Oscar Piastri beat Lando Norris to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix as Max Verstappen appeared to intentionally drive into George Russell in the closing stages.
Piastri’s faultless drive out in front helped him extend the title lead over Norris to 10 points and reclaim the momentum after his teammate’s Monaco Grand Prix victory seven days earlier.
But the story of the race was dictated by the reigning world champion, with the best and worst of Verstappen on show at either end the race.
For the first chunk, Verstappen’s brilliance had been on display as he took the fight to McLaren with an aggressive three-stop strategy which appeared to put the orange cars under legitimate pressure.
But a late Safety Car period turned his race on its head, with Red Bull putting him on the little fancied hard tyre and leaving him exposed to his rivals behind.
At the restart, Verstappen nearly lost control of his car completely, before losing a place to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc down the main straight and then running wide as Mercedes’ Russell passed him at Turn 1.
Verstappen was forced to take the Turn 1 exit road.
After being told to give fourth position back to Russell, Verstappen appeared to slow, only to drive back into the side of the Mercedes driver when he got alongside.
A 10-second penalty was applied to the Red Bull driver as he crossed the line, dropping him to 10th position.
Russell got past a couple of corners later.
The stewards did not waste much time deciding the punishment, handing Verstappen a 10-second penalty as he crossed the line.
That dropped him to 10th and elevated Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg to an unlikely fifth position.
Hulkenberg had passed Lewis Hamilton, who had an anonymous race in the other Ferrari, on track in the laps after the restart.
Isack Hadjar continued his strong season with a drive to seventh ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Local favourite Fernando Alonso finished ninth, scoring his first points of the season in the process, a welcome positive for Aston Martin following the unexpected withdrawal of teammate Lance Stroll on Saturday evening.
The entire England squad attended the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday as Thomas Tuchel’s side took a break from training for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
England play Andorra in Barcelona on Saturday, June 7 before hosting Senegal three days later, and Tuchel, captain Harry Kane and the whole squad went to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to watch the ninth race of the Formula 1 season, with Oscar Piastri starting on pole from Lando Norris.
Kane even had some advice for Norris, who trails his McLaren teammate in the championship.
“For him, it’s all about preparation,” Kane told Sky Sports. “I’m sure he’s prepared to the best of his ability, and then it’s just going out there and being free. He knows he can do it, he’s won enough already, so hopefully he can go all the way.”
Check out the best pictures from the paddock and grid.
By ESPN
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
