Overview

• Oscar Piastri leads team-mate Lando Norris by ten points after nine rounds courtesy of McLaren’s superior MCL39 car.
• Max Verstappen’s ten-second penalty for colliding with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix dropped him to tenth and left him 49 points behind the leader.
• The pair have maintained clean on-track battles so far, though minor flashpoints such as Piastri’s “cheeky” radio jab over Norris’s qualifying slipstream have already emerged.
• Former driver Jolyon Palmer warned that the duo may start withholding strategy details from each other as they vie for the title.
• Red Bull’s RB21 continues to lack pure pace and features a narrow setup window, making it difficult for both Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda.