Antonelli wins Spanish GP on Sept 13 to lead by 81 points

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli won the first Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new Madring circuit on Sunday (September 13, 2026), extending his Formula One championship lead over team-mate George Russell to 81 points.

Antonelli’s eighth victory of the season came after the timing of a virtual safety car disrupted Lando Norris’s race. The 20-year-old Italian finished 4.351 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, while McLaren driver Norris took third, 5.089 seconds behind the winner.

McLaren’s Lando Norris lost the advantage of a lead exceeding six seconds when Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll stopped at Turn 20, prompting a virtual safety car during the Spanish Grand Prix.

Norris had already passed the Madring pit entrance when the virtual safety car was deployed. Antonelli and Verstappen changed tyres while the field was travelling at reduced speed, but normal racing had resumed by the time Norris made his stop.

A seven-second tyre change left Norris fifth when he rejoined. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained that keeping Norris out on worn medium tyres would also have left him behind rivals who had already stopped, leaving the team without a realistic way to preserve the lead.

Antonelli acknowledged Norris’s misfortune, saying: “It’s good to win, but it doesn’t feel as good because I think Lando today deserved to win.”