World Championship leader took advantage of the Virtual Safety Car that appeared at the worst moment for Norris and won the first F1 race at Madring; Verstappen was second, while Bortoleto had a long strategy and finished outside the points.
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Lando Norris seemed to have control, but Kimi Antonelli was the one who won the Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1 this Sunday (13). In the first race in the history of the category at Madring, the Mercedes driver took advantage of a turnaround caused by the Virtual Safety Car to take the strategic advantage and secure another victory in the 2026 season.
Max Verstappen finished second after resisting strong pressure from Norris in the final laps. The pole-sitter completed the podium in third, after being the biggest victim of the moment when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. Charles Leclerc finished fourth and George Russell was fifth. Gabriel Bortoleto, who started 12th, lost positions on the first lap and had his initial stint on hard tires extended by Audi, but finished outside the points zone.
Race
The Spanish Grand Prix marked the official debut of Madring in a Formula 1 race this Sunday. The new Madrid circuit hosted a 57-lap race, totaling 308.399 km, in a weekend where the difficulty of overtaking and tire management had already emerged as two of the main points of attention.
The heat was also important. The expectation was for ambient temperatures close to 32°C and asphalt possibly reaching around 53°C, increasing doubts about degradation on a completely new track for the teams.
Pirelli initially pointed to a one-stop strategy as the most likely. For those starting on medium tires, the window to put on hards was approximately between laps 18 and 24. A two-stop strategy, however, was also possible if degradation was higher.
And the grid choices were varied.
Norris and Antonelli, who shared the front row, started on mediums. Verstappen and Hamilton chose softs. Leclerc, Russell, Piastri, Lawson, and Bortoleto were among those who started on hards.
Gabriel started 12th, one position behind Hülkenberg, and Audi had an interesting reference for the C2: Bortoleto had been the only driver to use the hard compound already at the start of TL1.
Antonelli attacks Norris, but Verstappen takes advantage
When the lights went out, Antonelli immediately went after Norris.
The Italian attacked the pole-sitter but ran wide at the chicane and had to give the position back to McLaren.
Antonelli tried again and, once more, cut the chicane.
The persistence ended up costing dearly.
While the Mercedes driver was concerned with Norris, Verstappen found space and overtook Antonelli, taking second position.
Norris took advantage of the confusion to escape in the lead and quickly opened more than a second on Verstappen.
Further back, the start was bad for Bortoleto. The Brazilian dropped from 12th, lost several positions, and fell to 15th still on the first lap.
Piastri also had problems. The Australian touched Russell and dropped to tenth, besides having part of his front wing damaged.
Hamilton informed Ferrari that he had also touched the wall, although initially the team responded that the car data did not indicate significant problems.
Verstappen gets annoyed and Hamilton has brake problems
The battle in the first laps also had an episode involving Verstappen.
Red Bull instructed the Dutchman to give a position back to Hamilton. Verstappen got quite annoyed and said he had to leave the racing line to avoid contact at the chicane.
The driver complied with the order, allowing Antonelli and Hamilton to pass.
He did not take long to react.
Verstappen attacked again and overtook Hamilton on track.
From then on, however, the Briton’s race began to collapse.
Hamilton told Ferrari that the brake pedal was very long and he felt a possible failure. The team allowed Leclerc to pass.
Soon after, Hamilton ran wide and reported over the radio that he was out of brakes.
Ferrari immediately ordered him to stop the car.
It was the early end of a particularly difficult weekend for the seven-time world champion, who had already crashed during TL3 and depended on a great job from the mechanics to participate in qualifying.
Norris opens advantage
Without Hamilton in the fight and with the top positions stabilized, Norris began to build a lead.
On lap seven, the McLaren driver was already 4.7 seconds ahead of Antonelli.
The situation seemed very favorable to the pole-sitter.
McLaren itself informed Norris that Antonelli’s tires were in worse condition than his, suggesting the Briton also had an advantage in management.
Bortoleto was trying to rebuild his race after the bad start. Gabriel was running very close to Gasly but could not find space to complete the overtake.
That was precisely the problem drivers had anticipated during practice: following another car and attacking at Madring was extremely difficult.
In the midfield, Colapinto started forming a train.
Lawson managed to get close enough and put the car on the inside to complete one of the few overtakes at that moment, taking sixth position.
Lindblad became the next to attack Colapinto, while Piastri pressured right behind, still carrying damage to the front wing.
VSC appears at the worst moment for Norris
The race changed completely on lap 15.
Stroll reported he was out of brakes and, practically immediately, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
The moment could not have been worse for Norris.
The leader had just passed the pit entry.
Antonelli, Verstappen, and Russell immediately took advantage of the neutralization and made their stops, significantly reducing lost time.
Norris had no way to respond.
The green flag appeared and McLaren called their driver on the next lap.
To make matters worse, the stop was long.
Norris returned only in fifth position.
The race that until then seemed under the Briton’s control had been completely transformed by a few seconds difference at the moment of the VSC.
Bortoleto appears in the top 10
The different strategies left the classification mixed up.
Russell put on medium tires and even discussed with Mercedes the possibility of going to the finish. The team quickly discarded the idea: that set would not be able to complete the remaining distance.
Leclerc was still on track without making his stop.
Antonelli began to close in on Ferrari.
Bortoleto also did not stop and appeared provisionally in ninth, benefiting from the cycle of stops ahead of him.
The Brazilian was still on the hard tires used since the start.
On lap 18, Antonelli was already very close to Leclerc, but Mercedes asked for caution. The team warned that the Italian could destroy his tires if he kept pushing at that pace.
Antonelli reports steering problem
The race then entered a much more spaced phase.
There were practically no close battles on track. Lindblad chased Colapinto and Bearman pressured Sainz, but the rest of the pack showed bigger gaps.
The difficulty to overtake was definitively marking Madring’s debut.
Antonelli was still trying to catch Leclerc when he reported a problem.
The Italian said he was having trouble making the corners and that the steering wheel felt strange.
Despite the complaint, he continued normally.
Sainz, meanwhile, received a five-second penalty and later a black and white flag for track limits. The Spaniard served the penalty.
Norris starts recovery
Antonelli tried again to reach Leclerc, while Norris began to rebuild the race lost at the VSC.
The McLaren driver caught Russell.
The Mercedes Brit, however, was in a different strategic situation and still needed to make another stop.
On lap 29, Russell made his second stop.
He managed to return ahead of Piastri, in sixth position.
The race then passed its halfway point with several drivers still not having made even their first stop.
Leclerc, Lawson, Piastri, Gasly, Bortoleto, Tsunoda, and Bearman remained on the tires used at the start.
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Bortoleto’s strategy was becoming increasingly extreme. After dropping to 15th on the first lap, Audi extended the Brazilian’s first stint to the maximum, leaving open the possibility of taking advantage of a new neutralization.
Russell achieves one of the rare overtakes
Pérez entered the pits to retire from the race on lap 32.
Bearman finally stopped shortly after, starting to move the group that had extended the hard tires a lot.
On track, Russell caught up completely with Lawson.
The pace difference was big, but there was still a question: would it be possible to turn speed into overtaking at Madring?
Russell showed it was.
The Mercedes driver attacked at the chicane, used a very tight line, and managed to pass Lawson to take fifth position.
It was one of the best overtakes in a race where finding space had proven extremely difficult.
Norris scrapes the wall and catches Verstappen
Tsunoda made his stop with about 20 laps remaining.
Norris continued his recovery, but a replay showed that the McLaren driver had scraped the wall.
The contact caused no apparent damage but could have been costly if it had hit the front suspension.
Ferrari, meanwhile, projected for Leclerc that, if the strategic scenario held, the Monegasque would finish fourth.
Alonso made his second stop.
Some drivers, however, were still without their first stop.
The reading at that moment was clear: those still on the starting tires could extend the stint almost to the limit, hoping for a new Safety Car or VSC.
On lap 42, the race gained two important battles.
Norris caught Verstappen.
At the same time, Piastri was glued to Lawson.
Piastri and Lawson finally stop
Piastri ended his huge first stint on lap 43.
The Australian made his first stop and returned between Lindblad and Hülkenberg.
Soon after, he managed to pass Lindblad and moved up to tenth, returning to the points zone.
Lawson stayed out a few more laps and finally pitted on lap 45.
The race direction also put under review an incident involving Colapinto at Turn 17, after the Argentine went off track and possibly gained an advantage.
Meanwhile, Bortoleto continued without stopping.
Bortoleto holds the pack
On lap 47, Bortoleto’s tires had practically a full race of use.
The Brazilian began to hold back a group of much faster cars at that moment.
Piastri got so close he had to lift and cut the chicane to avoid contact.
Colapinto also attacked and managed to pass, moving up to eighth and dropping Gabriel to ninth.
Up front, another line began to form.
Leclerc had still not stopped.
Behind him were Antonelli, Verstappen, and Norris practically together.
Ferrari’s long strategy was reaching its limit just as the race entered its decisive phase.
Audi waits until lap 48 with Bortoleto
Audi’s bet ended on lap 48.
After starting on hard tires and carrying them for almost the entire race, Bortoleto finally pitted.
The team had waited for a new neutralization that never happened.
Without Safety Car or VSC, the Brazilian inevitably lost the positions he had held during the strategic cycle and fell outside the points zone.
Leclerc stayed out one more lap.
When he finally pitted on lap 49, the lead definitively changed hands.
Antonelli was the new leader of the Spanish GP.
Verstappen tries to react
Verstappen immediately increased the pace.
The Dutchman still believed in the possibility of attacking Antonelli in the final laps.
Norris was right behind and was also in the fight.
But Antonelli responded.
On lap 50, Verstappen began to lose contact with Mercedes.
Bortoleto, meanwhile, appeared again on the race direction’s radar. An incident at Turn 5 was investigated for a possible change of trajectory during braking.
The stewards decided to apply only a warning to the Brazilian.
Piastri also received a black and white flag for track limits.
Antonelli touches the wall
On lap 52, there was a moment of concern for Mercedes.
Antonelli reported he had touched the wall at the entrance of Turn 7.
The car, however, apparently suffered no significant damage and the Italian continued in the lead.
Norris kept pressuring Verstappen.
McLaren had the speed, but the Briton could not find space.
Bortoleto also received a black and white flag for track limits, ending a very hard race for the Brazilian.
Norris pressures Verstappen until the end
While Antonelli managed to open a gap, the main battle became for second place.
Norris stayed glued to Verstappen.
Further back, Leclerc held off Russell in the fight for fourth place.
Hülkenberg also caught Lindblad, in a battle for the last point.
On lap 56, the German managed to overtake but had to cut the chicane and immediately gave the position back.
The race direction also analyzed an incident between the two at Turn 1, for Lindblad possibly forcing Hülkenberg off track, but decided no further investigation was necessary.
Verstappen also made a small mistake.
Norris immediately put the McLaren on the outside but again could not complete the maneuver.
Antonelli wins at Madring
Antonelli started lap 57 and the last lap in the lead.
Norris kept looking for a way to pass Verstappen.
No luck.
The Dutchman managed to close all the gaps and keep second position.
In the last corners, Antonelli just managed the race.
Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1.
The World Championship leader thus became the first winner of a category race at Madring, decisively taking advantage of the strategic opportunity created by the Virtual Safety Car.
Verstappen finished second.
Norris completed the podium in third and left Madrid as the biggest victim of the neutralization moment. The Briton had started from pole, opened a gap, and seemed to control the race until the VSC appeared seconds after he passed the pit entry.
Leclerc finished fourth and Russell completed the top five.
Lawson was sixth, followed by Colapinto.
Piastri recovered from contact with Russell at the start, front wing damage, and the extremely long strategy to finish eighth.
Lindblad was ninth and Hülkenberg completed the points zone.
Bortoleto finished outside the top 10 after a race compromised from the start. The Brazilian started 12th, dropped to 15th, and had difficulties overtaking. Audi then extended the first stint on hards until lap 48, betting on a possible late neutralization. It did not happen.
Gabriel even appeared in ninth during the pit stop cycle but lost ground when the order was normalized and finished the race outside the points.
Check the result of the 2026 Spanish GP at Madring:
1) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2) Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
3) Lando Norris (McLaren)
4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5) George Russell (Mercedes)
6) Liam Lawson (Red Bull Racing)
7) Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
8) Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
9) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
10) Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
11) Esteban Ocon (Haas F1 Team)
12) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
13) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
14) Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
15) Alexander Albon (Williams)
16) Oliver Bearman (Haas F1 Team)
17) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
18) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
19) Carlos Sainz (Williams)
20) Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
21) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
22) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
