By Alex Rhodes

McLaren sealed a first and second placed finish as defending champion Max Verstappen drop back in the hunt for the title.

The race was dominated by the McLaren driver, who now extends his lead in the championship to ten points after teammate Lando Norris finished behind the Australian, securing another McLaren 1-2 finish this season.

Piastri hailed his team, saying, “It was a really strong race and a really strong weekend… sticking to our plan, [with] really good pit stops. A good job all around.”

However, this race will be largely remembered for the drama that unfolded after a safety car was deployed due to the Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli coming to a grinding halt in the latter stages.

Verstappen, who was on an audacious three-stop strategy, pitted for hard tyres under the safety car, leaving him vulnerable to the soft-tyre runners of Charles Leclerc and George Russell behind.

Leclerc quickly took advantage, making light contact along the main straight, while Russell dived to the inside at Turn 1, forcing Verstappen wide.

The four-time champion was instructed to give the place back to Russell, but in a moment of irrationality, he made heavy contact with the Mercedes, a move that earned him a 10-second time penalty, dropping him down to tenth at the flag.

Russell later described the move as “deliberate and totally unnecessary”, while Verstappen addressed the incident on Instagram, saying: “Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.”

This penalty reshuffled the final standings, benefiting several drivers, most notably Nico Hülkenberg.

The German, driving for Kick Sauber, had been running in sixth after overtaking the Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on outright pace.

He was promoted to fifth after the penalty was applied, earning himself and the team ten crucial points.

Post-race, Hülkenberg admitted: “We’re still not really there fighting with the big boys, but we made a big step in terms of fighting with the other midfield teams.”

Also excelling inside the top ten was Isack Hadjar, joined by Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard claimed his first points of the season after previously calling himself “the unluckiest driver in the world” following a dismal start to the year.

His teammate, Lance Stroll, withdrew from the race weekend due to wrist pain, linked to a crash he suffered two and a half years ago.

Only 19 cars took to the track on Sunday, and with both Aston Martin reserve drivers, Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne, committed to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Stroll’s potential replacement for his home Grand Prix in a few weeks remains unclear.

Williams endured their worst weekend of the season so far.

Neither driver made it into Q3 on Saturday, and both cars suffered front wing damage on Lap 1 while trying to navigate the chaos of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Alex Albon eventually retired after a further collision with the Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

Carlos Sainz later expressed his disappointment: “Nothing really went our way. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere. The little laps we had in clean air we had decent pace, but it was too late.”

The result meant Sainz missed out on the points for the first time ever at his home Grand Prix, finishing in fourteenth.

As a result of the weekend, championship leader Oscar Piastri has extended his margin to ten points over teammate Norris, and more crucially, to 49 points over Max Verstappen, making this title race increasingly look like a shootout between the two McLaren drivers.

Next up in a few weeks is the Canadian Grand Prix, a race renowned for tight and daring overtakes, where unpredictable weather conditions often play a crucial role.

You won’t want to miss this one.