Five winners and five losers from F1’s Spanish Grand Prix

The last Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ended up being surprisingly entertaining with intriguing strategy battles and explosive on-track controversies.

Here are our biggest winners and losers from an action-packed F1 race at Barcelona…

Winner - McLaren

A perfect weekend for McLaren, who appear to have come away from Spain unaffected by F1’s flexi-wing clampdown and accusations levelled their way.

The rule change failed to peg McLaren back as their rivals hope as Oscar Piastri headed an all-Papaya front row in qualifying, before converting pole position into victory with another supreme drive.

Piastri led a McLaren 1-2 which strengthens the team’s grip on their constructors’ crown, while it marked an important bounce-back result for the Australian.

After successive defeats to teammate Lando Norris at Imola and Monaco, Piastri’s fifth win in nine races has seen him boost his championship lead back up to 10 points.

Loser - Max Verstappen

Frustration got the better of Max Verstappen in Barcelona as he squandered crucial points in a needless act of self-sabotage.

Verstappen took the fight to the McLaren’s with a three-stop strategy but his race fell apart during a late Safety Car. The Dutchman was left vulnerable and struggling for grip at the restart due to being forced to fit hard tyres onto his car, while his rivals were all on softs.

After a clash with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Verstappen also found himself tangling with George Russell’s Mercedes at Turn 1 as he took to the escape road to retain track position.

Verstappen appeared to be handing the place back to Russell as instructed on the run to Turn 5, only to drive into the side of the Briton’s car in a red-mist moment that saw him slapped with a 10-second penalty.

That dropped Verstappen from fifth on the road to 10th and means he is now 49 points adrift of Piastri. It was an avoidable and costly moment of self-inflicted madness from the four-time world champion.

Winner - Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg produced a sensational drive to give Sauber their first points finish since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The experienced German incredibly rose from P15 and even passed Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari on his way to scoring an outstanding sixth on the road, which turned into P5 when Verstappen was penalised.

Hulkenberg may have had some fortune along the way, but his run to Sauber’s first top-five finish for over three years came after the introduction of a promising upgrade. Rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto also impressed, particularly in qualifying, underlining some encouraging gains for the Swiss squad.

Loser - Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda’s struggles show no signs of coming to an end following another disaster of a weekend.

Not only did the Japanese driver suffer an embarrassing Q1 elimination, but he also set the slowest time in the session to leave plum last on the grid.

Tsunoda, whose performances have been defended by teammate Verstappen, could only recover to 13th as he once again finished last of the four Red Bull drivers on another torrid day in the RB21.

Winner - Charles Leclerc

A tale of contrasting fortunes on Sunday once again for Ferrari. While Hamilton had a difficult and frustrating afternoon, things were much rosier for Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc suffered only his second qualifying defeat to Hamilton after opting to run only once in Q3 in order to save tyres in the hope of having a better Sunday. And that’s exactly what transpired. 

Helped by a great start, Leclerc made up early ground and was the faster Ferrari, resulting in Hamilton being moved aside. The Monegasque got past Verstappen (after making contact at high-speed) following the late Safety Car restart to claim a well-earned podium.

Loser - Lewis Hamilton

What had been looking like being a promising weekend for Hamilton unravelled on Sunday as he slipped from a season’s high qualifying to seventh on the road.

Hamilton crossed the line two spots lower than he started and was mysteriously struggling for pace throughout. He was instructed by Ferrari to let teammate Leclerc through on Lap 10 and could not take advantage of a late Safety Car which bunched the pack up.

The seven-time world champion conceded a place to Hulkenberg to add insult to injury before being promoted to P6 only due to Verstappen’s post-race penalty.

Hamilton was left extremely downbeat as he lamented Barcelona as “the worst race I’ve experienced” for Ferrari.

Winner - Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso had an action-packed home race as he went from the gravel to a long-awaited first points finish of the 2025 season.

The Aston Martin driver ran inside the points early on until an uncharacteristic misstep saw him lose control of his car and slide through the gravel, costing him two places which saw him fall to 11th.

But the two-time world champion battled his way back through and crossed the line in 10th, which would become P9 once Verstappen’s penalty was applied.

Loser - Kimi Antonelli

It proved to be a painful triple header for Kimi Antonelli, who failed to score a single point across the Imola-Monaco-Barcelona triple header.

Antonelli was seventh when a suspected engine issue struck and caused him to veer off into the gravel just 11 laps from home. It added to the Italian teenager’s power unit woe at Imola and miserable run to 18th in Monaco.

Winner - Isack Hadjar

Isack Hadjar continued his fine run of recent form at Barcelona, where, in contrast to fellow rookie Antonelli, the Racing Bulls driver made it a hat-trick of points finishes.

Following up on a P9 at Imola and P6 in Monaco, Hadjar was once again ended up as the second highest Red Bull driver behind Verstappen as he took a strong P7 ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Another fantastic showing from the 20-year-old Frenchman who is seemingly going from strength to strength amid Tsunoda’s ongoing troubles.

Loser - Williams

Williams’ run of four consecutive double points finishes came to an end in a bruising and disappointing Spanish Grand Prix for the British squad.

Alex Albon retired after losing his front wing during a skirmish with Liam Lawson which saw him also pick up a 10-second penalty, while Carlos Sainz could only gain four places to finish 14th after his Q1 elimination left him with too much to do on Sunday.