2026 F1 Round 14, Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid: Antonelli wins Madring debut for eighth victory as Norris loses out after a 7-second stop

Round 14 of the 2026 F1 season, the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, took place at the newly built Madring circuit on September 13. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli won by 4.351 seconds for his eighth victory of the season. Max Verstappen and polesitter Lando Norris finished second and third, separated by 0.738 seconds at the flag. Antonelli’s championship lead over team-mate George Russell grew to 81 points.

A contested start before Hamilton retires with brake trouble

Norris retained the lead at the start. Antonelli ran off the track during repeated attempts to attack, allowing Verstappen to seize second. Red Bull then instructed Verstappen to give a position back to Lewis Hamilton to avoid a possible penalty. In following the instruction, he also let Antonelli through and dropped to fourth.

Hamilton could not retain his place near the front. His braking problem quickly worsened, and Ferrari retired him early in the race; the classification credited him with 6 completed laps. Oscar Piastri made contact with Russell on the first lap, damaging his front wing and losing positions. Ahead, Norris gradually pulled clear, at one point leading Antonelli by around 4.5 seconds.

The virtual safety car and a slow tyre change reshape the lead battle

Lance Stroll stopped at Turn 20 with a braking problem, prompting a virtual safety car. Antonelli, Verstappen and Russell pitted while the field was required to slow. Norris missed that window and stopped only after normal racing had resumed.

Norris was stationary for 7 seconds during the tyre change. He emerged behind Charles Leclerc, who had yet to stop, as well as Antonelli, Verstappen and Russell, dropping to fifth. The change of lead involved both the VSC window and tyre-change execution; the 7 seconds was not the time required to travel through the entire pit lane.

Leclerc delays his stop as Norris pursues Verstappen

Leclerc did not change tyres under the VSC, continuing in the lead while waiting for an opportunity from a safety car or red flag. Antonelli followed him, with Verstappen and Norris also among the front runners. Russell subsequently made a second stop, promoting Norris by one position.

Leclerc finally stopped at the end of lap 48, handing the lead to Antonelli, and finished fourth. In the closing stages, Norris kept Verstappen under pressure. After Verstappen went off at Turn 5, Norris briefly drew alongside but could not complete the pass. Second and third remained unchanged to the finish.

The home drivers collide, with Sainz unable to finish

Carlos Sainz received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas in qualifying and started 20th. In the race, he collided with Fernando Alonso at Turn 5 and received a 5-second penalty. Sainz eventually retired, while Alonso finished 17th with a damaged front wing, two laps behind the leader. Haas driver Oliver Bearman started from the pit lane after changing his chassis and power-unit components and finished 16th.

Antonelli takes his eighth win as Lawson and Colapinto score

Once Leclerc pitted, Antonelli pulled away from the two cars behind and won Madring’s first F1 Grand Prix by 4.351 seconds. Russell finished fifth, giving Mercedes’ two drivers 25 and 10 points respectively.

Liam Lawson finished sixth in the Red Bull, while Franco Colapinto took seventh for Alpine. Piastri, Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg completed the top ten in eighth, ninth and tenth. Norris reached the podium from pole but could not reclaim second during his final pursuit.

Race results