Andrea Kimi Antonelli edged Lando Norris out in a thrilling inaugural race at the Madring by winning the 2026 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.
Antonelli made it seven wins in 2026 as a perfectly-timed VSC handed him the race lead over pole-sitter Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen followed the Italian home in second. Norris took third at the chequered flag, after an inspired second-half to the Spanish GP saw him claw his way back onto the podium.
How the race unfolded
As the five lights went out for the first-ever Spanish GP at the Circuito de Madring, pole-sitter Lando Norris got a better launch off the line, with Lewis Hamilton joining the party. Andrea Kimi Antonelli went wide into the first chicane but gave the place back immediately to the McLaren driver.
Antonelli went wide at the Turn 5 chicane, again, two track limits warnings already accumulated for the championship leader.
Meawhile, Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri fell down to 11th after taking damage in the Lap 1 fiasco. Max Verstappen, running second, was under the peering eyes of the FIA stewards for cutting Turn 1 while evading Hamilton.
Hamilton came onto the team radio comms to ask his team to check the rear of his SF-26 after what he believes was contact with the barriers.
By Lap 3, Norris had extended his lead over the Dutchman to 2 seconds. Verstappen was followed by Antonelli, Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. On the very next lap, Verstappen was advised by his pit wall to give the position back to Hamilton. But with Hamilton behind Antonelli in fourth, the Red Bull driver would have to cede a place to Antonelli as well.
And as the 28-year-old complied, he was put under pressure by Leclerc. “He would have shunted into me! If I stay on track, I would be out of the race,” fumed Verstappen on his team radio.
Hamilton was almost seven seconds off Antonelli. Verstappen was now the meat between a Ferrari sandwich in fourth, followed by Leclerc in fifth.
George Russell was running in sixth and Franco Colapinto had already made two places from his ninth-place grid slot running in seventh, followed by Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindbald and a wounded Piastri.
Hamilton became the first victim of the treacherous Madring layout, with a lock up sending him spiralling towards the barriers. With brake issues plaguing the seven-time World Champion, he came into the pits to retire on Lap 7.
Meanwhile, Antonelli went wide again at Turn 17, losing a chunk of time to Norris and also accumulating another track limits warning.
With gaps stabilising elsewhere, Lawson was all over the back of Colapinto’s A526. The Kiwi driver opting to run long on his first stint with the white-walled Hards getting past the Argentinian racing driver on Lap 10 into the Turn 5 chicane.
Only 10 laps in, drivers weren’t afraid to gamble on their pre-planned strategies, as Mercedes started plotting an undercut attempt on Leclerc with Russell.
Race-leader Norris was busy extending his lead, now 6.5 seconds ahead of Antonelli. The Woking-based team were quick to inform the Briton that the Italian’s tyres were in a worse condition than his.
That said, by Lap 14, Antonelli had found a second back on the McLaren driver. Driving through the graining phase, the Italian hit a lucky patch with the AMR26 of Lance Stroll hitting the barriers at Turn 20. The VSC came out just as Norris went past the pit entry, and Antonelli dove into the pits for a set of Hard tyres. The Mercedes driver came out in third.
It was a double whammy for Norris as just as he approached the pit entry again, the VSC came to an end. Antonelli flew past Norris and into the net lead as not only the VSC timing but a slow stop by McLaren nullified all the good work he had done on his first stint.
The Briton filtered out in fifth, behind Russell, Verstappen and Antonelli. Leclerc, who was yet to pit, assumed the race lead on Lap 17.
Graining on the Pirelli rubber was a real concern for the teams and drivers. With track temperature in the mid-50 degrees, Antonelli was advised to keep on top of his tyre management. “These [Hard] tyres are not bulletproof,” Peter Bonnington told the 20-year-old over team radio.
Home hero Carlos Sainz was slapped with a five-second time penalty for an incident with his compatriot Fernando Alonso. Meanwhile, despite the tyre offset, Antonelli slotted behind Leclerc. The Monegasque was expected to extend his stint and covert his race into a one-stopper.
Norris, by Lap 22, was 15 seconds off Antonelli, in fifth. With the top five now stable, Lindblad was in a battle with Colapinto for the final points place – one second off the Alpine driver.
Antonelli lost half-a-second to Leclerc, on Lap 23, coming onto his team radio to complain about a “weird” phenomenon on his steering wheel.
Midway through the 57-lap race Leclerc led the Spanish GP followed by Antonelli, Verstappen, Russell and Norris.
Lawson led the midfield charge, almost 17 seconds off the top five, chased by Piastri, Gasly, Bortoleto and Colapinto.
Norris’ charge fizzles out as Antonelli comes out victorious at the Madring
Norris began his charge towards Antonelli but had the Italian’s team-mate in his way to dispatch first. That wasn’t required as Russell dove into the pits on Lap 29, filtering out in sixth.
Meanwhile, Norris’ team-mate Piastri was struggling to navigate the Madring with his broken front-wing. The Australian reasoning with his pit wall to change the front wing when he came into the pits for his stop.
With Russell now in the pits, when to pit Leclerc was a crucial decision to be made on the Ferrari pit wall. But the Maranello-based team were counting on a Safety Car, or at least another VSC to pull the trigger.
By Lap 33, Norris was now only just over 10 seconds off Antonelli with only the Red Bull of Verstappen between him and the Mercedes. On the very next lap, the McLaren driver was the fastest man on track.
Russell was all over the gearbox of Lawson on Lap 35. The Kiwi driver was expected to hold up the Briton for as long as he could to aid Verstappen, but the Red Bull driver went wide coming out of the Turn 5 chicane, under pressure from the Mercedes, and Russell slipped past into fifth.
This meant that, now, from P6 onwards, none of the drivers had pitted yet, going 35 laps across the sweltering tarmac of the Madring on a single set of tyres.
Lawson’s tyres, however, were in worse shape than his rivals as Piastri now got into his overtake zone. Meanwhile, by Lap 38, Norris had closed his gap to Verstappen to three-a-half-seconds. Antonelli was a further five seconds up the road.
Leclerc’s pit wall predicted a fourth-placed finish at the chequered flag under normal conditions. The Monegasque now needed a Safety Car or VSC desperately if he wanted to leave Madrid with his 55th Ferrari F1 podium.
By Lap 41, Norris was within striking distance of Verstappen. On Lap 43, Norris went deep into Turn 17 but still kept his MCL40 pinned to Verstappen’s gearbox. Net race leader, Antonelli was only four seconds up the road now.
Meanwhile, Piastri tried an undercut on Lawson. But a slow stop allowed Lawson to maximise his in lap. The Red Bull driver dove into the pits and kept track position ahead of the Australian.
It was all heating up ahead of Piastri and Colapinto tried a move on Gabriel Bortoleto into the Turn 5 chicane. Colapinto missed, and Piastri latched onto his gearbox instead but with no way past.
With only 10 laps to go, Antonelli had abandoned any tyre saving and picked up his pace. Meanwhile, Norris was still unable to find a way past an exceptionally wide RB22 of Verstappen.
Traffic, however, made things tricky for the championship leader. Verstappen now only a second behind the Italian with Norris right on the Dutchman’s heels.
Leclerc finally boxed on Lap 49, releasing Antonelli into clean air. The Monegasque filtering out of the pits in fourth and ahead of Russell.
Antonelli got a great run out of the final corner, on Lap 50, getting himself out of the one second barrier. Norris now trailed Verstappen by half-a-second, with the Red Bull now 1.5s behind the W17 of Antonelli.
By Lap 54, Antonelli had zoomed into the distance and now over three seconds clear of the charging duo of Verstappen and Norris.
Verstappen sturggled to navigate some stubborn traffic, cutting the track on the penultimate lap. But he held position ahead of the McLaren driver. With no way past, Norris settled for third.
At the chequered flag, Antonelli took his maiden Spanish GP win (and his seventh of the season) – not only extending his lead in the championship by 81 points but also equalling his team-mate for career F1 race wins.
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