2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix results: Kimi Antonelli claims first Madring victory

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit in Madrid. Pole-sitter Lando Norris got off to a clean launch, but Kimi Antonelli made a bold wheel-to-wheel dive through the opening chicane. Kimi Antonelli ran wide across the tarmac off Turn 2, allowing Norris to re-assume the lead and quickly break out to a comfortable gap over Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen.

Starting second on the grid behind pole-sitter Lando Norris, the Mercedes driver took advantage of a crucial Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period triggered by Lance Stroll's stoppage. Capitalising on the pit-stop timing, Kimi Antonelli jumped ahead and managed the lead to claim victory.

Norris missed the opportunity to enter the pit lane before the VSC ended. McLaren called him in a lap later under full green-flag conditions — a tactical misstep that cost him time and surrendered track position. Starting 3rd, Max tussled with Lewis Hamilton into Turn 1, pushing Hamilton off track at Turn 2. Max emerged in P2 after passing Antonelli, but Hamilton complained on the radio. Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase ordered Max to give the spot back to avoid a potential penalty, leaving an angry Max to drop back to P4.

On Lap 7, Lewis Hamilton suffered brake failure and was forced to crawl his Ferrari back to the garage for a DNF. Charles Leclerc opted to stay out on older tires during the VSC, briefly taking the lead. However, degradation forced him into a late pit stop, dropping him out of podium contention down to 4th.

Carlos Sainz missed his home race at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prixas he was forced to retire his Williams FW48 on Lap 43 (out of 57) due to a technical failure. After receiving a 3-place grid penalty during qualifying for impeding Valtteri Bottas, Sainz had started from the back in P20.

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