Kimi Antonelli won the inaugural Formula One race at Madrid’s new Madring circuit on September 13 after a virtual safety car period on lap 15 allowed the Mercedes driver to gain a decisive advantage over pole-sitter Lando Norris. The 20-year-old Italian started second and held off Max Verstappen to claim his eighth victory of the season by 4.3 seconds, according to Reuters. Norris recovered from the pit stop misfortune to finish third for McLaren while the race marked Formula 1’s return to the Spanish capital after 45 years.
AP News reported that Antonelli now holds 292 points in the drivers’ championship, 81 ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell who finished fifth. This result follows Antonelli’s win at the Italian Grand Prix the previous weekend and leaves him well positioned with nine races remaining. BBC Sport figures show the Italian has secured eight wins from the first 14 grands prix of 2026.
The virtual safety car was deployed following an incident involving Lance Stroll, catching Norris out after he had just passed the pit entrance and forcing him to complete an additional lap before pitting. Norris emerged from a slow stop in fifth place on the tight Madring layout where overtaking proved extremely difficult, The Guardian noted. He eventually passed several cars to claim the final podium spot but could not challenge the leaders.
Lewis Hamilton retired early with brake failure on lap six, further diminishing his title hopes as he sits 101 points behind Antonelli, according to multiple reports including from The Athletic. Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari while Liam Lawson placed sixth for Red Bull and Franco Colapinto took seventh for Alpine. ESPN data indicated high track temperatures of 53 degrees Celsius at the start added to the strategic challenges on the 22-turn street circuit.
Antonelli acknowledged the element of fortune in his post-race comments. “I think today it’s good to win but it doesn’t feel as good because I think Lando today deserved the win but overall, we take it,” he said. Norris expressed frustration over the lost opportunity. “There was nothing I could do. Congrats to Kimi and Max, they drove a good race today,” he told broadcasters. “Just luck not on our side. Rough race, one that just got away from us. I thought we deserved it today.”
The Madring, built around the Institución Ferial de Madrid convention centre, produced a processional race after the opening laps with only four on-track passes throughout the 57-lap distance, BBC Sport reported. GPBlog published the full classification showing Oscar Piastri in eighth for McLaren and Nico Hulkenberg scoring the final point in 10th for Audi. The event highlighted concerns over the circuit’s design and limited overtaking potential that many observers had predicted in advance.
