BARCELONA, SPAIN – McLaren’s Oscar Piastri takes his fifth victory of the season in Barcelona ahead of teammate Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Formula 2 and Formula 3 joined Formula 1 in the final leg of the tripleheader race weekend.
Formula 3
Formula 3 drivers took to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya track to mark the fifth round of the championship. In the Sprint Race, Van Amersfoort Racing’s (VAR) Ivan Domingues claimed his first FIA Formula 3 race victory. The Portuguese driver became the first from his nation to win in the Championship, whilst he led a VAR 12, with teammate Santiago Ramos placing second. Campos Racing driver Nikola Tsolov rounded off the podium in third.
The Feature Race saw Rafael Câmara earn his third race victory of the season, controlling two Safety Car restarts and converting his pole position into P1. Théophile Nael earned P2 for Van Amersfoort Racing while MP Motorsport driver Alessandro Giusti completed a final lap overtake to take third, his first podium in the Championship.
Formula 2
Formula 2 also had their fifth race weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, beginning with the Sprint Race. Richard Verschoor was the surprising victor of the Sprint Race after his last-minute strategy change. The MP Motorsport driver made the call to put on soft tyres after a late Safety Car intervention, allowing him to easily cruise through the field to claim his second victory of the season. Verschoor held off Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne across the line, while Rafael Villagómez came from P22 on the grid to claim a first ever Formula 2 podium in third.
The Formula 2 Feature Race gave Arvid Lindblad his maiden Feature Race victory, giving Campos Racing their first win on home soil in the Championship. Lindblad had a brilliant race, converting his pole position to a win, leading PREMA Racing’s Sebastián Montoya in second. MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor finished the podium off in third, after a late Safety Car was withdrawn on the final lap.
Formula 2 and Formula 3 will resume racing by the end of June at the Austrian Grand Prix held in Spielberg.
Formula 1
Oscar Piastri converted pole position into victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, amid pressure from his teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on an alternative three pit-stop strategy. Though Verstappen led the pack for a duration of the race, his three-stop strategy soon turned sour when the Safety Car was deployed after Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes pulled off track with a mechanical issue, prompting most of the frontrunners to pit again.
Piastri and Norris pulled away after the restart, while Verstappen lost third to Leclerc and clashed twice with George Russell – once forcing him off, then earning a 10-second penalty. In the end, Russell claimed fourth and Nico Hulkenberg placed fifth, his best for Kick Sauber, after starting back from P15 on the grid. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton followed in sixth while Isack Hadjar added to Racing Bulls’ tally in seventh and Pierre Gasly claimed eighth for Alpine.
Fernando Alonso finally scored his first points of the season in P9 for Aston Martin, while Verstappen’s penalty dropped him down to a final position of P10. Formula 1 will race again alongside Formula 1 Academy in the Canadian Grand Prix from 14th-15th of June.
