
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
Daniel Ricciardo has switched teams twice in recent years. After 2018 he left Red Bull Racing to hunt for success at Renault, but after two seasons he left to take a seat at McLaren. He’s now driving his first season there and doesn’t seem entirely comfortable yet.
In conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport the Australian explains why. “At Renault I immediately felt that I could keep my old driving style, but that I just had a bit less grip than with the Red Bull car. Compared to McLaren, the differences with the car are a bit bigger.”
“It has its strengths and weaknesses, but somehow my normal driving style doesn’t quite match the car. It could be to the braking or acceleration, but the car doesn’t react like I’m used to”. Ricciardo has therefore had more trouble than usual getting up to speed, he himself acknowledges.
“That’s why my move to McLaren has been a little more challenging than the move to Renault. The first step was to find out what made my driving style not work in all the corners and only then could I start working on new techniques to master,” Ricciardo concludes.

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