News Summary

Kimi Antonelli turned Lando Norris’ strategic misfortune into victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, claiming his eighth win of the 2026 Formula 1 season and becoming the first F1 driver to win at Madring.

The Mercedes driver did not have a straightforward afternoon. After starting second, Antonelli ran wide during a frantic opening sequence and briefly lost ground, while Norris converted pole into the lead and began building an advantage.

But a Virtual Safety Car on lap 15 completely changed the race.

Norris had already passed the pit entry when the VSC was triggered after Lance Stroll stopped with an Aston Martin problem. Antonelli and Max Verstappen were therefore able to make discounted pit stops immediately, while Norris had to continue for another lap.

McLaren still brought the reigning world champion in on the following tour, but the VSC ended before he reached the pits. Norris consequently made his stop under normal racing conditions and dropped from first to fifth.

Antonelli had suddenly been handed the strategic advantage.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli took advantage of Mercedes’ strategy to win the Spanish GP (Photo: Mercedes)

It completed another major weekend for the championship leader, who had arrived in Madrid with a 66-point advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell after winning the Italian GP from 19th on the grid.

Antonelli had looked like a victory contender throughout F1’s first weekend at Madring. He led both FP2 and a chaotic FP3 before narrowly missing pole on Saturday.

Norris beat Antonelli by only 0.011s in qualifying, setting up a direct battle between McLaren and Mercedes for Sunday’s race.

For the opening 14 laps, Norris appeared firmly in control.

The McLaren driver covered Antonelli aggressively into Turn 1 at the start, forcing the Italian to take the outside line. The confusion continued through the opening corners, with Antonelli temporarily losing second to Verstappen.

Behind them, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton became involved in their own dispute. Red Bull instructed Verstappen to surrender a position after the Dutchman went off track during the battle, but Antonelli was between the two cars. The sequence therefore dropped Verstappen behind both Antonelli and Hamilton.

Hamilton’s race quickly unravelled. The Ferrari driver reported brake trouble and contact with the wall, lost positions to Verstappen and Charles Leclerc and eventually retired.

With the early confusion settled, Norris began to escape.

By lap 8, the McLaren held a 4.5-second advantage over Antonelli, with Verstappen another 5.7s behind the Mercedes. Three laps later, the gap at the front had grown to 5.7s, and McLaren was telling Norris that Antonelli appeared to be suffering greater tyre degradation.

Then Stroll stopped — and the race changed.

VSC turns Spanish GP upside down

The timing could hardly have been worse for Norris.

The McLaren had just gone beyond the pit entrance when race control activated the Virtual Safety Car on lap 15. Antonelli and Verstappen stopped immediately, taking advantage of the reduced time loss.

Antonelli rejoined fourth and Verstappen fifth, with Leclerc now ahead of both after Ferrari elected to keep the Monegasque on track.

Norris had no such opportunity. McLaren called him in on the next lap, but the VSC ended before he reached the pit lane.

The result was a full-price stop that sent Norris back onto the circuit in fifth.

Leclerc inherited the lead, but his position was deceptive. The Ferrari had not stopped, while Antonelli was running behind on fresh tyres with his mandatory service already completed.

Antonelli initially closed to within 0.8s of Leclerc but did not force the issue. Instead, Mercedes allowed its driver to manage the race knowing that Ferrari would eventually have to bring Leclerc in.

The gap fluctuated as Leclerc increased his pace. By lap 25, he had stretched the advantage to around 3.6s, although Antonelli soon responded and reduced it again.

Further back, Norris began trying to repair the damage caused by the VSC. Russell was moved out of his immediate path strategically with another Mercedes stop on lap 29, while the McLaren gradually closed on Verstappen.

Ferrari continued waiting for the intervention that could rescue Leclerc’s strategy. It never arrived.

On lap 49, Leclerc finally stopped, switching from hard to fresh soft tyres. He rejoined fourth, more than 20 seconds behind Norris. That released Antonelli into the lead.

Verstappen holds off Norris as Antonelli controls finish

With Leclerc finally out of the way, the race became a three-car contest at the front — but Antonelli held the advantage that mattered.

Verstappen was 2.2s behind the Mercedes, with Norris only 0.7s further back. The McLaren appeared to have more pace than the Red Bull, but passing at Madring proved as difficult as expected.

Norris briefly lost ground with an error on lap 54 before closing again. Traffic then complicated Verstappen’s defence, and the Dutchman made another mistake at the start of lap 56.

Even so, Verstappen kept the McLaren behind.

That battle allowed Antonelli to remain clear and take the chequered flag for his eighth victory of the season, only one week after his extraordinary recovery at Monza.

Verstappen finished second, with Norris forced to settle for third after a race that had initially been under his control.

Leclerc took fourth ahead of Russell, while Pierre Gasly delivered an impressive sixth place for Alpine. Liam Lawson finished seventh, Franco Colapinto eighth, Oscar Piastri ninth and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten.

The victory further strengthens Antonelli’s position at the top of the championship. The 20-year-old arrived in Spain already 66 points clear of Russell and has now won consecutive races at Monza and Madrid.

More significantly, his latest success came in completely different circumstances. At Monza, Antonelli recovered from 19th. In Madrid, he remained within striking distance when Norris appeared to have the race under control and was perfectly positioned when the VSC changed the strategic picture.

After admitting it was difficult to accept losing pole by just 0.011s, Antonelli ultimately left Madring with the result that mattered most.

Formula 1 now takes a weekend off before returning for the Azerbaijan GP in Baku from September 24-26.

FAQ

Who won the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid?

Kimi Antonelli won the inaugural Spanish GP at Madring for Mercedes. It was his eighth victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season and his second consecutive win after Monza.

What happened to Lando Norris in the Spanish GP?

Norris led comfortably before a Virtual Safety Car was activated just after he had passed the pit entrance. Antonelli and Verstappen stopped under the VSC, while Norris had to wait until the following lap and ultimately made his stop after green-flag conditions returned, costing him the strategic advantage.

Where did Max Verstappen finish the Spanish GP?

Verstappen finished second for Red Bull RBPT Ford. He spent the closing laps defending from Norris and managed to keep the McLaren behind to the chequered flag.