Spanish Grand Prix: Drivers and Team report from Barcelona

The Spanish Grand Prix came alive in its latter stage after a Safety Car came out to clear the broken down Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli from the track.

That meant there was a dramatic restart with Max Verstappen on Hard tyres having to fend all those around him on Softs and suffering from a red mist moment which meant he was demoted to tenth after receiving a ten-second time penalty for ramming George Russell.

The Spanish Grand Prix was the end of the Formula 1 European triple header as we will have a break now before we head to Canada in a fortnight.

Here is what drivers and teams had to say after Sunday's race in Barcelona.

Max Verstappen: "It was a shame that the safety car came out and we were unlucky that we had to pit. That is racing though, sometimes it works for you and sometimes it doesn't. The only fresh tyres that we had at the end were hards, so we made the call to change to these when everyone was on softs. Unfortunately, the hard tyres have very low grip, which was quite frustrating and it made things a lot more difficult. We only had six laps so the others could go flat out and we struggled quite a bit. There of course was an opportunity to stay out on the soft tyre but that was a call we made and it is easy to look back in hindsight. When we went into the restart, we got into a tricky situation and gave the place back. What happened there happened and we got a ten second penalty. In the race we maximised what we had, did everything we could and didn't quite have the pace to match the McLarens. Ultimately, we just have to take the positives from today, there are always things that can be improved and we know that the three stop was the right way to go, especially with the tyre degradation."

Yuki Tsunoda: "Up until the safety car today there was potential to score points. This weekend was not what we wanted, but it is what it is. It's been up and down this week but our pace was alright today. A pit-lane start is never ideal but we knew we would need to try something different for the race today to try and make up some ground. We were trying out different things with the set-up, it didn't do much in the end today, but we have an idea on how to hopefully improve this in Canada. We are not where we want to be but we will keep working as a Team and aim to remain consistent across a weekend."

Christian Horner, CEO & Team Principal: "From the way the race was panning out, we elected to take a three stop approach and we committed to that pretty early on. The pace advantage and the tyre advantage that the McLarens' had in a straight fight meant that we took the gamble. We took the first stop early on and McLaren committed to a two stop, and our strategy was looking like it was on track to be the quickest approach. We went for the potential undercut with Max, but he then had used all of his soft and medium compounds. The safety car came out at the worst possible time for our strategy and we decided between staying out on older tyres and be exposed at the restart, or take the gamble with the new set of hard tyres. Hindsight is always 20/20, but we made the best decision at the time with the information we had. There was then contact with George that the stewards deemed an incident and resulted in a penalty. It's something we will discuss internally and look at further. It's a frustrating result as it was looking to be an easy podium for Max today. The safety car hurt Yuki's race today, he would've been very close if not in to the points otherwise if you look at the trajectory he was on with pace and tyre advantage. It was a tough weekend, the results weren't what he wanted, but he will be busy working with the Team over the next week to make some set-up improvements for Montreal."

George Russell: "We finished where we started today and P4 was probably the best we could have done today. The last 10 laps saw plenty of action, but I am frustrated about my performance on lap one. I made a good start but dropped back from there and both Ferraris got ahead of me. I felt like Charles (Leclerc) was reachable today, but things got shuffled a bit with the Safety Car and, after contact with Verstappen, it was a bit too much of an ask to track him down.

"Overall, we can come away from Barcelona pleased with some of the progress we have seen this weekend. Finishing P4 is quite consistent with where we have been racing since the beginning of the season, so it feels good to be back in that area pace wise after two difficult races. Unfortunately, we are still a long way from the leaders, but we are taking steps forward. We will be looking to continue making progress next time out in Canada."

Kimi Antonelli: "I am disappointed with how today's race went. It was a tricky Grand Prix with the hot temperatures impacting the tyres. Even though we did a lot of long run work in FP1 and FP2 on Friday, it was still a struggle to look after them and keep a decent pace. However, I still felt good in the car. I had good pace on the Medium tyres and I was putting in consistent lap times. It was therefore a shame to end the day with a DNF.

"Overall, it has been a difficult triple header for us. Now though we have some time to reset. I am really looking forward to heading to Montreal for my first Canadian Grand Prix. It is a different track and a different tarmac to here in Barcelona. We are also at the opposite end of the Pirelli range in terms of the compounds. We will take everything we have learned over the past three weeks, analyse and come back stronger in two weeks' time."

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: "That was a difficult weekend for us overall. We typically struggle a lot in warmer conditions and tyre management is our main issue when the tarmac is as hot as it was like here in Barcelona. P4 for George is obviously not where we want to be racing but it is a better result than we thought was possible pre-race. Unfortunately, Kimi did not have the chance to score points due to his Power Unit failure.

"We now have time to delve into all the data collected throughout the weekend and focus on unlocking the potential of the car. We know there are clear areas that we need to work on. We need to get on top of our tyre overheating challenges. Fortunately, there is still a long way to go in the season, and we're determined and will keep working hard to make progress with the car."

Isack Hadjar: "I'm really happy with today's race, it was a strong performance and almost perfect, something the whole team can be proud of. I really enjoyed the first stint, though it's a shame Nico got us right at the end. Our strategy was perfect, the pace on the Medium tyre was strong, it really helped us clear the midfield and we had some great battles on track. We made the right call to box for Softs when we did. I'm feeling more and more confident in the car and pushing it to the limit at every race. As a team, we're definitely heading in the right direction. I couldn't have asked for a better triple-header, scoring points in every race. I'm looking forward to carrying this momentum into Canada."

Liam Lawson: "From our side, it was a very strong race. Despite spending a lot of it in traffic, we had good speed and were overtaking cars, so it was working out. We ended up in the wrong position and missed the safety car line by half a second because everyone in front of us boxed. To be that close after all the work we did in the race is really unfortunate. As we look ahead to Canada, we'll take the positives of great race pace. Points are always the goal."

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal: "A very strong weekend here in Barcelona. A huge thank you to the team here and back at the factory. As we come to the end of a triple header, it's been three times in Q3 and three times in the points for us, so it's been mega. There's been lots of progress compared to this time last here in Spain where we weren't very fast, but this year the car was strong, and we could fight at the top of the midfield for most of the race; the safety car at the end mixed things up a bit, but nonetheless we gained some very good points. An incredible performance from Isack across the whole weekend, yesterday in Q3 and out there killing it on track today. Liam was stuck in some traffic after a slightly slower Quali yesterday, but he was fast, he made some very good moves and he's back to a very good pace. We started this triple header in P8 in the Constructors' Championship, and we're leaving it in P6. It's only the beginning of the fight though and we still have a lot of work to do. We know we will have two very strong cars in Canada, but it'll be tough to maintain our position. We'll keep our heads down and continue to push so we can stay in the game and keep challenging some of the big teams."

Pierre Gasly: "It was a more challenging Sunday for us but, all in all, it is a good outcome for us to score points today. It has been a challenging start to the season, quite a difficult triple-header in recent weeks for us and we knew, as a team, after Monaco, we needed to bounce back here in Barcelona with some points. Qualifying was really good but we seem to struggle more on Sundays. We have plenty to review from today's race as I was pretty relieved to see the Safety Car near the end and the team did a great job to make the right call to give me a free gap to pit for fresh tyres. We did the best we could and I know we will reflect together as a team. We have to keep working hard and really aim to fix some of our weaker areas going into Canada."

Franco Colapinto: "It was a disappointing afternoon and a tough race. We had better pace today than earlier in the weekend, which is a positive but it is a tricky circuit to overtake so it was generally a hard one to manage and make any progress. The tyres were suffering a lot in the dirty air, which made things even more difficult. It goes to show how important track position is in races and I know there is more to improve on that front on my side especially maximising the car's potential on low fuel. I look forward to continuing the hard work with the team over the coming days and there is much more to learn heading into Montréal in a couple of weeks."

Flavio Briatore: "As a positive, we come away from Barcelona with some points after a tough weekend for the team. We know we are not where we want to be with the car and that has clearly shown in the last three back-to-back races. Pierre drove a solid race and the strategists made a good call to give him a free pit-stop when the Safety Car came out, which meant he had fresher tyres to hold his position to the end. Franco's afternoon was always going to be tough starting at the back and had a disappointing race, not progressing as much as we hoped. As a team, we must regroup and dig deep to get ourselves out of this position."

Fernando Alonso: "It's always special racing at home, and it means a lot to score my first points of the season here in Barcelona. The support from the fans was amazing. The pace of the car wasn't quite where we wanted it to be, especially after feeling strong yesterday. I struggled to overtake on the straights so I had to get quite creative at Turn Three. I'm happy to take the points in the end, and now we'll look to keep the momentum going as we head to Canada. We missed Lance today and I wish him a quick recovery."

Andy Cowell, CEO & Team Principal: "We are pleased to come away from this race with some hard-earned points after great battles on track by Fernando in front of his home crowd. We were involved in some early scraps for the top ten and we wanted to extend Fernando's first stint on the Softs, but the tyres didn't quite have enough left in them by the time we pitted. From then on, he fought to get back into the top ten before a well-timed Safety Car bunched up the field for a sprint finish to the end. Fernando then showed his racing skill and overtook three cars in the remaining six laps and stayed within 10 seconds of Max [Verstappen] to finish P9. We'll digest and analyse everything we've learnt over this busy triple-header and we are all wishing Lance well and a speedy recovery."

Esteban Ocon: "We stayed out on used tires under the safety car as we would've been at the back of the grid, and it wasn't worth it. It's the end of the triple-header and there are some positives and some difficulties, but thanks to the team for the support they've given over these three weeks. I think it's good that we're now going into a week where we can analyze things and hopefully come back stronger. The positive was Monaco, and we now go to Canada which is another street circuit, so looking to getting back to where we belong there."

Oliver Bearman: "It was going okay but unfortunately we weren't able to fight for any points today. I think we made progress over the weekend and the car has been feeling better today compared to Friday and Saturday on long runs, so that's positive. Unfortunately, at the safety car, we lost out a little bit which was a shame. We struggled a bit more for pace this weekend relative to others but overall, we've had a good showing over this triple, and I think we have a lot to take from it and learn."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "It wasn't a very good day today, the car didn't quite have the pace, but I also don't think we put it together very well operationally. It's not just today, what happened today stems from Friday as well so we really need to investigate how we can refine our operations, get more out of the car, more out of our drivers, and work better together. We'll reflect on this one and try to do better in Montreal."

Carlos Sainz: "It was a tough race for me and the team. We picked up front wing damage on the first lap, which made us lose a lot of race time, and struggled with engine overheating when following cars. In clean air the pace looked better but overall, the weekend hasn't been very positive, as expected. I want to thank all the fans for their incredible support the entire week and hopefully we'll be back to better form in Canada."

Alex Albon: "We lost out quite heavily at the beginning and were on the back foot into Turn 1. The cars ahead were avoiding each other, and I was the one to get hit, so we were forced onto a three-stop strategy to replace my front wing. I tried my best to stay out of the way in each incident, but we ended up with damage both times.

"We need to look at this track and understand why it's such a challenge for us. I want us to be a top team, and it's important to put the car to the test at tracks like this so we can learn valuable lessons and optimise our car for the future. Overall, I feel like I'm in a good rhythm with the car and I'm looking forward to Canada."

James Vowles, Team Principal: "Our race was over from the first lap following incidents breaking both front wings. We executed the stops as quickly as possible. From that point onwards, we weren't quick enough. We need to review what damage there was elsewhere on the car as they were fairly large knocks at the beginning of the race.

"Carlos did fantastically, keeping his nose in the race as much as possible. He could see the points in front of him, but ultimately, we lost out too much at the beginning. We knew this would be a difficult race for us coming into it, and unfortunately as much as we've improved elsewhere, we haven't improved sufficiently here. We need to go back and make sure we completely understand everything before we go into 2026."

In regard to Alex, he was in a very similar position to Carlos. He did his best, but ultimately from both the first lap incident and the following front wing damage, the race was over.