By: Dear Formula1.it friends, the Madrid GP has also come to an end: from the robbery of Lando Norris, via Charles Leclerc’s phantom lead, to Kimi Antonelli’s mad dash towards the world title. There is certainly plenty to discuss and our opinions can wait no longer: are you ready? Let’s begin!
A whinge from start to finish...
This time, we will not begin by passing judgement on the drivers, but on a track built from scratch which, rather than stirring excitement, increased the global sleepiness index. Madring simply does not come alive; if anything, it just makes you angry: a race with only four overtakes and a constant single-file procession of cars which, rather than racing, looked like they were waiting their turn at the deli counter.
...And the FIA had a hand in it too
We had a race leader beaten by the poor management of the stewards: Lando Norris (9) was the true winner of the GP but, because of a Virtual Safety Car deployed at their whim, every chance of victory disappeared, in a race in which he was also among the quickest of those at the front in terms of pace.
Staying at the front, Charles Leclerc produced a “phantom leader” race: for most of the time, he led the pack on hard tyres that proved far too durable, waiting for a twist which, clearly, never came. A major result did not materialise for a driver who, objectively, drove superbly throughout the race; a shame about qualifying, as victory might genuinely have been on the cards. Ferrari’s only bright spot, given the first DNF for Lewis Hamilton, who was forced to retire with a brake problem on his SF-26 (N.C.).
Clearly taking advantage was our Antonelli (8), now a hawk flying away towards his first world title: I have heard people say luck does not exist; well, perhaps some people have memory lapses. Luck exists in every aspect of life, including F1, and if the boy has it, good for him. We will conclude this paragraph with good old Verstappen (8), on the podium once again and at odds with Red Bull: over what happened at the start with Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman was more than right. Had he not given the position back, he probably would have won the race: his first win of the season has still not come, but a lion like him never gives up.
The midfield: what a performance from Colapinto!
While Russell has now become a drifter (6) and Lawson continues to bring valuable points to Red Bull (7), the real star outside the leading group was undoubtedly Franco Colapinto (8), who, after his tears following the Monza race, delivered a solid performance in Madrid, giving us some of the few overtakes recorded: Argentina celebrates its favourite, now at one with his Alpine. A poor showing from Gasly, who has gone from hero to zero in less than a week (5). Lindblad and Hulkenberg pass the test, now a genuine guarantee of points finishes (7.5).
Among the semi-failures and complete flops
The biggest disappointment was undoubtedly Oscar Piastri, a shadow of himself in this race (5): Norris is eclipsing him this season, during which the Australian, apart from Monza, has lacked the boldness and consistency that were so characteristic of him until 2025.
On to the back of the field, with an Ocon who came close to the points (5.5) and a crash-happy Bearman who could not fight back after failing to qualify following his FP3 accident (4). Perez, Bottas and Albon remain in their secure jobs (4), while Alonso (6) gets a solid pass for giving Carlos four of them, with Sainz (3) far too argumentative and not clean enough on track. Finally, a round of applause for Lance Stroll for “ruining” a race: Lance, next time at least park the car in the middle of the track! (2) [only joking, obviously].
One week and we are off to Baku, a circuit where, in my view, we will see Monza 2.0 again. Prediction delivered; now all that remains is to wait.
Speak soon, my friends.
Your Rompipaddock.
