MADRID, Spain — Championship leader Kimi Antonelli won the first Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new circuit on Sunday, his eighth victory of the season, after a virtual safety car wrecked Lando Norris’s control of the race.
The 20-year-old Mercedes driver finished 4.3 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Norris, who started from pole and led early, was third. Antonelli’s championship lead grew to 81 points. He has 292 points after 14 rounds. Team-mate George Russell, fifth on Sunday, is second on 211.
Norris was more than six seconds clear when Lance Stroll stopped on track on lap 14 and brought out a virtual safety car. Antonelli, Verstappen and Russell pitted under the VSC. Norris had already passed the pit entry and could not follow.
McLaren brought him in on lap 16 for hard tyres. The stop lasted seven seconds. He rejoined effectively fourth, with Charles Leclerc yet to stop. Over-taking was scarce thereafter and the race became a procession.
Antonelli had twice given the lead back to Norris on the opening lap after running wide. Lewis Hamilton later retired with a brake problem. Leclerc finished fourth.
“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,” Antonelli said.
Norris said: “There was nothing I could do… just luck not on our side. I felt like we deserved it today, but that’s racing sometimes. I feel like I drove a perfect race today, just luck wasn’t with me.”
Liam Lawson was sixth, Franco Colapinto seventh, Oscar Piastri eighth, Arvid Lindblad ninth and Nico Hülkenberg 10th.
