Madring and Madrid already know their first winner. It is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the ‘kid’ of 20 years who has the paddock captivated and who in the debut of the Spanish circuit took another bite out of the Formula 1 World Championship. The Italian started second but took advantage of a strategy error by McLaren with Lando Norris to finish winning the Spanish GP ahead of Verstappen and the Briton. Carlos Sainz Jr retired after a troubled start and was later penalized for a touch with Alonso. The Asturian finished 17th, with nothing to fight for.
It was an intense race at the start and more about endurance than bravery in the moves. The start and the first and only Virtual Safety Car on lap 15 decided the Grand Prix. Norris, who had taken pole, withstood the pressure from Antonelli and Verstappen in the first corners and managed to pull away several seconds to easily lead the race.
Behind, Sainz went wide at the start, locked his tires, and collided with Tsunoda while Alonso, who had admitted some problems with his clutch, struggled at the start and lost three positions. The Spaniards, who had not had good feelings throughout the weekend, also saw that the start offered them no chance.
The first controversy happened between Verstappen and Hamilton. Race Direction forced the Dutchman to give the position back to the Englishman after battling through several corners and cutting one of the chicanes, but on track he eventually passed him easily due to Hamilton’s obvious difficulties, who ended up retiring due to brake problems.
The fight stabilized for a few laps, but on lap 12 came the battle between Sainz and Alonso which resulted in a penalty for the Williams driver and a mandatory pit stop for the Asturian. The Aston Martin driver tried to overtake his compatriot on the way to turn 5 and Sainz closed the door before they touched. “He pushed me into the wall,” Alonso complained over the radio.
A couple of minutes later, the important moment of the race: Lance Stroll, without brakes, left his car in one of the run-off areas near the barriers and caused a Virtual Safety Car that condemned Norris. It was announced just after the Briton crossed the finish line, Antonelli and Verstappen were able to pit and Norris took an extra lap to do so, and he came in just as the VSC was ending, with the consequent loss of time.
The Englishman, favorite to win, fell behind Antonelli and Verstappen in a situation that was almost impossible to overturn. Leclerc, who had not stopped, took the lead of the race, but his battle was with Russell for fourth place.
Antonelli played with the gap to Leclerc without pushing, knowing that the Monegasque had to stop at some point, and managed his Mercedes to control the advantage over Verstappen and Norris.
Behind, Alonso, who had started on hards, switched to softs to navigate through the middle of the race, always far from his rivals in a disappointing 17th position. He could not do much more. Sainz, at the back of the grid, retired before the end to complete the Spanish disaster in the Madring debut.
The race conclusion remained. Between lap 15 and the final fight for points and the podium around lap 46, 30 laps passed with hardly any battles. Lots of maintenance and management work, little real racing.
Colapinto ended up winning the battle against Piastri for seventh place and Lindblad did the same against Hulkenberg in the fight for ninth and tenth.
And up front, the expected stop from Leclerc. The Ferrari driver pitted on lap 48 and left Antonelli, Verstappen, and Norris just a second and a half apart. A sprint battle over nine laps in which the Italian showed the reasons that make him the top favorite for the title. At 20 years old, he did not falter, extended the gap to Verstappen to four seconds, and also took advantage of Norris’s attempts to claim second place. There was tension, but no overtaking.
The Italian scored 25 points that make him an even bigger leader of the World Championship. He has 292 compared to Russell’s 211, who finished fifth, and Hamilton’s 191, who retired. Seven perfect days for Antonelli, who had just won in Monza and who, with nine races to go in the World Championship, has taken a giant step this week.
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