Oscar Piastri sent a clear message in Barcelona: the title race runs through McLaren.
The Australian clinched his fourth pole position of the season Saturday for the Spanish Grand Prix, edging teammate Lando Norris in a commanding McLaren one-two that silenced doubts over the team’s continued dominance.
Piastri, clocking a blistering 1:12.387 in final practice, outpaced Norris by over half a second before converting that pace into pole during qualifying. With four wins under his belt, he now holds a slim three-point lead over Norris in the championship after eight of 24 races.
Defending champion Max Verstappen, 25 points off the lead, will start third on Sunday in his Red Bull – the only non-McLaren driver to win a race this season, with victories in Japan and Imola. But the four-time champion admitted he's likely out of the title picture, despite matching Norris’s time in practice. Both drivers still trailed Piastri by 0.310 seconds.
McLaren’s surge has been a season-defining story. They've taken six of eight races – four for Piastri, two for Norris – and weathered speculation that their rise was partly due to flexing front wings. A new technical directive banning such designs came into effect this weekend, but McLaren’s pace barely flinched.
Norris, riding high after a win in Monaco that briefly reignited his title charge, looked strong in early practice. But Piastri bounced back to top the final session, showing his mettle when it mattered most.
Behind the front-row McLarens, George Russell offered Mercedes a ray of hope, taking second in practice and qualifying fourth. His teammate Kimi Antonelli, fresh off a point-less weekend in Monaco, was three tenths back in eighth.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc split the pack in fifth, while Lewis Hamilton’s struggles in red continued. The seven-time champ slumped to 11th and sounded off on team radio: “The car is not driveable, mate.” He now sits 98 points behind Piastri, with only a sprint win in China to show for his high-profile switch from Mercedes.
Local favorites fared no better. Fernando Alonso could only manage eighth in the Aston Martin, and Carlos Sainz lagged down in 13th for Williams.
