McLaren’s Oscar Piastri admits he was left baffled by Max Verstappen’s driving at the 2025 Spanish GP as the Red Bull driver almost crashed into the side of George Russell on Lap 65 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in a bizarre incident.
After being forced off by the a few laps earlier following an ambitious move, Gianpiero Lambiase instructed the four-time world champion to hand the position back to avoid a time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Initially, it seemed as though the Dutchman was going to listen to his trusty race engineer as he slowed down to let the Brit through. However, in a strange twist, he then lunged into Turn 5 and almost crashed into the side of the Mercedes W16 car.
He then made no further effort to give up the spot before the chequered flag on Lap 66 as it appears he used the moment to make a statement as his emotions boiled over in the Red Bull cockpit.
Pundits, drivers and fans were left stunned and confused as to what happened, whilst others went as far as to claim the incident was a deliberate example of protest behaviour from the defending champion.
Either way, the moment left Piastri baffled by Verstappen and his driving standards at the 2025 Spanish GP as he admits the incident “didn’t look great” for the 65-time race winner, who earned a 10-second penalty as a result.
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“In all honesty, I don’t fully get the context of what happened,” Piastri told the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “It looked a bit strange.
“Like I thought he was giving the position back and then? I don’t really get what happened there. I don’t know if it was a misunderstanding, whether he didn’t brake, or…
“I don’t really know, so I think I need a bit more context on what happened. But obviously it was not exactly a small touch, so I don’t have that much more.
“Obviously didn’t look great.”
Piastri happy with McLaren execution at 2025 Spanish GP
For Piastri, he was well ahead of Verstappen’s incident and couldn’t see what unfolded because he was busy romping home to win the 2025 Spanish GP, claiming his fifth victory of the Formula 1 season and extending his championship lead.
And in a warning to the rest of the grid, he admitted that he didn’t really feel as though he was under much pressure as he took a commanding triumph in Montemelo on June 1, praising his team for how they executed his race.
“I felt mostly under control,” Piastri said of his own 2025 Spanish GP. “I think I wasn’t really expecting Max to try a three-stop race, and I wasn’t really expecting it to almost work as well as it did, either.
“So, there was a bit going on at that point and just with all the traffic and the blue flags as well, that made the race a bit more interesting than I wanted.
“But apart from a few laps trying to get through the blue flags, I felt pretty much in control and could increase my pace when I needed to.
“So, it was a really strong race and I think we did a really good job of managing everything. Sticking to our plan on strategy, not getting distracted by the three-stop, really good pit stops… I think we just did a good job all around.”
