F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2026 recap: Antonelli makes it back-to-back wins

Kimi Antonelli made the most of McLaren’s strategic goof-ups as he followed up his iconic win in Italy with a triumph at the 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix, which was held at the new Madrid street circuit.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second ahead of pole-sitter Lando Norris, who was left disappointed and with a consolatory third-place finish despite a strong start. A late call to pit under the Virtual Safety Car and a slow stop undid all the hard work done by the reigning world champion on Saturday.

The race also saw four retirements, including Lewis Hamilton, who had to exit early due to a brake issue. 

Lando Norris got the grid going as the lights went off, but he had to keep his elbows out against a charging Kimi Antonelli, who did take the lead momentarily but went wide and had to concede the place back to Norris.

While he was trying to regain his lead, Antonelli saw Verstappen shoot past him to move into second place. Verstappen himself had a moment with Lewis Hamilton at the start and almost went off at Turn 2 to avoid contact with the Brit. The Dutchman did end up getting past Hamilton, who himself had an incredible start but was unable to brake in time at Turn 1 and almost came together with Verstappen.

Within a couple of laps, Norris was almost two seconds clear of Verstappen, who on Lap 4 was asked by Red Bull to give back his place to Hamilton. Given Hamilton was two places behind Verstappen, the lead Red Bull driver had to give up two places to Antonelli and Hamilton and fell to fourth place. As Antonelli moved back to second place, Hamilton slotted in at P3 complaining on the radio about his brakes.

On Lap 5, Verstappen sped past Hamilton to take third place going into Turn 5, this time cleanly. Hamilton continued to struggle with his SF-26, and as his teammate Charles Leclerc got past him without any trouble, the 41-year-old went off into the run-off area at Turn 20 on Lap 6. Hamilton did continue as his brakes failed, but he was dropping down the grid and was asked to come into the pits. With his brakes not functioning, Hamilton had to end his race.

Meanwhile, back on track Norris led from Antonelli with a gap of almost four-and-a-half seconds, with Verstappen a further four seconds behind. While Verstappen had a rough start, his teammate for the race, Liam Lawson, was making up places and went on the inside of Franco Colapinto at Turn 5 on Lap 10 to move up to sixth.

On Lap 15, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed as Lance Stroll also complained of a brake issue and stopped on track. A couple of drivers then came in for quick stops, including Antonelli, Verstappen, and George Russell.

Norris came in just as the Virtual Safety Car ended. But missing the pit entry when the VSC was deployed turned out to be a disaster for the race leader, and a slow stop from the McLaren crew further saw Leclerc, Antonelli, Verstappen, and Russell go past Norris on track, with Leclerc taking the lead of the race.

Norris rejoined in fifth place, more than six seconds behind Russell. Antonelli was charging at Leclerc and was under a second behind the race leader, though the Monégasque, unlike the other drivers in the top four, was yet to pit. In a couple of laps’ time, Leclerc began to pull away from Antonelli, and by Lap 23 he was more than three seconds clear of the young Italian.

As the race entered its 30th lap, Leclerc continued leading from Antonelli with Verstappen in third. Norris, who was catching Russell, moved into fourth place as Mercedes called in Russell for his second stop. Russell rejoined in sixth place behind Lawson, who was yet to pit, and got the Kiwi for P5 on Lap 35 as the latter went wide at Turn 5 and heading into the Turn 6 chicane, allowing Russell to pull off a comfortable overtake.

Norris was less than two seconds behind Verstappen by Lap 40, while Leclerc, who had not yet pitted, continued to lead, with Antonelli two-and-a-half seconds behind him with 17 laps left.

By Lap 44, Norris was all over the back of Verstappen, inside DRS range, while at the top Antonelli was within a second of Leclerc, beginning to put his foot down.

Red Bull called in Lawson for his stop on Lap 45, and he rejoined in seventh place, ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto. Back on track, Verstappen was doing his best to keep Norris at bay while also coming within two seconds of Antonelli.

Verstappen continued to press Antonelli as the race entered its final ten laps, with Norris also keeping Verstappen in check in what was turning out to be a three-way fight for the lead of the race. The top four were separated by less than three seconds when Leclerc finally pitted on Lap 49, which saw Antonelli take the lead. Antonelli was immediately away in clear air, leaving Verstappen and Norris behind, while Leclerc rejoined in fourth place, crucially just ahead of Russell.

Antonelli was two and a half seconds clear of Verstappen with five laps to go, while Verstappen had Norris in his DRS range but managed to hold on to P2, but Norris wasn’t giving up either. Verstappen finally got some breathing space on Lap 54, just as Norris went wide at the chicane.

While Norris and Verstappen were battling it out for second place in a tight battle, Russell was catching up on Leclerc and was a second behind the Ferrari man.

Verstappen almost lost his place on Lap 56 as he cut Turn 5, but he managed to get back ahead and hold on to second place. He ended up just about holding on to the spot as Antonelli ended up winning the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix by mere seconds to pick up his eighth race win of the season. Verstappen finished second ahead of pole-sitter Norris, while Leclerc also held on to P4, with Russell finishing 0.7s behind him. Lawson, Colapinto, Oscar Piastri, Arvid Lindblad, and Nico Hülkenberg rounded out the points places, in that order, to conclude the first-ever race at the new Madrid street circuit. 

Antonelli’s latest win sees him go 81 points clear in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

While Mercedes continue to build their lead in the Constructors’ Championship, Hamilton’s retirement and McLaren’s double points finish mean they’re now 52 points behind the Scuderia Ferrari in the battle for second place.

The grid now moves to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which will take place in two weeks’ time.