2025 Spanish GP FP3: Piastri the man to catch

Piastri led FP3 by 0.5s from Norris as McLaren dominate. Verstappen off pace in P5, Leclerc third, and Racing Bulls break into top 10 again.

Ben

By Ben Bush
Published on May 31, 2025

Oscar Piastri McLaren 2025 Spanish GP FP3
Oscar Piastri (car no.81) McLaren tops FP3 at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix // Image: McLaren Media

Oscar Piastri delivered a commanding performance in final practice for the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, clocking a 1:12.123 to lead team-mate Lando Norris by a dominant half-second and solidify McLaren’s grip on the weekend. As teams fine-tuned setups ahead of qualifying, McLaren proved once again that the new front wing regulations—brought in to limit flexi-aero exploits—have done little to slow their charge in the 2025 F1 World Championship.

What To Know?
  • Oscar Piastri was half a second clear of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in P2.
  • In the Ferrari, Charles Leclerc came a distant third, over seven tenths off the pace.
  • Albon encounters an issue that Williams were investigating, and Hamilton, at the end, complaining about his gearbox.

Piastri, who entered the weekend with a slender three-point lead over Norris in the Drivers’ standings, looked untouchable around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, leaving rivals trailing by significant margins. Charles Leclerc emerged as the best of the rest in third for Ferrari but was a full 0.743s off the pace of the Australian. George Russell initially topped the early runs on the soft tyre but slipped to fourth, while Max Verstappen endured another uncharacteristic session, finishing fifth and nearly a second adrift as he struggled with balance and grip in the Red Bull.

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The four-time world champion has won the last three Spanish Grands Prix, but with a 25-point deficit to Piastri in the current title fight, Verstappen now faced the unfamiliar task of playing catch-up at a circuit where he has traditionally excelled.

Further down the order, Racing Bulls continued their quietly strong form with Isack Hadjar in sixth and Liam Lawson 10th. Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli slotted into seventh, continuing his impressive adaptation to the top tier, while Fernando Alonso gave the Spanish crowd something to cheer about with eighth. Lewis Hamilton, however, remained off the pace in ninth, unable to extract more from the Ferrari in a session where both drivers struggled with rear-end grip.

With McLaren sweeping all three practice sessions and Piastri now clearly in control, qualifying later today looked set to be a critical showdown—not just for pole, but for momentum in what’s shaping up to be one of the most fiercely contested campaigns in recent F1 memory.

2025 Spanish GP FP3 Results

2025 Spanish Grand Prix FP3, 31 May 2025

PosNoDriverCarTimeGapLaps
181Oscar PiastriMcLaren Mercedes1:12.38713
24Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes1:12.913+0.526s17
316Charles LeclercFerrari1:13.130+0.743s16
463George RussellMercedes1:13.139+0.752s17
51Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:13.375+0.988s13
66Isack HadjarRacing Bulls Honda RBPT1:13.382+0.995s17
712Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:13.405+1.018s11
814Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:13.414+1.027s16
944Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:13.527+1.140s16
1030Liam LawsonRacing Bulls Honda RBPT1:13.637+1.250s17
115Gabriel BortoletoKick Sauber Ferrari1:13.722+1.335s18
1227Nico HulkenbergKick Sauber Ferrari1:13.733+1.346s17
1355Carlos SainzWilliams Mercedes1:13.758+1.371s15
1422Yuki TsunodaRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:13.892+1.505s12
1518Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:13.904+1.517s19
1610Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault1:13.954+1.567s19
1743Franco ColapintoAlpine Renault1:14.085+1.698s22
1831Esteban OconHaas Ferrari1:14.138+1.751s13
1923Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes1:14.289+1.902s5
2087Oliver BearmanHaas Ferrari1:14.460+2.073s11
Race Guide

Season: 2025 F1 World Championship
Race weekend:
30 May 20251 June, 2025
Race date: Sunday, 1 June, 2025
Race start time: 15:00 local time
Circuit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Laps: 66
Circuit length: 4.675km
2024 winner: Max Verstappen

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About The Author

Staff Writer

Ben Bush
Ben

Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.

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