
Kimi Antonelli wins inaugural Madring F1 race as VSC costs Lando Norris
Kimi Antonelli capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car to edge Lando Norris before holding off Max Verstappen to win the inaugural Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at Madring
Mercedes is starting to get a bit nervous according to Helmut Marko. The Germans have already pointed out Red Bull Racing’s rear wing, and they are now targeting Red Bull’s pit stop equipment. Marko is not worried though.
The battle for the world championship is far more exciting this season than it has been in recent years as Red Bull Racing finally has a car with which it can attack Mercedes, and that clearly puts pressure on Toto Wolff’s team. Speaking to German RTL Helmut Marko says that Mercedes is not used to that pressure.
“Yes, Mercedes is nervous. You can tell by their reaction, but we won’t lower ourselves to their level”, says Marko. ”We focus on the racing, and make sure we are optimally prepared for that.”
After the discussion about the rear wing, Mercedes would now like to take a closer look at Red Bull Racing’s pitstop material. Whilst Mercedes lose a lot of time in the pit stop every week, Red Bull is by far the best team in this area. ”Now they also see our pitstop material as illegal, but that’s not based on anything either.”
As far as that is concerned, Marko does not want to spend too much time on this war, which he has earlier said hopes will cause Mercedes to lose focus on their own problems. ”We are not concerned with these peripheral issues. The fact that Mercedes is waging this psychological war actually says enough. As Max has said, we prefer to talk at the circuit”, concluded Red Bull’s top man.

Kimi Antonelli capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car to edge Lando Norris before holding off Max Verstappen to win the inaugural Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at Madring

Complete F1 2026 Driver standings after Spanish GP: Kimi Antonelli extended his lead to 81 points over Mercedes teammate George Russell, Lewis Hamilton title chances

Full F1 2026 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results, Madring: 1. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes; 2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +4.351s; 3. Lando Norris, McLaren, +5.089s; 4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +29.116s

Full 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results: Lando Norris snatched the first-ever pole position at Madring from Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011s in a dramatic final-lap showdown