For weeks, McLaren firmly reiterated that they weren’t at all concerned about the new flexi-wing regulation coming into effect in Barcelona, and the Spanish Grand Prix weekend confirmed that there was no bluff behind the words of the papaya team.
The MCL39s dominated the front row in qualifying and then secured a brilliant one-two in the race as well, with Oscar Piastri taking his fifth victory of the season, thus extending his lead over teammate Lando Norris to 10 points in the standings.
It was a race that the Woking team had little trouble managing, despite Red Bull’s all-out attacking strategy for Max Verstappen: by gambling on three pit stops, the Dutchman initially looked like a real threat in the final stint, but the extra stop forced by the Safety Car meant switching to hard tyres, which removed all pressure from Piastri and Norris, allowing them to comfortably manage their 1-2 after the restart.
“It was a bit of a surprise to see Max go for three stops, but it didn’t work out for him in the end. It’s been a great weekend overall, the pace was very strong. We got off to a good start and I’m really pleased with the job we did: FP1 hadn’t been great, but we bounced back well and I’m really happy with how I responded after Monaco,” said Oscar Piastri live to David Coulthard and Terry Crews.
When asked to assess the first nine races of the 2025 season, he continued: “It’s hard to complain, really hard. It’s been a great season so far and this was exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for. We executed everything well when it mattered and that’s what we work for. The team gave me a great car once again and it was really fun to win a race like this. I’m enjoying this moment with my team.”
Finally, the Australian commented on the restart just a few laps from the end: “My restart was very well timed, but I put a lot of stress on the rear tyres, so it wasn’t very clean. But after that moment I managed the situation really well and brought the car to the finish in the best possible way.”
Norris: “I tried, but I didn’t have Oscar’s pace”
On the other side of the garage, Norris seemed to take it in stride, having no problem admitting that today he simply didn’t have the pace to challenge his teammate, while also highlighting another great day for the team.
Also, thanks to a 10-second penalty for Max Verstappen, which dropped him to tenth place in the end, the gap to the four-time world champion continues to grow (now -49), which should allow both McLaren drivers to race each other freely.
“I gave it a shot, but Oscar drove brilliantly today. I didn’t have the pace to match him, but we gave it a go anyway because it was a long race and anything can happen. We went side by side a bit after the restart, but overall it was a fun race for the team and a one-two is a great result.”
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