Kimi Antonelli wins inaugural Madring F1 race as VSC costs Lando Norris

Kimi Antonelli capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car to beat Lando Norris and claim victory at the inaugural Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at Madring.

What began as a masterclass in pace and control for Norris ended in heartbreak as an ill-timed pit stop under caution dropped him down the order, ultimately handing the advantage to Antonelli who held off a late charge from Max Verstappen to cross the line 4.351 seconds clear.

Norris recovered from his pit stop misfortune to claim the last step on the podium for McLaren, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and George Russell in the second Mercedes

As the five red lights went out, first-ever Madring polesitter Norris held his nerve on the run to the first chicane as Antonelli launched an immediate assault, taking the inside line with aggression before being forced to bail out and cut across the run-off area along with Verstappen.

The Italian surrendered the position back to the McLaren but his second attack moments later produced an almost identical error at turns five and six, where he again went wide through the run-off and allowed Verstappen through to second at the Bunker section.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, called on Verstappen to concede the spot after cutting Turn 1 but the Red Bull driver disputed the accusation over team radio, insisting: “Lewis almost shunted into me, he was out of control. If I didn’t move, he just shunted into me. I would’ve been ahead.”

Further back, Oscar Piastri dropped to 11th after damaging his front wing endplate in Lap 1 tussle with George Russell.

Red Bull instructed Verstappen to surrender positions back to Antonelli and Hamilton on Lap 4, dropping back to fourth. The Dutchman passed Hamilton a lap later as the Ferrari appeared to be having an issue with the brakes which deteriorated rapidly, forcing the seven-time world champion to retire on Lap 7.

By Lap 9, Norris had carved out a five-second lead over Antonelli who was also struggling to keep his Mercedes on the track.

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz came to blows on Lap 13 at Turn 5 as Alonso tried to pass Sainz down the outside but protested the Williams “squeezed” him towards the wall. The stewards reviewed the incident and issued Sainz a five-second time penalty.

VSC costs Lando Norris

The first major shake-up came on Lap 14 when Lance Stroll lost the rear of his Aston Martin at the exit of Turn 20 and slammed heavily into the barriers, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car.

Antonelli, Verstappen and Russell boxed under VSC conditions but Norris had passed the pit entrance. The reigning world champion pitted just after the VSC ended but the McLaren crew delivered a slow stop, dropping to fifth, while Leclerc who was yet to pit assumed the lead on Lap 17.

Russell made a second pitstop for mediums on Lap 28, dropping to sixth behind Red Bull’s Liam Lawson. The two locked in a tense duel as Lawson defended his position over the next few laps but ran wide at the exit of Turn 5 chicane on Lap 35, allowing Russell through to fifth.

Ferrari’s hope of a safety car waned on Lap 48 and finally called in Leclerc for his only pitstop, vaulting Antonelli into the lead by a second over Verstappen with Norris a further second in third.

By Lap 54, Antonelli had extended the lead to over three seconds, while Norris closed in on Verstappen who struggled to navigate lapped traffic, before cutting the track on the penultimate lap.

However, Verstappen held position ahead of Norris all the way to the checkered flag as Kimi Antonelli wins inaugural Madring F1 race.

Full Race Results: 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix

F1 2026 Driver standings after Spanish GP: Antonelli edges closer to the title