Spanish GP Thriller: Piastri Wins, Verstappen Penalized, Hülkenberg Shines:

Oscar Piastri secures a win at the Spanish Grand Prix, extending his lead in the driver's championship. The 66 laps in Barcelona included late race drama, first points for Sauber and Alonso, and penalties for Verstappen and Albon. 

As Lance Stroll withdrew from the Grand Prix due to hand and wrist pains, the race featured 19 cars on the grid. Starting from pole, Piastri led the charge into Turn 1, while teammate Lando Norris struggled off the line. Verstappen took the opportunity and swept past Norris to take second place.

Behind them, Leclerc found himself stuck behind Hamilton. With a visibly stronger pace, Ferrari issued team orders for Hamilton to let Leclerc through.

With Norris gaining speed, he managed to catch up to Verstappen and regain the position in turn one. From this moment, the battle for the win was on between the two McLarens. 

In the midfield, Alonso thrilled the home crowd with a series of bold overtakes, ultimately claiming his first point of the season. The other Spaniard, Sainz, on the other hand, was unable to deliver points at his home race, finishing in 14th place. His teammate, Albon, was handed a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage after colliding with Lawson, causing front wing damage, and ending in a retirement. 

Rookie Kimi Antonelli’s race ended after his car shut down, forcing him to retire and triggering a full safety car. The majority of the field drove into the pits for the final six laps of the race.

On the restart, Piastri got away brilliantly, leaving the pack behind, while Leclerc overtook Verstappen for third, who was struggling on hard tires. The pair made slight contact, allowing Russell to close in. Russell then attempted a move on Verstappen, resulting in wheel-to-wheel contact and growing frustration for Verstappen. 

After refusing race engineer advice to let Russell through, Verstappen caused another collision at Turn 1. The stewards issued a 10-second penalty, allowing Russell to pass cleanly later on. 

McLaren sealed a dominant 1-2 finish, with Piastri leading Norris across the line. Nico Hülkenberg’s surprise overtake on Hamilton earned Sauber its first points of the season–a silver lining in a race full of surprises.