Kimi Antonelli won Madrid’s inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring on Sunday, beating Max Verstappen by 4.351 seconds as Lando Norris finished third. A Virtual Safety Car reshaped the pit-stop order while Norris led, and Mercedes converted the timing into the decisive track position. Formula 1’s race report and official classification confirm the result.
The 57-lap race was the first Grand Prix held at the new 5.414-kilometre Madrid circuit, according to the event details. Norris had started from pole and led early, but Antonelli’s win became a story of timing and recovery rather than a straightforward pass for the lead. It was the Italian’s eighth Grand Prix victory of the season.
The Virtual Safety Car changed the order
Norris controlled the opening phase from pole while Antonelli stayed close. The first strategic break came when Lance Stroll stopped at Turn 20 and triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Mercedes brought Antonelli and Verstappen in during the reduced-speed period. Norris did not get into the pit lane before the VSC ended, so he continued on track while his rivals gained time on their stops.
Norris’s later stop compounded the lost track position. A slow tyre change kept the McLaren stationary for seven seconds, dropping him behind Antonelli and Verstappen. Charles Leclerc, who had stayed out under the VSC, temporarily led, but Ferrari called him in at the end of lap 48. That released the three drivers who would decide the podium and returned the lead to Antonelli.
Verstappen held second through the closing laps, with Norris close enough to apply pressure but not to complete a pass. The final gap from Antonelli to Verstappen was 4.351 seconds; Norris finished 0.738 seconds behind Verstappen. That leaves little ambiguity about the podium order while showing how the three front-runners reached it by different routes: Antonelli benefited from the VSC timing, Verstappen maintained position, and Norris recovered after losing time in the pits.
Antonelli extends his championship lead
The win extended Antonelli’s advantage in the Drivers’ Championship to 81 points, with team-mate George Russell finishing fifth. The official classification shows Leclerc fourth, Russell fifth and Liam Lawson sixth. For Mercedes, the result combined the victory with a second car in the top five; for McLaren, Norris salvaged a podium after a race in which the pole position did not translate into control of the final stint.
The result also adds a useful contrast to Bettista’s Dutch Grand Prix report, where a red flag and restart shaped the outcome. At Madrid, the decisive swing came from a short Virtual Safety Car window followed by a slow stop. Both races rewarded teams that reacted quickly to changing conditions, but only Antonelli’s Mercedes emerged with the win this time.
The Madring’s debut has now produced its first Grand Prix winner, and the calendar moves next to Azerbaijan from September 24 to 26. Antonelli leaves Madrid with the largest advantage in the championship so far, while Norris and Verstappen take podium points from a race in which the early leader never recovered the position he lost in the pit sequence.
