Kimi Antonelli took advantage of the virtual safety car on lap 15 to switch to hard compound tires and cruised to the end of the race to win the first Spanish Grand Prix held in Madrid in 45 years.
With Lewis Hamilton being forced to retire from the race with brake issues and George Russell finishing 5th, Antonelli widened his lead to 81 points in the drivers championship.
Finishing behind Antonelli at Madrid’s Circuito de Madring were Max Verstappen, who had his 2nd consecutive podium, and Lando Norris who started from pole position but dropped all the way to third after mismanaging the virtual safety car.
In other news, Liam Lawson continues to impress. After being demoted from Red Bull to VCARB after 2 races in 2025, Lawson, who is filling in for Isack Hadjar who suffered a broken wrist over the summer break, finished 6th and in the points for a 2nd time in 3 races.
Despite Hamilton’s woes, Ferrari was able to salvage the weekend with Charles Leclerc finishing 4th.
While Mercedes still leads both the drivers and constructor’s championship comfortably, McLaren upgrades have narrowed Ferrari’s 2nd place lead to 52 points. While Red Bull is still over a hundred points behind both Ferrari and McLaren, there is still time for them to challenge for both 2nd and 3rd place in the standings.
Drivers and teams now have 2 weeks to look at all the data and strategize before races resume in Baku at the Azerbaijan Grand prix.
