Marco Rossi · F1-Korrespondent
On the new Circuito de Madrid, it was not the fastest car that decided the win, but the right moment in the race.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the newly built Madring circuit in Madrid, his eighth race victory of the 2026 season, even though Lando Norris appeared to have the faster McLaren for much of the weekend. On Sunday, September 13th, an ill-timed Virtual Safety Car determined who would finish on top, and it wasn't Norris. The Mercedes driver seized his opportunity with the composure of someone who knows that patience sometimes matters more than the fastest car on the grid.
Mercedes dominates practice, Norris answers in qualifying
From the opening free practice session, the weekend's pattern became clear: George Russell ahead of Antonelli, with Ferrari and Red Bull within reach, but lacking the straight-line speed of the Silver Arrows. By FP2 and FP3, Antonelli completely took over the timing sheets, while Norris had no valid lap time in FP2 and was classified last—a rough start to the session from which he made an impressive comeback on Saturday. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton also kept themselves within striking distance of the front runners across all three sessions, a signal that Ferrari would be competitive on Madrid's new street circuit.
In qualifying, the picture reversed. Norris posted the fastest lap of the entire weekend and claimed pole by just 0.011 seconds over Antonelli, a margin that looked tiny on paper yet proved decisive in reality. Verstappen completed the top three, with Hamilton and Leclerc rounding out positions four and five. According to reports from the paddock, Hamilton had suffered a crash during the third free practice session that brought out the red flag, an incident that affected his training record but apparently not his qualifying form.
Norris' lead and the Virtual Safety Car drama
From pole position, Norris seized the initiative at the start, and Norris and Antonelli were side by side into turn one according to race weekend reports, with Antonelli running off track and cutting the corner. Norris pulled away and built a lead of over six seconds on the second-placed Mercedes in the early stages, a margin that looked decisive for much of the race, though it ultimately proved not to be. An ill-timed Virtual Safety Car disrupted Norris' rhythm and erased exactly the buffer he had carefully built.
When Leclerc was called to the pits at the end of lap 48 according to race reports, a three-way battle for victory erupted in the closing laps between Antonelli, Verstappen, and Norris. In the end, it was Antonelli who kept his nerve and prevailed ahead of Verstappen and Norris, a result that marks his eighth season victory and should put him in a very comfortable position in the championship fight. According to reports, Verstappen was investigated after the race for an incident at turn five where he ran off track and allegedly gained an advantage, a detail that initially did not affect his podium finish.
Lawson and Colapinto as midfield winners
While the main drama unfolded up front, the view further back in the field was equally rewarding. Liam Lawson improved from eighth on the grid to sixth at the checkered flag, delivering a strong result for Racing Bulls, while Franco Colapinto advanced from ninth in the Alpine to seventh and registered a solid performance. Both drivers gained two positions during the race, converting qualifying opportunities into actual points, while other drivers who made ground, such as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, each also gained two spots but ultimately finished outside the points.
On the other side of the midfield, Oscar Piastri lost a place and crossed the line in eighth after a first-lap collision with George Russell that damaged his front wing according to reports, a disappointing result for the McLaren driver given his seventh-place grid slot. Gabriel Bortoleto also lost ground compared to qualifying. In the back of the field, Yuki Tsunoda, Alexander Albon, and Oliver Bearman sorted themselves into a tightly bunched group without any major story emerging, a quiet but far from unimportant battle for the final points that would not materialize for those involved.
Retirements, penalties, and a glance at the championship
The most striking gap between grid position and result came from the man who started fourth in qualifying: Lewis Hamilton retired from the race after a strong showing on Saturday. The story takes an ironic turn through a radio message that Verstappen reportedly sent when Red Bull instructed him to give up his position to Hamilton, an order he allegedly dismissed as 'mickey-mouse racing.' That the very driver he was supposed to let through failed to finish the race adds a bitter edge to the incident in hindsight.
The home drivers also struggled. According to reports, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso collided at turn five, with Sainz receiving a five-second penalty that he served during a pit stop with a front wing change in lap 24, before a technical problem ultimately took him out of the race. Sergio Pérez worked his way up from 18th on the grid to 15th before a power unit failure between laps 31 and 33 forced him to retire. Lance Stroll, already hopeless from the start after a 40-place grid penalty for an engine change, retired in an unusual fashion according to reports: after running into the run-off zone at turn 20, there was no room left to turn his Aston Martin around and return to the track. For Mercedes and Antonelli, the eighth season victory represents a commanding position heading into the championship, while Norris leaves a weekend he largely controlled empty-handed, a setback that McLaren will need to process as quickly as possible.
