News Summary
- Verstappen finished second in Madrid despite admitting Lando Norris and McLaren had significantly stronger race pace
- Red Bull capitalised on the Virtual Safety Car before Verstappen kept Norris behind to secure his sixth podium of 2026
- Verstappen now heads to Silverstone, where he will start behind 100 rivals in Wednesday’s Max vs 100 karting challenge
Max Verstappen’s assessment of second place in Madrid was unusually revealing. For a driver accustomed to measuring weekends in victories, he described finishing behind Kimi Antonelli as an “incredible result”.
It was not false modesty. Verstappen knew Lando Norris had been considerably faster in the Spanish GP and openly acknowledged that the McLaren driver was unlucky to lose the lead when the Virtual Safety Car arrived. Red Bull took advantage, stopped Verstappen at the right moment and suddenly found itself fighting for second.
Norris eventually caught him, but passing was another matter. Verstappen joked that the solution was simply to “keep the car in the middle”, exploiting a Madring layout that had already attracted criticism for its lack of overtaking.
The result was Verstappen’s sixth podium of 2026. It was also another reminder that judging Red Bull purely from his finishing position can be misleading.
How good is Red Bull really?
Madrid did little to suggest Red Bull currently has Formula 1’s fastest car. Norris controlled the opening stint before the VSC, while Antonelli ultimately took his eighth victory for Mercedes. Verstappen himself acknowledged that McLaren had considerably stronger race pace.
Yet Red Bull still left with P2 and P6 after Liam Lawson produced another strong substitute appearance. For Verstappen, the result came from a combination of execution, opportunism and defensive driving rather than outright superiority.
That distinction has become increasingly important in 2026. Verstappen is sixth in the championship on 145 points, already 147 behind Antonelli, and Red Bull is no longer the reference against which every other team measures itself.
Madrid also demonstrated how effectively Verstappen can still maximise the opportunities that appear. Red Bull reacted immediately to the VSC, gained track position over Norris and then relied on its driver to preserve it.
It worked.
Madrid also exposed Verstappen’s frustration
The result did not make Verstappen any more enthusiastic about Madring.
His race began with a complicated first-lap fight involving Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton. After running off the circuit, Verstappen was instructed to return a position and reacted angrily over the radio.
Later, he described the nature of racing at the circuit as “fucking Mickey Mouse racing”, reflecting a broader criticism shared by several drivers during the weekend.
The irony was that the same difficulty overtaking ultimately helped him. Norris reached the back of the Red Bull but could not find a way through, finishing just 0.738s behind.
Verstappen therefore left Madrid with considerably more than Red Bull’s raw pace appeared to promise — even if the weekend reinforced how far the team remains from controlling races as it once did.
From defending Norris to passing 100 karts
There will be little time for Verstappen to dwell on it.
On Wednesday, he returns to Silverstone for Max vs 100, a very different racing challenge in which he will start 101st and last in a field of karts and attempt to pass every rival over 30 laps.
The event brings Verstappen back to the discipline in which he built his career before moving into single-seaters. It will feature athletes, creators, gamers and amateur competitors, with TechnoGamerz and Caedrel among the names lining up against him.
Verstappen has approached the event rather differently from an F1 weekend. He admitted before Madrid that he had done no specific preparation and intended to simply arrive and race.
That should not be mistaken for a lack of interest. Karting remains fundamental to Verstappen’s identity as a driver, and the format places an unusual emphasis on one of the skills Madrid required from him in reverse.
On Sunday, Verstappen’s job was to make himself as difficult as possible to overtake.
On Wednesday, he has to do it 100 times.
FAQ
Where did Max Verstappen finish the 2026 Spanish GP?
Verstappen finished second behind Kimi Antonelli. He benefited from the timing of a Virtual Safety Car before defending against a faster Lando Norris during the closing stages.
What is Max vs 100?
Max vs 100 is a karting event at Silverstone on September 16 in which Verstappen starts 101st and attempts to overtake 100 rivals during a 30-lap race.
What time is Max vs 100?
The live broadcast is scheduled to begin at 17:00 BST on Wednesday, September 16, with the kart race due to start at 18:00 BST. The event will stream globally on Disney+, with ESPN coverage in the United States.
