The 20-year-old championship leader, Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, extending his championship lead over teammate George Russell by 81 points.
On Sunday, the Italian youngster secured his eighth Grand Prix victory of the season by outpacing polesitter and reigning world champion Lando Norris and four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
The reigning world champion took the pole on Saturday, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli alongside. Max Verstappen qualified in P3 while the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton secured P4 and P5. George Russell qualified in P6 and Oscar Piastri took P7. Lawson, Colapinto and Lindblad secured P8, P9 and P10.
The Starting Grid for the Spanish Grand Prix:
Drivers Teams
1. Lando Norris McLaren
2. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
3. Max Verstappen Red Bull
4. Charles Leclerc Ferrari
5. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
6. George Russell Mercedes
7. Oscar Piastri McLaren
8. Liam Lawson Red Bull
9. Franco Colapinto Alpine
10. Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls
11. Nico Hulkenberg Audi
12. Gabriel Bortoleto Audi
13. Esteban Ocon Haas
14. Pierre Gasly Alpine
15. Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls
16. Alex Albon Williams
17. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
18. Sergio Perez Cadillac
19. Valtteri Bottas Cadillac
20. Carlos Sainz Williams
21. Lance Stroll Aston Martin
22. Oliver Bearman Haas
Formula 1 round 14, the Spanish Grand Prix did not end the way everyone expected. The front row featured Norris and Antonelli. On the opening lap, the Briton was barely holding onto the lead as the Italian driver cut two corners trying to pass the polesitter. Antonelli went off track and created an opportunity for Verstappen to overtake him for P2. However, the four-time world champion was later forced to give the position back to Lewis Hamilton in P4 for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. The Dutchman dropped to P4 after letting both Antonelli and Hamilton through.
The swap didn’t last long. The seven-time world champion struggled with his brakes, forcing Ferrari to retire the car on lap 7. On lap 1, Oscar Piastri made contact with Russell, which cost him time and damaged his front wing, dropping the Aussie to P10.
On lap 10, Russell suggested an alternative plan over team radio to get past Charles Leclerc, who was ahead in P4. The Briton suggested, “If Leclerc isn’t going to pick up the pace, we’re going to have to consider an undercut onto the medium tyre. I think it will be robust.”
The two Spaniards made contact in front of their home crowd at Turn 5. Fernando Alonso fumed over the team radio, “He squeezed me into the wall man!” He added, “The start, he crashed into two people. Now he squeezed me into the wall on braking”. Later, the stewards handed the Williams driver a five-second penalty for the collision.
The reigning world champion maintained an approximate 5.5s gap to the 20-year-old until lap 15. Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll stopped his car at Turn 20 on lap 14 due to brake problems, triggering a Virtual Safety Car on the very next lap. Mercedes and Red Bull took advantage of the VSC to call their drivers in. The Silver Arrows brought in both cars while Red Bull pitted Verstappen but Liam Lawson stayed out. The Dutchman and the Italian youngster pitted for the hard tyres, whereas the 28-year-old Briton switched to medium tyres. McLaren kept the Aussie out on track with his damaged front wing and didn’t pit him during the VSC.
The race leader missed a free pit stop as he came into the pits after the VSC ended. The missed opportunity, with a 7s slow stop, dropped him down to P5 behind Russell, handing the race lead to Charles Leclerc, who stayed out during the VSC.
While closing the gap to the Monegasque, Antonelli reported over the team radio, “The steering wheel feels weird.” Mercedes couldn’t find any issue, but warned him about track limits and asked him to drive cleanly.
Norris pushed hard to recover his lost time and easily got past the British Mercedes driver on lap 29 when Mercedes called Russell in for a second stop for the hard compound. He came out in P6 right behind Lawson in P5.
Ferrari kept Leclerc out, hoping for a Safety Car or a red flag to secure a podium finish. Antonelli remained 2s adrift ahead of Verstappen and Norris. The Briton spent multiple laps trying to find a way past the four-time world champion, but failed.
On lap 35, Russell overtook Lawson and claimed P5.
Piastri pitted for mediums on lap 43, dropping from P7 to P11 behind Gasly, Bortoleto, Colapinto and Lindblad. On the very next lap, the Aussie passed Lindblad to secure P10. Bortoleto pitted on lap 48; as a result he dropped behind Haas driver Esteban Ocon in P13 allowing Arvid Lindblad to move into the points. On the same lap, Leclerc was called into the pits making the Italian youngster the new race leader ahead of Verstappen and Norris, while the 28-year-old Monegasque dropped to P4 ahead of Russell.
Antonelli took the chequered flag first to win the Spanish Grand Prix, maintaining a 4.2s lead over the Dutchman until the end of the race. The reigning World Champion had pace but couldn’t make a move on Verstappen and settled for the third place with Leclerc and Russell behind in P4 and P5 respectively. Lawson claimed sixth position, driving for Red Bull for the third consecutive weekend as a substitute for Isack Hadjar. Colapinto, Piastri, Lindblad and Hulkenberg finished in P7, P8, P9 and P10 respectively.
Ocon, Gasly and Bortoleto finished in front of Tsunoda who took the flag in P14. Meanwhile Albon, Bearman, Alonso and Bottas were the final drivers to reach the finish line, following the respective retirements of Hamilton, Stroll, Perez and Sainz.
Next Race
Round 15 of the F1 season will continue from September 24-26 with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
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