Spanish Grand Prix 2026: Antonelli wins first race at Madring after bad luck for Norris

The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix made history immediately. For the first time, Formula 1 descended on the brand-new Madring circuit in Madrid, where Kimi Antonelli ultimately crossed the finish line as the very first winner.

For a long time, however, the victory seemed destined for Lando Norris. The McLaren driver started from pole position and controlled the opening phase, but an unfortunately timed Virtual Safety Car and a slow pit stop completely turned his race upside down.

Antonelli took full advantage and claimed his second consecutive victory, just a week after his sensational home win at Monza. Max Verstappen finished second, while Norris had to settle for P3. 

Qualifying: Norris edges out Antonelli

On a completely new circuit, the drivers had to search for the limit all weekend long. This led to several incidents during practice, but in qualifying, it was ultimately Lando Norris who put everything together perfectly.

With a 1:31.824, he took pole position.

The gap to Kimi Antonelli was minimal: just 0.011 seconds. Max Verstappen qualified third, ahead of the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. George Russell placed the second Mercedes in P6. 

Notable points beforehand:

• Norris took pole position by the narrowest of margins
• Antonelli started from P2
• Verstappen was right behind in P3
• Hamilton and Leclerc occupied the second and third rows of the grid
• No one knew exactly how the tires would behave over a full race distance at Madring

That last point made strategy an important factor for Sunday.

The race: Norris in control

At the start, Antonelli drew level with Norris, but the Mercedes driver had to cut the first chicane. Shortly after, he attempted to attack again, once more without success.

Verstappen took advantage and moved forward briefly, but later had to return positions after going off-track at the first corner. Consequently, Antonelli ended up behind Norris again.

At the front, Norris was meanwhile gaining more and more control of the race.

The McLaren driver built a lead of several seconds and also appeared to manage his medium tires better than Antonelli.

The opening phase in short:

• Norris maintained the lead from pole
• Antonelli was unable to launch an attack initially
• Verstappen remained within reach
• Hamilton quickly encountered braking issues
• Norris appeared to be the strongest in terms of pace and tire management

Hamilton's problems eventually became so severe that Ferrari had to bring his car in after only seven laps.

The turning point: Virtual Safety Car costs Norris the lead

The decisive moment arrived when Lance Stroll had to pull his Aston Martin off-track with brake problems.

Race control activated the Virtual Safety Car.

For Antonelli, Verstappen, and Russell, it came at exactly the right moment. They were able to pit immediately and lost considerably less time due to the reduced speed on the circuit.

Norris had just passed the pit entry at that moment.

When he did pit a lap later, the Virtual Safety Car period had already ended. To make matters worse, his tire change took about seven seconds. Consequently, the polesitter dropped back behind Antonelli and Verstappen.

A race that Norris had completely under control until that moment suddenly looked entirely different.

Leclerc tries a gamble

Charles Leclerc made a different choice during the Virtual Safety Car.

Ferrari kept him out on the hard tires, moving the Monegasque into the lead. The hope was clear: another Safety Car or red flag would give Leclerc a massive strategic opportunity.

But that neutralization never came.

Antonelli drove behind him as the effective leader, with Verstappen and Norris close behind. Norris was meanwhile trying to make up lost ground and began putting increasing pressure on Verstappen.

Ferrari held on to the gamble with Leclerc for a long time, but on lap 48, he finally had to pit. He returned in fourth place, leaving Antonelli in the actual lead.

Verstappen keeps Norris behind

With Leclerc out of the way, an interesting battle developed between the top three in the final laps.

Antonelli was able to build a small lead, but behind him, Verstappen and Norris were closely matched.

Norris clearly had the pace and saw an opening when Verstappen went off-track briefly at turn 5. The McLaren drew alongside the Red Bull, but Verstappen managed to hold onto second position.

As a result, Antonelli did not need to defend directly against Norris and drove in a controlled manner to the finish.

After 57 laps, he crossed the line first.

Verstappen followed 4.351 seconds behind, while Norris finished just 0.738 seconds behind the Dutchman.

The result: Antonelli writes his name as the first winner at Madring

The very first Formula 1 Grand Prix at Madring thus had Kimi Antonelli as the winner.

The top five:

• P1: Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes
• P2: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• P3: Lando Norris – McLaren
• P4: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
• P5: George Russell – Mercedes

For Norris, P3 likely felt like a missed opportunity. Even Antonelli acknowledged afterward that, on pure pace, Norris likely deserved the victory. The timing of the Virtual Safety Car ultimately made the difference.

A difficult weekend for the Spanish drivers

For the Spanish fans, the first Grand Prix in Madrid was unfortunately less successful.

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz even collided on track, with Alonso feeling that Sainz had pushed him toward the wall. The stewards shared that view and gave Sainz a time penalty.

Ultimately, there wasn't much for the two home favorites to cheer about. Sainz didn't even reach the finish, while Alonso ended up outside the points. 

What does this mean for the 2026 season?

For Antonelli, the result could hardly be better.

After his spectacular victory at Monza, he won again immediately and brought his total to eight victories in fourteen Grands Prix.

More importantly: his lead in the world championship grew to 81 points over teammate George Russell. 

Key takeaways:

• Antonelli wins for the second race in a row
• His championship lead continues to grow
• Norris likely had the speed to win but lost out due to strategy and a pit stop
• Verstappen maximized his result with P2
• Russell lost further ground in the title race

Antonelli is therefore increasingly becoming the firm favorite for the world championship.

Conclusion: Antonelli profits, Norris left empty-handed

The first Grand Prix at Madring ultimately revolved around one crucial moment.

Lando Norris had the best pace from pole position and controlled the first phase of the race. However, one unfortunately timed Virtual Safety Car, followed by a slow pit stop, was enough to completely wipe out his lead.

Kimi Antonelli was ready to capitalize at exactly the right moment.

The Mercedes driver made no mistakes, kept Verstappen and Norris behind him, and thus wrote his name into the history books as the very first Formula 1 winner at Madring.

Furthermore, after Monza, this marks his second victory in a week.

Antonelli's grip on the championship is becoming ever firmer.