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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2025 Spanish GP FP1: Norris ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton
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2025 Spanish GP Qualifying: Piastri Seals Stunning Pole in Barcelona
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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
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:12.387 | 13 | |
2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:12.913 | +0.526s | 17 |
3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:13.130 | +0.743s | 16 |
4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:13.139 | +0.752s | 17 |
5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:13.375 | +0.988s | 13 |
6 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:13.382 | +0.995s | 17 |
7 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:13.405 | +1.018s | 11 |
8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:13.414 | +1.027s | 16 |
9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:13.527 | +1.140s | 16 |
10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:13.637 | +1.250s | 17 |
11 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:13.722 | +1.335s | 18 |
12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:13.733 | +1.346s | 17 |
13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 1:13.758 | +1.371s | 15 |
14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:13.892 | +1.505s | 12 |
15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:13.904 | +1.517s | 19 |
16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:13.954 | +1.567s | 19 |
17 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine Renault | 1:14.085 | +1.698s | 22 |
18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 1:14.138 | +1.751s | 13 |
19 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:14.289 | +1.902s | 5 |
20 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 1:14.460 | +2.073s | 11 |
Race Guide
Season: 2025 F1 World Championship
Race weekend: 30 May 2025 – 1 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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