Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, claiming his eighth victory of the season ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris after a Virtual Safety Car became the decisive moment of the race. Charles Leclerc finished fourth after another strong Ferrari performance, but the timing of the VSC also prevented the Monegasque from turning his race pace into a stronger result.
The first Formula 1 race on the Madrid circuit ultimately reinforced several of the concerns raised before the weekend. Although Madring provided a highly technical qualifying challenge, overtaking proved extremely difficult on Sunday, leaving track position and the timing of the Virtual Safety Car with an unusually large influence on the outcome.
Spanish GP analysis: a disappointing race at Madring
The Spanish Grand Prix was comfortably one of the most processional and disappointing races of the season. Madring does little to encourage overtaking and, in practical terms, passing became almost impossible unless a driver had close to a one-second-per-lap advantage over the car ahead.
Lando Norris entered Sunday as the favourite after securing pole position, but even starting at the front on a circuit where overtaking is so difficult does not automatically guarantee victory. The nature of the race also made it extremely difficult to draw firm conclusions about the teams’ true race performance because the drivers rarely had the opportunity to run freely and impose their natural pace. That limitation also makes conventional race pace and lap-time comparisons more difficult to interpret than at circuits where cars spend longer in clean air.
What did appear clear was McLaren’s underlying strength. Whenever Norris had open track, he was consistently able to demonstrate the performance available from the car. The Woking team’s chassis was superior to Mercedes in these conditions, and a circuit such as Madring emphasised those strengths.
Ferrari once again confirmed that the SF-26 is a very competitive car over a race distance. However, on a circuit where overtaking opportunities are so limited, failing to start from the front significantly compromises any realistic chance of victory. That was one of the central issues surrounding Ferrari’s potential at Madring heading into the weekend.
Charles Leclerc nevertheless completed an excellent weekend with fourth place. With the ADUO 2 power unit available, he probably could have fought for something more significant, but that possibility had already disappeared following his accident at the Italian Grand Prix.
Did race control handle the Madrid Virtual Safety Car correctly?
In a race short on major action, the decisive moment arrived on lap 14 when Lance Stroll retired and triggered a Virtual Safety Car. The Aston Martin driver went off at Turn 20 because of a brake system failure, the same reason Lewis Hamilton had returned to the pits a few laps earlier.
A yellow flag was shown in the sector while Norris was at Turn 14. Stroll’s car was positioned in the run-off area, but marshals needed to enter the circuit to move it, even though they remained well away from the racing line. Given those circumstances, either a Safety Car or a Virtual Safety Car appeared highly likely.
From the moment the yellow flag was displayed until Norris reached the final corner and chose not to enter the pits, 33 seconds elapsed. McLaren therefore had time to make a decision. Antonelli was only six seconds behind and did stop.
The fact that race control activated the VSC after Norris had passed the pit entry but before Antonelli arrived there was simply a coincidence of timing. The strategic mistake remained with the McLaren pit wall, which chose not to bring the British driver in despite the warning signs that an intervention was likely.
The episode also underlined how quickly an incident could affect strategy at a circuit where track position carried so much weight. Concerns over interruptions had already been part of the discussion before the Grand Prix, with Formula 1 drivers warning about potential red flags and incidents at the new Madrid circuit.
Ferrari and Leclerc lose an opportunity under the VSC
The Virtual Safety Car did not only influence the fight between Norris and Antonelli. It also limited what Charles Leclerc could achieve for Ferrari after the Monegasque had delivered a strong race.
The Scuderia’s car again showed competitive race characteristics, but Madring made it extremely difficult to exploit that performance without the necessary track position. Leclerc could not simply use his pace to attack the cars ahead, and the VSC further reduced his opportunity to turn that strength into a podium challenge.
Braking was another important theme of the race after the problems experienced by both Stroll and Hamilton. The demands placed on the cars at the new venue had already been examined before the weekend through the Madrid Grand Prix braking and energy-recovery characteristics, and Sunday’s race put the braking systems firmly back into focus.
Madring needs changes to improve the Spanish Grand Prix
Madring had attracted substantial criticism from the moment it was presented in 2025, including after a demonstration hot lap whose execution raised questions. The layout was designed with input from Carlos Sainz and offers an extremely demanding technical challenge over a single qualifying lap, but the characteristics that make it interesting on Saturday translated into a poor racing spectacle on Sunday.
There are only two straights longer than 500 metres, and neither ends in a section that provides a particularly effective overtaking opportunity. The two chicanes are also too narrow for a driver to attempt a move without significantly increasing the risk of contact, as demonstrated by the first-lap incident involving Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Following a disappointing inaugural race weekend, changes are already being considered for future editions. Madring is expected to remain on the Formula 1 calendar for at least a decade, making it important for organisers to address the weaknesses exposed by the first Grand Prix.
Drivers and fans continue to express reservations about street circuits, particularly when the layout does not naturally suit Formula 1 racing. Madrid demonstrated that a circuit can provide a demanding qualifying challenge while still struggling to produce opportunities for drivers to race each other on Sunday. If Madring is to establish itself as a successful long-term home for the Spanish Grand Prix, improving those overtaking possibilities will be one of its most important challenges.
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