Kimi Antonelli won Formula 1’s first race at the Madring in 1:34:23.754, beating Max Verstappen by 4.351s and Lando Norris by 5.089s after a Virtual Safety Car flipped the afternoon. The Mercedes driver started from P2 behind Norris’s pole and Verstappen’s P3, then inherited the net lead when Norris was called in as the VSC ended and suffered a slow stop. It is Antonelli’s eighth victory of 2026 and stretches his championship lead to around 81 points over team-mate George Russell.

Norris had looked in control on mediums from the front row. Strategy — and Stroll’s brake-induced stoppage — decided otherwise. Antonelli was frank afterwards: good to win, but he thought Norris deserved it on the day.

Scruffy start — softs vs mediums

Norris and Antonelli lined up on mediums; Verstappen and Hamilton gambled on softs from the second row. Hamilton got the better launch but had no room into Turn 1. Chaos followed: Antonelli and Verstappen both cut Turn 2. Antonelli immediately handed the lead back to Norris; Verstappen kept the place over Hamilton, then argued that Hamilton had forced him wide.

Red Bull warned about a possible penalty. On lap 4 Verstappen let Antonelli and Hamilton through. Within seconds Hamilton was reporting brake trouble. He lost pace on lap 5, went off on lap 6, and retired — Ferrari’s first DNF of his 2026 season, brakes the cause.

Stroll’s brakes, VSC, Norris’ disaster

Lance Stroll stopped with a brake problem on lap 13, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Antonelli, Verstappen and Russell — Russell having started on hards — all pit under the VSC. Norris and Leclerc stayed out. As the VSC ended, Norris was called in anyway. The stop was slow; he emerged fifth, roughly 16 seconds behind Leclerc and 14 behind Antonelli, who had taken the strategic initiative.

That was the race. Norris had been comfortable early; the VSC timing and the slow service erased the lead he had earned from pole.

Leclerc holds, Antonelli chases, Russell double-stops

Antonelli caught Leclerc by lap 18 but briefly dropped back, radioing that the steering felt weird after a near-wall moment. By lap 25 he was still around three seconds behind the Ferrari. Mercedes found nothing amiss in the data but warned him about track limits.

Russell had switched hard→medium under the VSC, then double-stopped early back onto hards and took P5 from Lawson with an around-the-outside move on lap 35. Ferrari kept Leclerc out, hoping for a Safety Car. None came. On lap 48 Leclerc finally boxed for softs and a nine-lap dash, rejoining fourth in no man’s land between the top three and Russell.

Late three-way fight

Once Leclerc cleared the path, Antonelli, Verstappen and Norris ran nose-to-tail for the win. Nobody could land a clean move until the penultimate lap, when Verstappen cut Turn 5 after traffic. Norris drew alongside but could not make it stick. Antonelli pulled clear to +4.351 at the flag — first ever Madring winner, eighth win of the year, championship lead swollen to about 81 points after Russell’s P5.

“It was a very difficult race, not straightforward at all, especially trying to manage tyres. It’s good to win, but it doesn’t feel as good because I think Lando today deserved to win.”

— Kimi Antonelli, after Madrid victory

Points and the rest of the field

Liam Lawson finished sixth for Red Bull. Franco Colapinto scored P7 for Alpine after pitting under the VSC. Oscar Piastri was eighth with front-wing damage from contact with Russell at the start. Arvid Lindblad took P9 for Racing Bulls; Nico Hülkenberg P10 for Audi — both among those who also used the VSC stop.

Pierre Gasly ran a long hard stint hoping for a late SC, then had to pit under green and finished 12th after a five-second pit-lane speeding penalty. Esteban Ocon was 11th; Gabriel Bortoleto 13th; Yuki Tsunoda 14th; Alexander Albon 15th as Williams’ lone finisher; Oliver Bearman 16th after a pit-lane start.

Local fans had little to cheer. Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz clashed over P17; Alonso’s wing was damaged and Sainz took a five-second penalty before retiring on lap 43. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) retired on lap 31; Stroll’s brake failure ended his race on lap 12; Hamilton was out by lap 6/7. Alonso finished 17th (+2 laps), Valtteri Bottas 18th (+3 laps).