Spanish GP 2026: Kimi Antonelli becomes Formula 1’s first winner at Madring

Formula 1 held its very first Grand Prix at the Madring circuit, and there it gave us plenty to talk about. Hamilton’s first retirement of the season, a VSC that changed the order, and Kimi Antonelli winning his eighth race. The Spanish GP 2026 has no doubt started a lot of conversations.

How a Virtual Safety Car decided the Spanish GP 2026

Lando Norris was showing pretty good pace throughout the weekend. Putting in one of his best career laps on Saturday to take the pole position, he kept Antonelli behind him at the beginning of the race. As he built a comfortable lead, it seemed as if he was set to take the top step at the Spanish GP 2026.

Then Lance Stroll stopped at Turn 20 with brake problems, and a Virtual Safety Car came out. But by the time Norris tried to pit, the VSC period had ended. A slow seven-second stop dropped him from the lead all the way down to fifth.

Antonelli, who was right behind him, pitted perfectly under the VSC and came out ahead. That was the moment that decided the race.

Norris fought his way back to third and tried for second position, but couldn’t recover the race lead. Even Antonelli admitted afterwards that it didn’t feel entirely deserved.

Eight wins and counting for Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli became the first-ever Formula 1 Grand Prix winner at the Madring. Although he struggled with his steering a little and spent quite some time behind Leclerc, the VSC helped him gain the lead of the Spanish GP 2026.

The 20-year-old now has eight wins from fourteen races. A championship lead of 81 points. And a title that is starting to look increasingly difficult for anyone to take away from him.

Max Verstappen finished second after some drama right at the start. He cut the first corner on the opening lap and had to give positions back to Hamilton, which also meant he had to let Antonelli go by too.

But once Hamilton retired, Verstappen worked his way back up. Although the Red Bull couldn’t match Norris or Antonelli for pace, he managed the tyres well and kept Norris behind him in the closing laps to lock down the second position.

Hamilton out, Leclerc fourth, and Russell out of the Championship fight?

Russell finished fifth after a two-stop strategy that he did question in the moment. Even more significantly, the Briton admitted after the Spanish GP 2026 that he is no longer realistically fighting for the drivers’ title.

The two Ferrari drivers both had very different afternoons. On one side of the garage, Hamilton got a strong start, but was forced to retire pretty early due to brake problems. He parked his car after just seven laps, the first retirement of his 2026 season.

Leclerc, on the other hand, had a more positive race. He led 32 out of the 57 laps at the Spanish GP 2026. Ferrari’s plan was to stay out and hope for a late Safety Car. It never came, and he had to pit on lap 48, finishing in fourth.

Further down the Spanish GP 2026 grid

Lawson, who was in the second Red Bull for the weekend, crossed the line in sixth. Colapinto scored points for Alpine in seventh, with Piastri eighth, Lindblad in ninth, and Hülkenberg being the last one to finish in points.

The Spanish GP 2026 saw multiple retirements. Hamilton was joined by Sainz, who couldn’t finish his home race. Perez’s race also ended due to an issue with his Cadillac, while Stroll experienced a breaking problem with his Aston Martin that triggered the VSC.

On to Baku

Antonelli heads to Baku with 81 points over Russell and 106 over Norris. Nine races remain. McLaren seems to be getting faster, and Norris is improving each weekend. But the gap to Antonelli is large enough that even great results in the remaining races might not be enough.

The first triple header of the season starts soon in Azerbaijan, and it is going to be a busy few weeks.