Kimi Antonelli wins Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, stretching his championship lead to 81 points over teammate George Russell with nine rounds left. Verstappen took second and Norris completed the podium after a Virtual Safety Car wrecked his afternoon from the lead. Here’s everything that happened, broken down so you don’t have to dig through a lap-by-lap essay to find it.
Race Result
Antonelli’s win stretches his championship lead to 81 points over Russell, with nine rounds still to go.
Strategy
By lap 10, Norris led Antonelli by five seconds, with Verstappen 11 seconds back and Leclerc 13 seconds further behind. Then the VSC for Stroll flipped the whole race.
- Norris had just passed the pit entry when the VSC came out, forcing him to complete an extra lap before he could stop.
- A slow tyre change compounded the delay and dropped him from the lead to fifth.
- He spent the rest of the afternoon clawing his way back to third.
- Leclerc chose to stay out on hards well past when the front runners pitted, betting on a late safety car that never arrived. He finally came in on lap 48 and fell to fourth.
- At the start, Verstappen cut Turn 2 to get past Hamilton’s Ferrari and held the position. Red Bull told him to hand it back rather than risk a penalty, and he let both Antonelli and Hamilton through again by lap four.
Issues
- Hamilton complained about brake issues from as early as lap four, lost pace on lap five, went off track on lap six, and retired on lap seven after being repeatedly told to pit. “I don’t know where that’s come from,” he said after the race, adding that Mercedes had deserved their year.
- Sainz made contact with Tsunoda early on, damaging his front wing and needing a long pit stop to fix it.
- Perez retired around lap 33.
- Stroll retired around lap 13 with a brake problem, triggering the Virtual Safety Car that decided the race.
Incidents And Contact
- Sainz later ran into the back of countryman Fernando Alonso and drove him into the wall.
- Piastri and Russell made contact twice during the race.
- Antonelli clipped the wall at the Turn 7 entry mid race. His team told him not to worry.
- Norris grazed the barrier at Turn 8 late on but emerged unscathed.
Lock-Ups And Track Limits
- Verstappen ran wide at the Turn 5 chicane on lap 56.
- Colapinto also left the track and gained an advantage elsewhere in the race.
- Antonelli picked up two separate track limits warnings.
Stewards
- Verstappen noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 5 late on. Norris complained over the radio straight after, but no further action was taken.
- Lindblad noted for a similar offense, cleared quickly with no further action.
- Colapinto noted, also cleared without penalty.
- Piastri noted for a yellow flag infringement, no penalty.
- Sainz handed a five-second penalty for driving Alonso into the wall, served during his first pit stop.
Verstappen later admitted his aggression nearly cost him everything, saying that if he’d stayed on track through the late battles he might have ended up out of the race entirely.
It was a chaotic first ever Spanish Grand Prix at Madring. Red flags in the junior categories had everyone bracing for a lot worse. In the end, the senior race held together better than expected. Next stop is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
