Spanish GP Takeaways: McLaren defy adversity, Red Bull crumble
F1 NewsWednesday, 04 June 2025 at 07:30
Well, that turned out to be an interesting Spanish Grand Prix! Formula 1 headed to Barcelona, focusing on new front wing rules and we departed asking questions about Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen.
The Spanish GP is always an interesting Formula 1 weekend because the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is known to be the ultimate test of the performance of an F1 car, but this time the new FIA Technical Directive (TD) clamping down on flexible front wings made coming to Barcelona more intriguing.
However, McLaren proved their MCL39 is the best car on the 2025 grid regardless of how flexible its front wing is, while Red Bull Racing have shown that they are just a shadow of the great team they once were with that post-Safety Car fiasco towards the end of the race.
Before that Safety Car, nothing in the race was worth writing home about, as the foregone conclusion was clear after qualifying when McLaren locked out the front row with quite a margin over Max Verstappen on a track that should've brought Red Bull Racing's RB21 closer to the McLaren MCL39, as the former excels in fast corners, which are present in Barcelona, unlike Monaco, where the RB21 was crippled.
But what went down after the Safety Car dived into the pits was mind-blowing and will give us enough material to write about to fill the gap from now until the Canadian Grand Prix.
So let's dig into the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix and come up with some takeaways.
It's all about the flexi-wings... They said
As McLaren's rivals tried to get their heads around the dominance of the Papaya cars, they turned their focus towards the front wings, which they believed were flexing too much and offering them an advantage.
Basically, when the front wing flexes at high speed, it gives the F1 car more rear-end stability in fast corners (less oversteer), but then when the car brakes, the front wing goes back to its normal position, offering front-end grip and eliminating understeer.
The two teams most excited about the FIA TD were Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. Red Bull need Verstappen to win this championship if they want to have a chance to keep him longer in the future, while Ferrari have their own problems with their SF-25, a car they stupidly decided should be a design overhaul compared to their 2024 car, which was a decent platform to build on towards the end of last year. Having a struggling seven-time F1 champion within the team does also adds pressure.
But while Fred Vasseur said the TD could be a game changer, it wasn't, as McLaren had a more comfortable gap in qualifying and were unchallenged in the race.
That wouldn't have left Red Bull and Verstappen unhappy, while Ferrari may have their own issues, and Lewis Hamilton struggled massively with the car balance while Charles Leclerc hinted at a new issue with his car that only surfaced in Barcelona last Sunday.
We all know that an F1 car works as a whole: front wing, front suspension, floor, rear wing, diffuser, rear suspension... You know the whole package... And McLaren simply have a handy piece of kit.
Red Bull should know better. If you recall back in their first era of dominance between 2010 and 2013, there were numerous TDs directed at slowing them down over the course of a given season, and none of those worked.
What made matters more painful is the fact that the RB21 was supposed to be fast in Barcelona even without a TD.
All the good Red Bull Racing did was squandered in seconds...
It has to be said that Red Bull Racing's Spanish GP has been brilliant given their performance limitations, that is, up until the Safety Car that came out to clear Kimi Anotnelli's smoky Mercedes from the track.
Knowing they had no chance to fight the McLarens by following the conventional two-stop strategy, they committed to a bold three-stopper, which meant Verstappen was flat out throughout the race; fun to watch.
But despite that, Red Bull had no chance of beating McLaren, who unleashed the full potential of their cars, while Verstappen, as usual, was fighting alone with Yuki Tsunoda—who is improving, by the way—further down the order, and as such, third place was the realistic goal.
But then came the Safety Car, and Red Bull, usually slick in such situations, did the unimaginable and pitted Verstappen for Hard tyres!!!
The Hard tyre was the compound all the teams did not want to use, and having one at a Safety Car restart meant Verstappen was a sitting duck with Leclerc and George Russell waiting to pounce with used Soft tyres on their cars.
Verstappen was livid when he saw the white-walled tyres bolted on his RB21, and despite his best efforts, he couldn't put enough heat in them at the restart as both McLarens—on Softs—drove into the distance while the reigning champ was unsuccessfully trying to fend off Leclerc after miraculously holding a snap at high speed in the final corner.
But then came Russell, and he tried a pass in Turn 1 and ended up bumping into Verstappen, who took to the escape road and rejoined ahead, prompting his Red Bull pitwall to instruct him to cede position!
And so the red mist descended on the Dutchman, who, while apparently giving Russell space to pass, bumped into him and got a ten-second penalty for that and dropped to tenth at the chequered flag. Game over!
What were Red Bull thinking? Was Max even thinking?
I couldn't believe my eyes when Red Bull brought Max in, and my disbelief was even greater when they gave him Hards.
Now I don't buy into all the "hindsight is always 20/20" bullsh!t Christian Horner delivered after the race. If you don't have enough tyres, keep Verstappen out and give him track position.
With a small number of laps remaining, Max had a better chance of defending, and while Oscar Piastri would've passed, Lando Norris making a move stick was not a guarantee, so a possible second place was on the cards, and in the worst case, a third.
Then came the radio message ordering Verstappen to hand over the position to Russell. What was that? The FIA eventually took no action, which must have stung Max even more... His own team did not believe in his judgment...
This just shows the void at the Red Bull pitwall caused by Jonathan Wheatley's departure, while the MCL39 shows Rob Marshall is murdering his former team.
But that doesn't excuse what Max went on and did next... Totally unacceptable... Max is a great driver, one of the greatest F1 has ever seen, but why does he put himself in such positions?
His frustration is understandable, but his actions cannot be defended. Furthermore, we already know the F1 media are biased, so why give them the ammunition? Does Max enjoy the "this is how Max goes racing" bandwagon with Russell in the driving seat?
On a side note: It is amusing when Russell starts lecturing us about respect after every contact with Verstappen. Not everyone forgot how he punched Valtteri Bottas on his helmet while still in his car, after their crash in Imola in 2021 instead of checking if he was ok... Respect at its best...
But back to Max. Honestly, he should be better than this... Instead of us now talking about how brilliantly he saved that snap at the restart and how great his driving was until the Safety Car, the focus is now on Max's on-track antics... What a shame...
Spanish GP Quick Hits
- It is beyond me how Leclerc got away with shoving Verstappen while trying to pass as both were driving over 300 kph. That was plain dirty, dangerous, and as deliberate as Max's move on Russell.
The Monegasque clearly said he tried to push his rival in the post-race interviews as well as in the cool-down room when he was bragging about how he made the move while chatting with Norris and Piastri.
"Max wanted to bring me towards the inside and I didn’t want to go there, so I tried to push him there," Leclerc said, for reference.
But the FIA labeled it a "minor collision" and added: "Both drivers were of the view that this was an avoidable collision and could potentially have resulted in a major crash."
What if the major crash happened? What if Leclerc does that again and causes a crash? - Fernando Alonso finally scored points in 2025, and he drove a feisty race with some great overtakes.
- Sticking with Aston Martin, was keeping Lance Stroll driving for six weeks while suffering pain in his wrists a safe thing to do?
- Another impressive race from Isack Hadjar. Liam Lawson had a clumsy one.
- Great race for Sauber, an upgraded car, and fifth place for Nico Hulkenberg, who even passed Hamilton in the end... Ouch!
- Another great qualifying and race from the "ever improving" Tsunoda!
- It was a tough one for Williams, as their FW47 miserably failed the ultimate Barcelona test.
- Hamilton was so right when he said the stewards like to "waste laps". The Safety Car stayed out too long.
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