F1 Grand Prix, GP Spain, Circuit de Catalunya

McLaren secured another one-two finish at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri having emerged victorious ahead of his team-mate Lando Norris. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took a surprise podium finish at Barcelona. F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers teams’ and drivers’ reactions.

McLaren

Oscar Piastri, 1st
“I’m really happy to have won today. It was a great weekend overall. The pace was really good. We could turn it on when we needed to. It’s been a great year so far and this weekend’s been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for. We executed everything we needed to when it counted and that’s all you can ask for.

"The team gave me a great car once again, and I’m very proud of the work we’ve done. There was a lot of support in the grandstands, so thanks to the crowd for being out there. We couldn’t have ended the triple header any better as a team.”

Lando Norris, 2nd
“It was a good, fun race and for us to end this triple-header with a one-two is even better. Congrats to Oscar, he drove a very good race today. I didn’t quite have the pace to match him but we gave it our best shot.

"It's a long race, and anything could have happened in the end. We were under pressure with the Safety Car restart, but we managed it really well and kept position. I’m happy to go back home with good points for the team.”

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc, 3rd
"Yesterday, I knew that I was sacrificing qualifying in order to have a better race on Sunday, but I didn’t expect to find myself standing on the podium, so I’m happy about that. The first two stints were really positive today, the last stint on the Medium was a bit more tricky, but then we had the Safety Car that gave us the opportunity to fit Soft tyres again and we took advantage of it.

"We still have a lot of work to do and are not yet as fast as we want to be, but now we head home to reset and push to come back stronger in the coming races."

Lewis Hamilton, 6th
"Today was definitely not what I was hoping for. I felt good going into the race, after a pretty good qualifying and the car performing better. But the balance felt off throughout the race and we lacked pace from the start.

"We don’t have an explanation for it, so we’ll have to go away and look into the data and any underlying issues. Congratulations to Charles, he did a great job and fully deserved the podium."

Mercedes

"We finished where we started today and P4 was probably the best we could have done today. The last 10 laps saw plenty of action, but I am frustrated about my performance on lap one. I made a good start but dropped back from there and both Ferraris got ahead of me.

"I felt like Charles (Leclerc) was reachable today, but things got shuffled a bit with the Safety Car and, after contact with Verstappen, it was a bit too much of an ask to track him down.

"Overall, we can come away from Barcelona pleased with some of the progress we have seen this weekend. Finishing P4 is quite consistent with where we have been racing since the beginning of the season, so it feels good to be back in that area pace wise after two difficult races.

"Unfortunately, we are still a long way from the leaders, but we are taking steps forward. We will be looking to continue making progress next time out in Canada."

"I am disappointed with how today’s race went. It was a tricky Grand Prix with the hot temperatures impacting the tyres. Even though we did a lot of long run work in FP1 and FP2 on Friday, it was still a struggle to look after them and keep a decent pace. However, I still felt good in the car. I had good pace on the Medium tyres and I was putting in consistent lap times. It was therefore a shame to end the day with a DNF.

"Overall, it has been a difficult triple header for us. Now though we have some time to reset. I am really looking forward to heading to Montreal for my first Canadian Grand Prix. It is a different track and a different tarmac to here in Barcelona.

"We are also at the opposite end of the Pirelli range in terms of the compounds. We will take everything we have learned over the past three weeks, analyse and come back stronger in two weeks’ time."

Kick Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg, 5th
"It was one of those Sundays where everything came together really well. Right from the beginning, we were in the mix — a strong start, a clean first lap, and we were immediately able to fight for points. Ironically, not having the best Saturday and saving a set of softs gave us a strategic edge with the tyre allocation.

"The Safety Car mixed things up a bit, and having those fresh compounds turned out to be a golden ticket. There was a significant delta between used and new tyres today, so that really paid off.

“The car felt good all weekend, and the updates clearly gave us a step forward in performance — we had strong pace throughout the race. Credits to the whole team, both at the factory and trackside, for the hard work on the upgrades.

"I didn’t quite maximise things yesterday — it was disappointing to underdeliver, and I was frustrated with myself. But that anger gave me an extra push today. It’s satisfying to bounce back like this and bring home 10 points. Big result for us, that’s what matters in the end."

“First things first, congratulations to Nico and the team. This result is a testament of how well the upgrades have worked, and seeing the car's potential today has been truly inspiring – making me even more motivated to work towards my first points. From my side, I think it has been a solid race.

"We took everything we had in our hands and made the most of it. The team did a really good job with the strategy today. The Safety Car didn’t swing our way, but that’s part of racing. What really stands out is the pace we showed — it was strong, and the upgrades were a big step forward for both of us.

"It’s been a triple header full of learnings and positive momentum. We’re heading in the right direction, and now it’s straight back to work as we get ready to hit the ground running in Montreal in two weeks.

Racing Bulls

Isack Hadjar, 7th
"I’m really happy with today’s race, it was a strong performance and almost perfect, something the whole team can be proud of. I really enjoyed the first stint, though it’s a shame Nico got us right at the end. Our strategy was perfect, the pace on the Medium tyre was strong, it really helped us clear the midfield and we had some great battles on track.

"We made the right call to box for Softs when we did. I’m feeling more and more confident in the car and pushing it to the limit at every race. As a team, we’re definitely heading in the right direction. I couldn’t have asked for a better triple-header, scoring points in every race. I’m looking forward to carrying this momentum into Canada.”

“From our side, it was a very strong race. Despite spending a lot of it in traffic, we had good speed and were overtaking cars, so it was working out. We ended up in the wrong position and missed the safety car line by half a second because everyone in front of us boxed.

"To be that close after all the work we did in the race is really unfortunate. As we look ahead to Canada, we'll take the positives of great race pace. Points are always the goal."

Alpine

Pierre Gasly, 8th
“It was a more challenging Sunday for us but, all in all, it is a good outcome for us to score points today. It has been a challenging start to the season, quite a difficult triple-header in recent weeks for us and we knew, as a team, after Monaco, we needed to bounce back here in Barcelona with some points.

"Qualifying was really good but we seem to struggle more on Sundays. We have plenty to review from today’s race as I was pretty relieved to see the Safety Car near the end and the team did a great job to make the right call to give me a free gap to pit for fresh tyres.

"We did the best we could and I know we will reflect together as a team. We have to keep working hard and really aim to fix some of our weaker areas going into Canada.”

Franco Colapinto, 15th
“It was a disappointing afternoon and a tough race. We had better pace today than earlier in the weekend, which is a positive but it is a tricky circuit to overtake so it was generally a hard one to manage and make any progress.

"The tyres were suffering a lot in the dirty air, which made things even more difficult. It goes to show how important track position is in races and I know there is more to improve on that front on my side especially maximising the car’s potential on low fuel.

"I look forward to continuing the hard work with the team over the coming days and there is much more to learn heading into Montréal in a couple of weeks.”

Aston Martin

"It's always special racing at home, and it means a lot to score my first points of the season here in Barcelona. The support from the fans was amazing. The pace of the car wasn't quite where we wanted it to be, especially after feeling strong yesterday.

"I struggled to overtake on the straights so I had to get quite creative at Turn Three. I'm happy to take the points in the end, and now we'll look to keep the momentum going as we head to Canada. We missed Lance today and I wish him a quick recovery."

Red Bull

“It was a shame that the safety car came out and we were unlucky that we had to pit. That is racing though, sometimes it works for you and sometimes it doesn’t. The only fresh tyres that we had at the end were hards, so we made the call to change to these when everyone was on softs.

"Unfortunately, the hard tyres have very low grip, which was quite frustrating and it made things a lot more difficult. We only had six laps so the others could go flat out and we struggled quite a bit. There of course was an opportunity to stay out on the soft tyre but that was a call we made and it is easy to look back in hindsight. When we went into the restart, we got into a tricky situation and gave the place back.

"What happened there happened and we got a ten second penalty. In the race we maximised what we had, did everything we could and didn’t quite have the pace to match the McLarens. Ultimately, we just have to take the positives from today, there are always things that can be improved and we know that the three stop was the right way to go, especially with the tyre degradation.”

“Up until the safety car today there was potential to score points. This weekend was not what we wanted, but it is what it is. It’s been up and down this week but our pace was alright today. A pit-lane start is never ideal but we knew we would need to try something different for the race today to try and make up some ground.

"We were trying out different things with the set-up, it didn’t do much in the end today, but we have an idea on how to hopefully improve this in Canada. We are not where we want to be but we will keep working as a Team and aim to remain consistent across a weekend.”

Williams

"We lost out quite heavily at the beginning and were on the back foot into Turn 1. The cars ahead were avoiding each other, and I was the one to get hit, so we were forced onto a three-stop strategy to replace my front wing. I tried my best to stay out of the way in each incident, but we ended up with damage both times.

"We need to look at this track and understand why it’s such a challenge for us. I want us to be a top team, and it’s important to put the car to the test at tracks like this so we can learn valuable lessons and optimise our car for the future. Overall, I feel like I’m in a good rhythm with the car and I’m looking forward to Canada."

"It was a tough race for me and the team. We picked up front wing damage on the first lap, which made us lose a lot of race time, and struggled with engine overheating when following cars.

"In clean air the pace looked better but overall, the weekend hasn’t been very positive, as expected. I want to thank all the fans for their incredible support the entire week and hopefully we’ll be back to better form in Canada."

Haas

“We stayed out on used tyres under the Safety Car as we would’ve been at the back of the grid, and it wasn't worth it. It’s the end of the triple-header and there are some positives and some difficulties, but thanks to the team for the support they’ve given over these three weeks.

"I think it’s good that we’re now going into a week where we can analyse things and hopefully come back stronger. The positive was Monaco, and we now go to Canada which is another street circuit, so looking to getting back to where we belong there.”

“It was going okay but unfortunately we weren’t able to fight for any points today. I think we made progress over the weekend and the car has been feeling better today compared to Friday and Saturday on long runs, so that’s positive.

"Unfortunately, at the Safety Car, we lost out a little bit which was a shame. We struggled a bit more for pace this weekend relative to others but overall, we’ve had a good showing over this triple, and I think we have a lot to take from it and learn.”