Antonelli takes first Madring F1 win in strategic race after VSC timing fails Norris

Kimi Antonelli added to his race wins tally with a relatively straightforward victory at the new Madring in Madrid. The championship leader held off an early fight from Max Verstappen before falling back from polesitter Lando Norris, who was the victim of a poorly timed Virtual Safety Car in the early laps.

Antonelli challenged with Verstappen on lap one, giving up second spot twice after off track excursions had pushed him ahead of the Dutchman, allowing Norris to escape. Veratappen himself was forced to hand back positions to Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton and drop to fourth temporarily before a brake failure saw the British Ferrari driver retire early on.

The Virtual Safety Car was called when Lance Stroll also suffered a brake failure, just as Norris was passing the pit entry - the Brit forced to complete another lap at 40% speed while his rivals behind benefited from the VSC to pit and gain time through their stops, Ferrari’s Leclerc coming to the lead.

Leclerc led till the late stages of the race, keeping his starting tyres in a working window before ceding to Antonelli who would go on to take his eighth win of the season.

Further back, damage for Oscar Piastri early on hindered the Australian’s race as he finished eighth. Franco Colapinto scored more points for Alpine and Liam Lawson continued his good showings for Red Bull in what seems likely to be his last race standing in for Isack Hadjar.

Up next; Baku, Azerbaijan Grand Prix in two weeks.

📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited.