Jean_Claude04 and PCPADDLEBOY gave Audi a one-two in Spain, turning an eleven-point Singapore return into 54 points and the E3 constructors' lead. Jean won by 4.357 seconds; Paddle reached an IMS podium for the first time.
There was little restraint in their reaction. “audi 1-2 in this lifetime,” Jean wrote. Paddle had already found the shorter version: “From DNF to 1-2”.
They had earned the celebration in different ways. Jean's pole became a win despite tyre wear reaching what he reported as 85 per cent at the line. Paddle had to recover second after losing it in the final stint, while the fight behind them kept changing until the last corner.
| Pos | +/− | Team | Driver | Grid | Gap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 0 | Audi | Jean_Claude04AudiGrid 10 | 1 | 44:31.821 | 31 |
| P2 | 1 | Audi | PCPADDLEBOYAudiGrid 31 | 3 | +4.357s | 23 |
| P3 | 1 | Ferrari | L3on Tyl3r2500FerrariGrid 41 | 4 | +8.205s | 19 |
| P4 | 2 | Aston Martin | Hotshotll_Aston MartinGrid 22 | 2 | +8.437s | 15 |
| P5 | 2 | Williams | BrystarozWilliamsGrid 72 | 7 | +9.705s | 13 |
| P6 | 3 | Williams | WorseTurnip850WilliamsGrid 93 | 9 | +10.976s | 11 |
| P7 | 1 | Red Bull | Ceetee19Red BullGrid 81 | 8 | +11.472s | 9 |
| P8 | 3 | Aston Martin | AlfieNerfBoyAston MartinGrid 53 | 5 | +11.964s | 7 |
Jean gives Audi the front to aim at
A 1:12.872 put Jean on pole, 0.273 seconds ahead of Hotshot, with Paddle third. Jean kept the lead through the opening seven laps before the first stops changed the order. Hotshot ran longer on Mediums and took his turn at the front, but Jean was back ahead once the later round of stops had played out.
The Safety Car interrupted the race, and Jean, Paddle and L3on each ended up with two stops and a final set of Hards to take to the finish. The next challenge for Audi was getting its second car clear of the fight behind the leader.
Alfie had been third at the end of the opening lap and was second after the stops. Paddle got ahead on lap 18, only for Turnip to take second a lap later and Alfie to put the Audi back to fourth on lap 20. A straightforward supporting drive was becoming a much harder afternoon.
Lap 23 changed it again. Paddle retook second from Turnip while Alfie fell out of the leading group, and this time the Audi kept the place. Jean remained ahead throughout the closing stint; Paddle finished 4.357 seconds behind him and 0.848 ahead of L3on on track.
Paddle's Singapore retirement had come with brake trouble that changing the setup had not solved. Spain gave him his best IMS finish and the second score Audi had been missing. Asked about the tyres afterwards, he was rather calmer than the celebrations suggested:
Not really to be fair, I was nursing for a while
— PCPADDLEBOYL3on takes the podium as the last lap turns costly
Turnip kept L3on occupied for much of that final stint. The Ferrari briefly got ahead on lap 23, lost the place again, then exchanged it with the Williams twice on lap 29. L3on finally made the change stick on lap 31 and held third to the finish.
His three-second penalty left only 0.232 seconds between him and Hotshot in the result. The Ferrari had done enough, but Hotshot's route to fourth left Ceetee furious. The Aston began the final lap seventh, behind Brystaroz, Turnip and Ceetee; by the finish it was ahead of the Williams and Red Bull, with Brystaroz's own three-second penalty also moving Hotshot up a place.
Ceetee said Hotshot had hit him at the final corner. Hotshot accepted responsibility in the incident discussion:
hey man apologies for this its all on me, i didnt intend to run into you, i just got a bit overambitious at the end.
— Hotshotll_Brystaroz had already got ahead of Turnip earlier on that last lap to finish fourth on track and fifth after the penalty. His one-stop race from seventh gave Williams thirteen points alongside Turnip’s eleven. Turnip finished sixth, Ceetee seventh and Alfie eighth, a very different ending from their earlier contest for second.
Woottz's tyres turn a win into one point
Singapore winner bigwoottz had reached sixth late in the race, but a puncture and another stop left him twelfth. He initially called it lap 31, then described the tyre going at the final corner on lap 30 after he had passed the pits. He apologised for holding cars up because he could not turn.
Cadillac took just four points through Woottz and Opts Tryhard's tenth, after scoring 33 in Singapore. Audi went the other way: eleven at the opener became 54 in Spain, moving them onto 65 and eighteen clear of Aston Martin.
Jean now leads the drivers' standings on 42, eleven ahead of Woottz, with Alfie and Turnip on thirty. After leaving Singapore without a podium, he has the win, the lead and a team-mate beside him on the podium. Paddle's verdict was three words: “WHAT A TEAM”.
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