Kimi Antonelli beats Max Verstappen to win on turgid Madrid F1 debut

Andrea Kimi Antonelli fended off Max Verstappen to further strengthen his grip on the 2026 Formula 1 title race in a turgid first race at Madrid. 

The championship leader claimed his eighth victory in 14 races this season to extend his points advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell to a huge 81 points with nine scheduled races remaining. 

Lando Norris completed the podium in third after tense battle with Verstappen, but the reigning world champion will be left to rue the timing of a virtual safety car, and a nightmare McLaren pit stop, for a win that got away. 

The Briton appeared to be in control of the early stages but the race turned on its head when an off for Lance Stroll caused a virtual safety car and McLaren missed the opportunity to pit its star driver from the lead. 

By the time the pole-sitter came into the pits, the track had returned to green flag conditions, handing his rivals who did stop a big advantage in terms of race time. A disastrously-slow stop rubbed more salt into the wounds for Norris, who fell down the order. 

Charles Leclerc led most of the race after running long on hard tyres with Ferrari gambling on a safety car that never came, before dropping back to fourth when he finally made his one and only stop in the closing stages. 

George Russell finished within a second of Leclerc but could not find a way past the Ferrari driver on another weekend the Briton lost further ground to Antonelli in the title battle. 

Liam Lawson came home a distant sixth in the second Red Bull, ahead of Alpine's Franco Colapinto and McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the last of the drivers to finish on the lead lap. 

19-year-old British rookie Arvid Lindblad resisted late pressure from Nico Hulkenberg to secure ninth place for Racing Bulls, with the Audi veteran completing the points scorers in 10th. 

Lewis Hamilton lost his record of being the only F1 driver to complete every racing lap in 2026 when a brake failure forced the seven-time world champion, who had ran as high as third, to retire on lap seven. 

Stroll and Sergio Perez were the only other retirements in a fairly uneventful debut for Madrid.

Lewis Hamilton lost his record of being the only F1 driver to complete every racing lap in 2026 when a brake failure forced the seven-time world champion, who had ran as high as third, to retire on lap seven. 

Stroll, Sergio Perez and home hero Carlos Sainz were the other retirements in what turned out to be a fairly uneventful debut for Madrid.