The Barcelona race weekend saw McLaren secure their third one-two finish of the season, following the ones in Miami and China.
As it happened on previous occasions, it was Oscar Piastri who got the better of Lando Norris in Spain, extending his lead in the Drivers' Championship up to 10 points.
There were no big surprises at Montmeló, but we did see something new compared to the first eight rounds of 2025: the start of mind games within the Woking-based team...
Will it be Piastri against Norris? Who will come out on top?
The most recent race showed us what the entire paddock, except McLaren, feared: the MCL39 is still a dominant car, even after the introduction of the new TD18 technical directive, which restricted the allowed front wing flexibility.
Given the current gap between Verstappen - the first non-McLaren driver - and Piastri in the standings (49 points) it is plausible to predict that it will be only the Australian and Norris competing for the title.
Of course, in Formula 1 everything can change from one day to the other, but realistically we should not see any major upsets between now and the end of the year, especially because of the new regulations coming in 2026, which will be the biggest incentive for the teams' focus in the wind tunnel.
The two McLaren drivers have become fully aware that their biggest rival in achieving their lifelong dream is on the other side of the box.
And so we have witnessed the first mind games, in order to try to destabilise the rival: first Norris tried to take Piastri's slipstream in qualifying, then the Aussie was very slow on releasing from the pit stop under the Safety Car, forcing the mechanics to work hard to ensure that Lando did not lose positions.
What we have seen so far from the two protagonists in their respective careers, teaches us that it is very difficult to put Piastri under pressure, while Norris is slightly more vulnerable and tends to make mistakes more often.
When there is a Formula 1 World Championship at stake, however, nothing is certain. We just have to wait and see how it will end, but one thing is for sure: in Spain, we had a first taste of what is to come...
Read also: EXCLUSIVE - Interview with Simone Scanu, «Formula Live Pulse» app founder
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Spanish GP 2025
