By: Yes, the race at the Madring has just come to an end: here is what happened.
The start: Norris strong, Hamilton disaster
When the lights went out, Norris managed to retain the lead, while Antonelli, battling Verstappen, was in turn pushed wide by Hamilton. The latter attempted to pass the drivers ahead of him on the inside, but without success. To avoid a penalty, Red Bull asked Verstappen to hand the position back to Hamilton and, with Antonelli also behind him, allowed both through.
However, the twist came shortly afterwards: Hamilton suffered brake pedal problems, dropping down the order before retiring on lap 7 of 57. Looking quickly at the tyre compounds, Norris, Antonelli and Russell were on mediums, Verstappen on softs and Leclerc on hards; Piastri had made the same choice, having dropped to 10th at the start.
Virtual Safety Car: brake issues for Stroll too
On lap 14 of 57, Lance Stroll also suffered problems with his braking system and was unable to return to the pits. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed: Antonelli and Verstappen were called into the pits, rejoining in third and fourth respectively. Norris made his stop just as the VSC ended, unable to take advantage of it and dropping to fifth. Leclerc therefore became the leader.
On lap 20 of 57, the top 10 was: LEC-ANT-VER-RUS-NOR-LAW-PIA-GAS-BOR-COL. There was a Spanish battle between Sainz and Alonso, with the latter suffering front-wing damage; the incident was investigated by the FIA, which handed a five-second penalty to car #55.
Closing laps: Leclerc shines, but the pit stop beckons
Russell pitted on lap 29 of 57, fitting hard tyres. He rejoined in sixth behind Lawson, before passing the New Zealander around lap 36. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc remained in front, showing solid and competitive pace: the Monegasque was forced to make his stop and pitted on lap 48 of 58, rejoining in fourth. Kimi Antonelli therefore took over the race lead, while behind him Verstappen and Norris were battling for second place.
The chequered flag left no room for doubt: Kimi Antonelli made it two in a row by winning the inaugural race in Madrid, extending his championship lead. Verstappen and Norris joined him on the podium. Leclerc was fourth, unquestionably the star of the race. A superb performance, too, from Franco Colapinto in seventh. Below is the full classification.
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Spain GP 2026
