstappen started on the front row together in Montreal with Russell being overtaken by Verstappen mid race. With all of the tension from last week's incident between the two in Barcelona, all eyes were on how this battle would go down.

Lights out and Russell got off the line well and had comfortably cleared Verstappen before going into Turn 1 while the Dutchman suffered a slow start and focused more on keeping the Mclaren of Oscar Piastri behind him going into the first corner. No contact was made and it was a clean first corner throughout the grid. 

Kimi Antonelli made a great pass on Piastri at Turn 3 on the opening lap and got himself up into third place - Piastri being let down by a mediocre getaway off the line. 

A battle between Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon emerged on the opening lap but resulted in Albon going over the grass at Turn 9 and 10 and joining the track in not the safest and preferred way. 

By Lap 3, DRS has been enabled, benefitting Verstappen who was within a second of Russell  and was able to use the speed advantage. As the track temperature stood at 50 degrees, teams were very aware of overheating concerns. Antonelli had dropped back in his Mercedes which started to affect Piastri behind him who was being hunted down by Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari.

Russell was fighting hard to pull away from the Red Bull of Verstappen on Lap 4 but the Dutchman was putting on enough pressure to force Russell to use his tyres, something the Mercedes driver could not afford with tyre degradation being an issue this weekend. Antonelli had dropped back a bit from the leading pair and the gap stretched to 1.7 seconds. 

The effects of following closely behind in dirty air was showing for Verstappen as he was pulling out to the right from behind Russell on the straights to get the car into clean air to avoid overheating. Both Mclaren's seemed to be in management mode early on to keep their tyres in good condition and biding their time to play the long game in this race. 

By Lap 6, Russell had managed to pull away from Verstappen and remove the threat of DRS aid for Verstappen with the gap growing between the pair to 1.2 seconds. 

Nico Hulkenberg looked to be continuing his brilliant form that he showed last time out in Spain and was sitting in P9 on Lap 7. Great to see that the upgrade package Kick Sauber brought recently seems to be playing into the teams' hands. 

While Verstappen struggled with his tyres and made his team aware of this over the radio, Antonelli had started to close up to the back of the Red Bull driver and was in touching distance of having DRS on his side on the next lap. Norris was up into sixth after starting seventh in this race and spent the opening laps bringing his hard tyres up to temperature. Once the tyres had settled in he was able to pass Alonso to take P6. 

Lap 12 saw Antonelli in DRS range of Verstappen's Red Bull with just four tenths of a second between the two drivers. Verstappen pits as Antonelli starts to chase him down.

Verstappen completes and quick and successful early swap onto the hard tyres and re-joined the track in P9. Albon's race started going downhill on Lap 13 after he is made aware that the team were monitoring a similar issue to the one they had in Spain but not as serious.

Russell was quick to react to Verstappen's pitstop and comes in for his stop a lap later. Antonelli took over the race lead and Russell re-joined the track in P7 just behind Fernando Alonso. 

Hamilton was the next to pit on Lap 16 to swap his medium compound tyres for the hard compound. The seven-time champion came back out on track in P9 for Ferrari. 

Lap 17/70 and Piastri handed over the lead of the race and made his pitstop. He came back out on track in P7 behind the Sauber of Hulkenberg who was performing brilliantly yet again. 

Lap 23 saw Albon drop two places from P11 to P13 at the hands of Gabriel Bortoleto and Fernando Alonso as the Williams driver continued to struggle with issues with the car as he took control of his own strategy for the Grand Prix. 

DRS enabled Russell to take second from Charles Leclerc easily on Lap 26 with the British driver having a great race so far - brilliant news for a team who has had so many struggles in recent years.

Leclerc then comes into the pits on Lap 29 to swap onto the medium compound tyre after starting the race on the hards. This cemented the Monegasque to a two stop strategy as he re-joined the track in sixth place just ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. 

A lap later and Norris comes into the pits for his first stop of the race going onto the medium compound tyre after being another driver who opted to do their first stint on the hard tyres. He comes back out on track behind his Papaya teammate Oscar Piastri. 

Hulkenberg was in great form and had taken P14 from Pierre Gasly by Lap 35 and was looking to make his way further up through the field. Not long after this, P15 belonged to Franco Colapinto after the Alpine pit wall gave instructions for the cars to swap places.

Verstappen made a second pitstop on Lap 38 due to stopping so early previously in the race. He re-joins in sixth place and puts himself in between the two Ferrari's. 

Antonelli pitted the following lap to avoid being caught out by the undercut but the Italian ends up behind Verstappen.

Russell entered the pits on Lap 43 for a fresh set of tyres and comes back out into the race in P5 on the hard compound tyre. 

An incident arose between Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly on Lap 46 with the Aston Martin driver forcing Gasly onto the grass in order to keep hold of P17 and the incident was noted by Race Control. 

A 10-second time penalty soon came Stroll's way for forcing another driver off the track regarding his incident with the Alpine of Gasly.

The first retirement of the race was Alex Albon in what will be a race to forget for the Thai driver. The team were not able to resolve the mechanical issues he had been suffering with during the opening stages of the race. 

On Lap 53, Leclerc hands the race lead back to Russell and came into the pits to complete his mandatory tyre compound change. He came back out ahead of his teammate and behind Lando Norris who was in fifth. 

A battle for third was also underway between Antonelli and Piastri as the Australian tried to get ahead of the Mercedes driver but struggling to get the move done - Antonelli doing a great job keeping the championship leader at bay.

Liam Lawson became the second retiree of the race as the teams concerns about protecting the power unit lead to them giving orders to retire the car. 

Lap 60 saw a fight brewing between the two Mclaren cars as Lando Norris gains DRS on Oscar Piastri due to passing lapped cars.

The Mclaren teammates continued to battle over the next few laps of the race until contact was made on the main straight as Norris clipped the rear of Piastri's car and lost his front wing. He made contact with the wall and sustained damage down the left side of the car and he came to a stop at the end of the pit wall down towards Turn 1. This left the Briton out of the race and Norris owned up to being at fault for the shunt straight away. 

The safety car was deployed whilst Norris' car was dealt with and it was announced the Safety Car will lead the pack through the pitlane due to where the Mclaren car came to a halt. 

​The Safety Car remained in place on the final lap of the race which had been brilliantly commanded by George Russell who crossed the line to take his first win of the season. Verstappen crossed the line to take P2 with Antonelli taking the final podium spot after an amazing drive from the Italian driver.

Piastri finishes in P4, missing out on the podium places whilst the two Ferrari's of Leclerc and Hamilton finished in fifth and sixth respectively. Alonso continues his point scoring streak coming home in P7 and Hulkenberg continuing his Top 10 finishes with a P8. Ocon and Sainz round off the Top 10.
​
Two investigations will be taking place post race by the stewards, one into Oliver Bearman for an incorrect use of the escape roads and another into Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon for driving erratically in the latter stages of the race.

What does this mean for the Driver's Championship?
Oscar Piastri, despite not having the race he maybe would have hoped for, extends his lead over his teammate Lando Norris to 22 points after Norris' crash left him scoring no points. The Briton has 176 points to his name with Verstappen not far behind and by no means out of the fight with 155 points. Russell is in fourth with 136 points followed by Leclerc who trails a bit in P5 on 104 points. 

Formula 1 will return in Austria at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg from June 27-29. 

Max Verstappen and George Russell topped the timesheets in Free Practice One and Free Practice Two, respectively.

With many teams bringing upgrades to their cars, it was an important day for every team. Unfortunately, Canada didn't bring luck to Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll, who both ended their sessions with crashes. Leclerc crashed in FP1, and the team was unable to get the car up and running again for FP2, so he missed the session. 

Top Ten Results
1) Max Verstappen          1:13.193
2) Alex Albon                       +0.039
3) Carlos Sainz                   +0.082
4) George Russell               +0.342
5) Lewis Hamilton               +0.427
6) Isack Hadjar                    +0.438
7) Lando Norris                   +0.458
8) Liam Lawson                  +0.544
9) Pierre Gasly                    +0.624
10) Charles Leclerc             +0.692

Max Verstappen topped the timesheet for Free Practice One at the Canadian Grand Prix in mild, dry conditions.

A queue of cars formed in the pit lane, with Esteban Ocon leading the drivers out onto the track. Haas marked their 200th Grand Prix with a retro livery to mark the occasion.

McLaren, among other cars, have added upgrades to their car this weekend, with McLaren adding 'mermaid tails' to the front wing endplate. During the session, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were seen with aero rakes on their cars and fluro paint.

Franco Colapinto had an early spin, bringing out the yellow flags as he faced the wrong way at Turn 2. Colapinto wasn't the only one to have a moment. Norris and Antonelli also had brief moments early in the session.

Charles Leclerc brought out the red flags after ending up in the wall at Turn 4. He locked up and hit the corner on the left before ricocheting into the opposite barrier.

Albon and Bortoleto had a close call when Albon tried to move out of the way of Bortoleto, only for Albon to end up right in his path.

Four drivers ran the C5 medium tyre, with the majority sticking with the C6 soft tyre compound.

​Verstappen topped the timesheet as the clock stopped, with Albon and Sainz close behind him.

Top Ten Results
1) George Russell        1:12.123
2) Lando Norris              +0.028
3) Kimi Antonelli             +0.288
4) Alex Albon                  +0.322
5) Fernando Alonso       +0.335
6) Oscar Piastri              +0.439
7) Carlos Sainz              +0.508
8) Lewis Hamilton          +0.530
9) Max Verstappen         +0.543
10) Liam Lawson            +0.628

It was George Russell who topped the timesheet for the last practice session of the day in Montreal.

Ahead of the session, Fred Vasseur revealed that Charles Leclerc would not appear in the session due to damage his car sustained in FP1.

Lewis Hamilton was the first out on track as the session began gathering as much data as he could for Ferrari.

Within five minutes of the session, Lance Stroll made contact with the barrier and snapped the suspension on his car, forcing him to park his car with a dislodged front-left wheel, ending the session for the Aston Martin driver.

The majority of drivers opted for the C5 medium tyre for this session instead of the soft compound they ran earlier. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri appeared to struggle, with both drivers missing the final chicane and taking to the run-off area.

Franco Colapinto found himself on track all by himself for a short duration but could only set a time good enough for P17. He also did his second spin of the day.

At the halfway mark, George Russell was at the top of the timesheet, over fifth-tenths quicker than Hamilton.

The rest of the drivers complained about traffic, with Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Alex Albon all narrowly avoiding colliding in two separate incidents.

As the session came to a close, the drivers picked up some valuable information for the race, and the top three remained unchanged.

Written by Anny Wooldridge

George Russell secured pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, after beating Verstappen and Piastri to pole in a thrilling qualifying session under the Canadian sun.

Earlier in the day Lando Norris topped the timesheet in Free Practice Three. Yuki Tsunoda picked up a ten place grid penalty for the next race after overtaking Piastri under red flag conditions.

Top Ten Results
1) Lando Norris          1:11.799
2) Charles Leclerc      +0.078
3) George Russell      +0.151
4) Lewis Hamilton       +0.251
5) Max Verstappen     +0.273
6) Fernando Alonso    +0.448
7) Kimi Antonelli          +0.549
8) Oscar Piastri           +0.720
9) Carlos Sainz           +0.720
10) Alex Albon             +0.774

Lando Norris topped the timesheets in the third and final practice session of the weekend.

The pleasant afternoon in Montreal was marked by sunshine and rising temperatures. Leclerc made it back out on track after crashing out 45 minutes into FP1 and missing the entire FP2 session, as the team had to change the chassis.

There were questions about whether the soft or medium compound tyre would be the preferred tyre for qualifying. Due to this, drivers used a range of run plans for FP3.

Lance Stroll also had some work to do after an early crash in FP2.

Leclerc led the way 15 minutes into the session with a lap time of 1m 12.843s on the medium compound tyre, ahead of Alonso and Stroll, who were on the soft tyres.

Piastri and Hulkenberg both had moments at the final chicane, with Piastri tagging the wall and picking up a puncture and Hulkenberg completing a full spin. Bringing out the red flags.

Russell topped the timesheet with a 1m 11.950s lap time on soft tyres. Norris set a lap time of 1m 11.799s, topping the timesheet, a tenth clear of Russell's FP2 time.

Out in Q1
16) Gabriel Bortoleto
17) Carlos Sainz
18) Lance Stroll
19) Liam Lawson
20) Pierre Gasly

Verstappen set the pace early in the opening runs of Q1 after Sainz led the way out in the session. Drivers opted for a mix of soft and medium compound tyres, with Antonelli, Colapinto and Gasly all running the medium compound tyres. Alonso also ran the medium compound tyres and slotted into fourth in his first run.

With six minutes to go, Albon's Williams lost his engine cover down the straight, with debris flying all over the track and bringing out the red flag. With 5:30 minutes left on the clock, drivers headed back out on track.

Norris was under pressure down in P12 but put in a good lap to top the timesheet, with Piastri behind, followed by Hamilton and Alonso. Bortoleto, Sainz, Albon, Bearman and Hulkenberg were in danger.

Sainz runs wide and gets impeded by Hadjar, leaving him out in Q1, along with Bortoleto, Stroll, Lawson and Gasly. After the session, Hadjar received a three-place grid penalty for the race. 

Out in Q2
11) Yuki Tsunoda
12) Franco Colapinto
13) Nico Hulkenberg
14) Ollie Bearman
15) Esteban Ocon

With 15 minutes on the clock, Verstappen headed out onto the track on medium compound tyres. Norris and Piastri were out on soft tyres.

Mercedes was last to set a lap time with eight minutes to go. Russell moved into P6 and Antonelli into P8 for their first runs, dropping Colapinto and Hadjar into the elimination zone.

Leclerc tops the timesheet 0.012s ahead of Verstappen on soft tyres with four minutes to go. Meanwhile, Alonso, Colapinto, and Russell were all running medium-compound tyres.

With two minutes to go, Tsunoda, Bearmand, Hadjar, Ocon, and Hulkenberg were in the drop zone.

Russell topped the timesheet, with Norris in second. Tsunoda, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Bearman and Ocon were eliminated.

Starting Top 10
1) George Russell           1:10.899
2) Max Verstappen            +0.160
3) Oscar Piastri                 +0.221
4) Kimi Antonelli                +0.492
5) Lewis Hamilton             +0.627
6) Fernando Alonso          +0.687
7) Lando Norris                 +0.726
8) Charles Leclerc             +0.783
9) Isack Hadjar                  +0.968
10) Alex Albon                   +1.008

Mercedes; George Russell, who claims back-to-back pole positions in Canada: "Today was awesome in front of this amazing crowd as well to get the pole. "That last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life.

"On my steering wheel you’ve got the delta and I just saw every corner I was just going one-tenth quicker and I got into the last corner and I was six-tenths off so I knew the lap was mighty. Crossing the line and seeing we were P1 was a real surprise but I was so chuffed with it."

​On starting alongside Max Verstappen: "We’re mates so it’s all good. I’ve got a few more points on my license to play with so yeah let’s see."

Written by Anny Wooldridge

After a week break, following a European triple header, Formula One returns to race weekend action, as this coming weekend the paddock descends on Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.

The 20 drivers this weekend will go racing around the iconic and legendary Circuit Gilles Villeneuve which is submerged in history and is a memorable race track for many of the drivers that have raced here, but also ones who still do.

Who can forget an extraordinary race from the McLaren of then-rookie Lewis Hamilton, who picked up his first of 105 Grand Prix victories at this very circuit - converting his very first pole position to victory in the process.

However, this race will also mean a lot to others too, including Lance Stroll who is racing at his home event this weekend, despite being a doubt after withdrawing from the Spanish Grand Prix due to requiring an operation on his wrists.

​Can anyone stop Max Verstappen around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve? The reigning world champion has won the last three Canadian Grand Prix, across three consecutive seasons - in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Verstappen will need some fortune this weekend if he is to keep himself in close championship contention. He currently sits third in the standings, but trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 49 points after a 10th place finish for the Red Bull in Spain.

Piastri though is the inform driver in 2025 and has won five of the nine races in the 2025 FIA Formula One Championship so far - last time adding to his total in Barcelona, ahead of closest challenger and McLaren teammate Lando Norris. 10 points separates the McLaren duo in what looks to be a close championship fight.

McLaren themselves have a commanding lead in the Constructors' Championship. With 362 points after just nine rounds of action, they lead closest challengers Scuderia Ferrari by a big margin of 197 points. 

Ferrari have a close fight for second with Mercedes and Red Bull Racing close to them in third and fourth respectively. Mercedes are six points behind Ferrari, while Red Bull are 21 points behind.

Round 10 of the 2025 Formula One World Championship sees a trip to the iconic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a circuit that is steep in legacy and iconic Formula One moments, with fans at the venue and watching across the world no doubt hoping for more of those this weekend in the Canadian city of Montreal.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, named after the legendary Canadian driver who picked up six victories and 13 podiums from 1977 to 1982 before his tragic death at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.

 Before his son, Jacques Villeneuve won the world title in 1997, Gilles was the most successful Canadian driver in Formula One history. Now the title belongs to Jacques. Gilles' first victory came at the Canadian Grand Prix - in the inaugural race at the venue in 1978.

Formula One first went racing around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1978, when the circuit was built on the Notre Dame Island in the middle of the St Lawrence River in 1967. Following the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics leaving town, a few people made a race track out of the area and that is what became the Circuit Gilles Villenueve.

It is one of the shortest laps on the Formula One calendar in 2025, with just 15 corners making up a lap distance of 4.361 kilometres. 70 laps of racing to come in Sunday's Grand Prix, with a race distance of 305.27km.

One of the shortest circuits is the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve but it is also one of the fastest with a total of three DRS zones across the circuit, providing plenty of opportunity for overtaking. The DRS zones are on the start/finish straight into turn 1, and on the straights down to turn 8 and the final chicane.

The lap record set at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is held by Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas back in 2019 with a 1:13.078.

This is a non-sprint weekend so there will be three Free Practice sessions, with two on Friday and one on Saturday before qualifying completes the Saturday action ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix.

Formula One has two support championships this weekend in Montreal, one of them being F1 Academy while for the fourth round of the season and also Porsche Carrera Cup North America, which supports Formula One for the first time since Miami in May.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

On Tuesday, Formula One and the FIA announced the 2026 calendar schedule, of 24 races, for the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship, with a new venue in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

Madrid will be one of two Spanish races on the 2026 Formula One calendar, and in doing so replaces one of two Italian venues from the 2025 Formula One calendar, which is the infamous Imola Circuit - home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Once again, if Madrid is subject to confirmation, Formula One will once again have a 24-race season, which like 2025 will begin at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia and will conclude at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Sprint weekend details are yet to be confirmed as where and when they will feature, on the 2026 Formula One calendar, with it also unclear whether the number will rise above six per season - which works out at about a quarter.

The 2026 calendar will also see an additional team join the Formula One grid, which means there will be 11 Constructors competing next season as Cadillac join the grid for the first time. Their driver lineup is to be confirmed.

Cadillac will have three home events throughout their first season, with all three of Texas, Miami and Las Vegas remaining on the Formula One calendar with all of them set to take place in different months of the season.

In contrast to 2025, there will be just two triple headers in the championship instead of three with both of them coming in the final six rounds of the 2026 Formula One World Championship. 

The Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary is the last race before the annual summer break with 13 rounds taking place prior to Formula One taking a month break with all the teams and drivers being able to rest ahead of the remaining races of the season.

Madrid is the new venue on the calendar and the only venue that is different from what is on the 2025 Formula One calendar. Subject to FIA Circuit Homologation, the Madrid event will take place in September (11-13) - following the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The Grand Prix taking place at Madrid, is replacing the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which took place at Imola which had been on the calendar from 2020 and up until the current 2025 season.

2026 Formula One race weekends will begin on March 6, at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia. As for the 2026 Formula One World Championship concluding, that is exactly nine months from the first day of Free Practice of the campaign on December 6 - at the Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi.

However, Formula One still has the 2025 season to complete with the next round, which is round 10 of 24, taking place at the Circuit Gilles Villenuve, in Montreal.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal 

Oscar Piastri won the Spanish Grand Prix with Lando Norris finishing P2, with Charles Leclerc in P3, after a late safety car mixed the race up.

​Oscar Piastri started on pole with Lance Stroll pulling out of the race due to a hand and wrist injury and Yuki Tsunoda started from the pit lane after a set up change.

Alex Albon and Kimi Antonelli were both forced to retire their cars due to power unit issues as Fernando Alonso finished in 9th and gained his first two points of the season. Nico Hulkenberg finished in 5th after Max Verstappen received a ten-second time penalty after an incident with George Russell.

Max Verstappen is now one penalty point away from a race ban with two points expiring on June 30th but the next two don't expire until October 27th.

Oscar Piastri started on pole position as Lance Stroll pulled out of the race after qualifying due to injury and Yuki Tsunoda started from the pit lane due to set-up changes.

All the drivers started on the soft tyre compound except Tsunoda, who started on medium tyres. The McLaren and everyone from Lawson backwards started on new soft tyresand everyone else started on used ones.

Oscar Piastri started on pole and remained the race leader into Turn 1, however, behind him, Norris had a poor start and got overtaken by Verstappen, who moved into P2. Hamilton got ahead of Russell and moved into P4. It didn't take long for the other Ferrari to pass Russell either, with Leclerc moving into P5, forcing Russell into P6.

Verstappen stuck with Piastri through the opening stages before Piastri put 1.3 seconds between him and the Australian. Just 4.2s covered the top three, with Lando being told to push and get past Verstappen.

Hamilton was told to let Leclerc pass, which he did at Turn 1, as Leclerc was running considerably quicker.

Lando Norris was within 0.7s of Verstappen and eventually passed him for P2 with DRS down the inside of Turn 1 with 4.3s between Norris and Piastri.

Verstappen pitted for another set of soft tyres and quickly passed Antonelli around the outside of Turn 12 and then Russell on the inside of Turn 7, making his way back through the pack and back into P3.

Alonso went off track at Turn 5 and dropped two places into P11. There was contact between Lawson and Albon with debris at Turn 2 as Albon picked up damage to his end plate. Albon received a ten-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. He served the penalty and then returned to the pits to retire the car.

Verstappen pitted from the lead of the race for a set of medium tyres and looked to be on a three-stop strategy, with the McLarens opting for a two-stop. He returned on track and started lapping 1.5s quicker than the McLaren.

Russell closed in on Hamilton for P5, with the Mercedes showing a strong race pace.

Verstappen overtook Leclerc and moved into P3, 9.5s off Piastri and closing in, with the top three all needing to make one more stop. The top three were covered by seven seconds, with Norris just 2.3s behind Piastri.

Piastri started to pull away from Norris once again, widening the gap out in front, with just 3.9s covering the top three.

The McLarens pit one lap after the other, coming back out in the same positions as before, with Verstappen closing to the back of Norris for P2.

Antonelli has a power unit issue with his car, which ends his race and brings out a full safety car. All of the top running car pit with everyone returning to the track on the soft compound tyre, except Verstappen, who angrily heads out on track with a new set of hard compound tyres - in a very confused state.

During the safety car restart, Piastri pulls away from Norris, and Verstappen struggles with his hard tyres, nearly dropping it out of the last corner. Verstappen and Leclerc touch as Leclerc gets ahead and moves into P3. Verstappen was under threat from Russell, who he also touches with, and had to bail out running wide. He rejoins the track ahead of Russell.

Hulkenberg meanwhile made his way into P7 and was within a second of Hamilton in P6 with Bortoleto in P11.

Alonso made his way through the pack and was running in P10 after overtaking three cars in six laps.

Verstappen received a radio message to let Russell through, but backs off to let him pass and runs into the Mercedes again.

Hulkenberg overtook Hamilton, moving into P6 and picking up a good haul of points for Sauber this weekend, as Alonso finished in P10.

Verstappen received a ten-second time penalty for the incident with Russell and was demoted to tenth place, moving everyone else up a position.

​Oscar Piastri wins the Spanish Grand Prix with Lando Norris in P2 and Charles Leclerc in P3. 

1) Oscar Piastri  
2) Lando Norris          +2.471
3) Charles Leclerc      +10.455
4) George Russell      +11.359
5) Nico Hulkenberg    +13.648
6) Lewis Hamilton      +15.508
7) Isack Hadjar          +16.022
8) Pierre Gasly          +17.882
9) Fernando Alonso   +21.564
10) Max Verstappen  +21.826
11) Liam Lawson       +25.532
12) Gabriel Bortoleto +25.996
13) Yuki Tsunoda       +28.822
14) Carlos Sainz        +29.309
15) Franco Colapinto +31.381
16) Esteban Ocon      +32.197
17) Oliver Bearman    +37.065
DNF) Kimi Antonelli
DNF) Alex Albon
​DNS) Lance Stroll

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri wins the Spanish Grand Prix: "It was a bit of a surprise to see Max Verstappen try a three-stop and it nearly worked for him, so yeah it was a great weekend overall though.

"The overall pace was really good and we could turn it on when we needed to and just very proud of the work we’ve done this weekend.

"It wasn’t the best first practice and then we got our stuff together, it’s a nice way to bounce back from Monaco, it’s been a superb weekend."

On it being the fifth win of the season: "Hard to complain, it has been a great year and this weekend has been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for, we executed everything we needed to when it counted and that’s all we could ask for.

"The team gave me a great car once again, it’s a lot of fun winning races at the moment and I’ve been enjoying it and I hope the team are too."

On the restart: "My restart was OK from a time point of view, I’m not sure my rear tyres were very happy though, I think I was wheel-spinning in sixth gear so not the cleanest of restarts but it was good enough.

​"Just getting used to how much grip there was on low fuel, it was like being back in qualifying so that was a bit of an adjustment, but very well managed."

Written by Anny Wooldridge

Oscar Piastri took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Lando Norris starting in P2 and Max Verstappen in P3.

The Australian continued his run of setting the fastest lap in the session after topping the timesheet in Free Practice Three earlier in the day.

Franco Colapinto almost caused an issue in Q1 after stopping in the pit lane with the other cars panicking to get around him and back out on track with only a few minutes left in the session.

Top Ten Results
1) Oscar Piastri          1m 12.387
2) Lando Norris            +0.526
3) Charles Leclerc        +0.743
4) George Russell        +0.752
5) Max Verstappen       +0.988
6) Isack Hadjar             +0.995
7) Kimi Antonelli           +1.018
8) Fernando Alonso     +1.027
9) Lewis Hamilton        +1.140
10) Liam Lawson         +1.250

Oscar Piastri set the pace during the final practice session in Barcelona, with Lando Norris in second and Charles Leclerc in third.

Franco Colapinto was the first driver to head out in the last practice session after trying to make up for the time he lost with a hydraulic issue in FP1. Gabriel Bortoleto and the Aston Martin duo headed out onto the track next.

Yuki Tsunoda was the first to top the timesheet with a lap time of 1m 14.851 on medium tyres, but his time was quickly beaten by Lando Norris, who went three-tenths clear.

Carlos Sainz topped the timesheet on the soft compound tyres, but George Russell quickly went faster by 0.473s with a sea of red-walled tyres out on track at the halfway mark.

Liam Lawson dipped a wheel over the white line, kicking up some gravel during a flying lap, and had to head straight into the pits.

The final quarter of the session was all about qualifying simulations, with Norris having a snap of oversteer, forcing him to bail out by driving onto the run-off area.

Oscar Piastri put together a clean lap and set the fastest lap time in the session with a 1m 12.387s lap, half a second ahead of Norris.

Out in Q1
16) Nico Hulkenberg
17) Esteban Ocon
18) Carlos Sainz
19) Franco Colapinto
20) Yuki Tsunoda

After three busy practice sessions, qualifying got underway at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The session was increasingly hot and humid, with the track reaching 48 degrees and the air temperature sitting at 29 degrees.

The drivers stayed in the garage until the lights went green in the session, with all the drivers heading out onto the track within a few minutes.

Piastri set the benchmark time with a 1m 12.551s lap time, two-tenths clear of Max Verstappen, with Lando Norris just 0.001s behind him.

Hulkenberg, Ocon, Sainz, Tsunoda and Bortoleto were in the drop zone, with Stroll and Lawson in 14th and 15th.

A queue formed in the pit lane ahead of the final minutes of the session; however, Colapinto reported an issue and was stuck in the pit lane, leaving the rest of the drivers having to overtake the Alpine in a frantic rush to get out on track.

Hulkenberg, Ocon, Sainz, Colapinto and Tsunoda were knocked out in the session.

Out in Q2
11) Alex Albon
12) Gabriel Bortoleto
13) Liam Lawson
14) Lance Stroll
15) Oliver Bearman

A number of drivers headed out on track early in Q2, with Verstappen setting the initial pace before Norris beat him by three-tenths. The picture changed again as Piastri went 0.058s ahead of Norris.

Bortoleto, Lawson, Albon, Stroll and Bearman were the first drivers at risk. As the session entered its final minutes, Antonelli was amongst those who headed back out on track. None of the top five headed back out onto the track.

Stroll couldn't improve, and neither could Bearman nor Bortoleto. Albon, Bortoleto, Lawson, Stroll and Bearman were all knocked out in Q2. 

Starting Top 10
1) Oscar Piastri        1m 11.546
2) Lando Norris          +0.209
3) Max Verstappen    +0.302
4) George Russell     +0.302
5) Lewis Hamilton      +0.499
6) Kimi Antonelli         +0.565
7) Charles Leclerc      +0.585
8) Pierre Gasly           +0.653
9) Isack Hadjar           +0.706
10) Fernando Alonso  +0.738

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start in pole position: "I’m very happy, it’s been a good weekend so far. It didn’t start off in the best way, we were struggling a little bit but last night we found some pace and the car has been mega.

"I feel like I was able to put in some fast laps as well so thank you to the team for all the hard work.

"This was a pretty miserable scene 12 months ago so to have turned it around in the best way is a great result."

On finding pace: "I mean I improved quite a lot in Turn One actually and there were a couple of other places in the lap where I’ve been struggling a bit all day.

"I don’t know if I necessarily did better but it all just came to me mainly in the first half of the lap and the second half I could just hang on.

"It wasn’t the perfect lap but I think around here with the tyres going off so much through the lap it’s very tough to do that. I’m very happy with all the work we’ve put in."

On the race: "It’s going to be an interesting one tomorrow, I’m pretty glad that I’m starting from pole. Obviously it’s a long run to Turn One so I’ve got to make sure I get a good start tomorrow, but I’m very proud of the work we’ve done today and starting in the best spot."

McLaren remains supreme in Free Practice One and Two with Lando Norris topping the timesheets in FP1 and Oscar Piastri topping the timesheet in FP2.

Due to the change in technical regulations, lots of teams headed to the track at the very start of each session, making the most of running and testing.

Top Ten Results
1) Lando Norris                1m 13.718
2) Max Verstappen               +0.367
3) Lewis Hamilton                 +0.378
4) Charles Leclerc                +0.52
5) Oscar Piastri                     +0.576
6) Liam Lawson                    +0.621
7) Oliver Bearman                +0.879
8) Isack Hadjar                     +0.887
9) Yuki Tsunoda                    +0.925
10) Pierre Gasly                   +1.028

Lando Norris topped the timesheet in Free Practice One, ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

The session started at 13:30 local time, in the sunshine, with F2 driver Victor Martins first out on track for FP1, conducting a rookie session in Alex Albon's Williams. Ryo Hirakawa also participated in FP1 as the Haas reserve driver.

Due to the change in technical regulations, lots of teams headed to the track at the very start of the session on the hard compound tyres to get a feel and test the front wing loads.

During the first quarter of the session, Lando Norris set the fastest time with a 1m 15.259s lap time, ahead of Fernando Alonso by 0.221s.

Drivers continued to gather data throughout the session, with numerous laps completed and the switching of tyre compounds. George Russell was the first to switch to the medium compound tyre and topped the timesheets with a 1m 14.751s lap time.

Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver to switch to the soft compound tyres, which for this weekend are the C3 compound, with other drivers following suit.

Lando Norris topped the timesheet, with Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson appearing in the top ten at the end of the session.

Oscar Piastri topped the timesheet with the fastest time during the final Free Practice session of the day, three-tenths ahead of George Russell and Max Verstappen.

Drivers headed out onto the track at 17:00 local time in hot and humid conditions. Esteban Ocon was the first driver to head out on track after handing over his car to Ryo Hirakawa in FP1.

Franco Colapinto headed out early with the Alpine team fixing a hydraulic issue from FP1. All the drivers headed out onto the track very early in the session, with the majority running on the C2 medium tyres.

Lando Norris set an early benchmark as Oliver Bearman spun through the gravel at Turn 3, with him then spending some time in the garage.

Traffic was a major factor in the session, with Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso both complaining about getting their laps disrupted.

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli lead Mercedes to a 1-2 during the first part of the session, with Russell setting a time of 1m 13.046s.

Around the halfway point, drivers started their qualifying simulation runs, with Norris and Verstappen both lapping at the exact same time with a 1m 13.070. But it didn't last long as Piastri set the fastest lap time in the session with a 1m 12.760s.

Drivers then continued their longer runs in the final stage of the session.

Written by Anny Wooldridge

Round 9 of the 2025 Formula 1 heads to Barcelona for last in the European triple header. The Spanish Grand Prix takes place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

After the lack of overtakes in Monaco last weekend, this race track is very familiar to all the drivers, with them all having spent a lot of time there testing and in the junior series.

The circuit is fast flowing with long corners through Turn 3 to 4 and Turn 9. Overtaking can still be tough, with Turn 1 being the predominant spot for overtaking.

This weekend a new FIA technical directive comes into play, to do with the flexibility of the wings, which could have an effect on some team's cars and their performances.

Written by Anny Wooldridge

Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc in P2 and Oscar Piastri in P3.

In a race filled with team games, strategy and two pit stops, Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix after pressure from Charles Leclerc right up until the last moment.

Oscar Piastri still leads the World Championship over Lando Norris by just three points.

Lando Norris started on pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc lining up beside him.

On a bright and sunny day in Monte Carlo and with a mandatory two-stop incoming, the pit stops and tyre strategy were very unknown. Tsunoda was the sole driver to start on the soft tyre compound, with Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Hadjar, Ocon, Lawson, Albon, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Gasly, and Bearman starting on the medium compound tyres. Verstappen, Alonso, Hamilton, Sainz, Russell, Antonelli, Colapinto, and Stroll all started on hard tyres.

Lando Norris started on pole and, despite a big lockup at Turn 1, managed to stay ahead into the first corner and around the first lap. Further back, Piastri managed to hold off Verstappen, as the top 12 remained unchanged after the first lap.

Bortoleto and Kimi swap places, but Bortoleto gets into trouble and hits the wall at Portier, but gets going again, briefly bringing out the Virtual Safety Car as Tsuonda, Gasly and Bearman head straight into the pit lane for their first pit stops.

Norris was holding back out in front, lapping a 1:18:470 as Bearman laps a 14:855 at the back, with Liam Lawson holding up the back of the pack to create a gap from his teammate.

Gasly crashed into the back of Tsunoda at the Nouvelle Chicane, nearly wiping out Colapinto in the process and, in turn, breaking his front left corner and brakes. He drove his car back into the pits, leaving debris all around the track. He managed to stop in the pit lane but not in his box, so the pit lane was closed during the Virtual Safety car. This was investigated after the session.

The track was clear, and the pit lane was reopened with Verstappen all over the back of Piastri. Hadjar was the first of the front runners to pit from P5. With his teammate Lawson holding everyone back, Hadjar emerges from his pit stop in P8 and in clean air.

Alonso and Ocon also pit and take advantage of the gap created by Lawson and they both manage to come back out ahead of Lawson.

Norris pulled 3.5s clear of Leclerc, with Piastri holding back further behind to create a pit window. Hamilton stops for a set of hard compound tyres and comes back out on track in P5, ahead of Alonso and Hadjar.

Norris headed into the pits from the race lead and emerged ahead of Piastri, as Leclerc took the race lead and did the fastest first sector. Lawson's gap allowed Hadjar to stop for a second time and came out ahead of his teammate once again in P8.

Leclerc pits from the lead, with Verstappen taking over P1; Piastri wasn't a threat to Leclerc as he had a slow pit stop.

Verstappen got caught up in the back markers and headed into the pits from the lead, allowing Norris to retake the race lead. Verstappen rejoins the track behind Piastri but ahead of Hamilton in P4.

Fernando Alonso had to retire his car after an overheating issue. However, he picked a good spot to retire, with the car off the track, bringing out a very brief yellow flag before the track went green once again.

Norris was told to use more pace with Leclerc just five seconds behind him, just as Norris laps Ocon.

Alex Albon made his second pit stop after Carlos Sainz held up the entire field behind him, allowing his teammate to make his two pit stops. Then Sainz passed Albon, and they swapped positions, with Carlos racing ahead and Albon holding everyone up.

During this time, Lawson managed to stop twice, along with Ocon and Hadjar, who was running in P6. Russell complained that Albon was driving dangerously slow.

Piastri pitted for a second time as Russell got ahead of Albon by cutting the chicane, blaming Albon for driving erratically. Still, Russell said he would rather take the penalty than stay behind Albon. Russell was investigated and given a drive-through penalty.

Norris took a while to get through the backmarkers but stopped for a second time, as did Leclerc, with Verstappen leading the race, having only stopped one, followed by Norris, Leclerc, Piastri and Hamilton, with the rest of the drivers being over a minute behind Hamilton.

Sainz made a second stop as Russell took his drive-through penalty and both drivers came back out ahead of Albon.

1.8s covered the top three, with 7.6s covering the top four, with Piastri closing down the leading pack.

Verstappen struggled with his tyres as he slowed down to put pressure on Norris with Leclerc behind him, trying to force a mistake. Antonelli created a gap to allow Russell to pit twice before pitting himself and emerging at the back of the pack before pitting for the second time.

With five laps to go, Hamilton was too far behind the race leaders to make a difference, with Verstappen still out front praying for a red flag. Verstappen eventually pitted and rejoined the track in P4.

Lando Norris wins the Monaco Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc in second and Oscar Piastri in third.

1) Lando Norris
2) Charles Leclerc       +3.131
3) Oscar Piastri           +3.658
4) Max Verstappen     +20.572
5) Lewis Hamilton       +51.387
6) Isack Hadjar           +1 Lap
7) Esteban Ocon      
8) Liam Lawson
9) Alex Albon             +2 Laps
10) Carlos Sainz
11) George Russell
12) Oliver Bearman
13) Franco Colapinto
14) Gabriel Bortoleto
15) Lance Stroll
16) Nico Hulkenberg
17) Yuki Tsunoda
18) Kimi Antonelli
DNF) Fernando Alonso
​DNF) Pierre Gasly

McLaren's Lando Norris who won the Monaco Grand Prix: "It feels amazing. It's a long, gruelling race, but good fun. We could push for quite a lot of the race. The last quarter, I was a little nervous with Charles behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco. It doesn't matter how you win, I guess. An amazing weekend, with pole, with today.

"This is what I dreamed of when I was a kid, so I achieved one of my dreams. I think it was you [Jenson Button], I saw you in front of my car before the start and I thought, if JB's here now, he's my good luck charm. Is 'Monaco, baby', yours? I apologise.

​"The worst bit was the end. I felt quite under control the whole race but Max was ahead and was backing it up a little bit and I knew Charles had opportunity. I tried to back off Max so I could push when I needed to and chill when I needed to. I'm very happy, my team are very happy. Therefore we're going to have a wonderful night!"

By Anny Wooldridge