Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit to extend his title advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell to 81 points.
Wolrd champion Lando Norris was leading the race from pole position but he lost out during the virtual safety car period and finished third, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completing the podium in second place.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was one of four retirements, after a brake failure ended his grand prix early on. The seven-time world champion has now lost ground on title leader Antonelli, but stays third in the standings.
Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Madrid.
Kimi Antonelli – 9/10
Quick throughout the weekend and missed pole by just 0.011 seconds, before being in exactly the right place to benefit from the virtual safety car. A couple of trips off the circuit early on stops it being faultless, but another impressive victory from Mercedes’ championship leader.
Max Verstappen – 9/10
Another excellent weekend from Red Bull’s Verstappen. Qualified third, briefly fought for the lead on lap one and then did brilliantly to keep a faster Lando Norris behind him in the closing stages to secure second.
Lando Norris – 9.5/10
Probably deserved to win this one. Produced a sensational lap for pole, built a comfortable lead and looked in control until the virtual safety car fell at exactly the wrong moment before a slow pit stop compounded his misfortune.
Charles Leclerc – 7.5/10
Solid recovery after being narrowly beaten by team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. Ferrari rolled the dice by leaving him out and he led for a long time, but fourth was probably about the maximum once the hoped for safety car failed to arrive.
George Russell – 6.5/10
Started the weekend strongly but sixth in qualifying was disappointing compared with team-mate Antonelli on the front row. A tidy race brought fifth, but once again title-leading Antonelli had the upper hand.
Liam Lawson – 8/10
Another very strong showing for Red Bull, in Isack Hadjar’s continued absence. Reached Q3 and then led the midfield home in sixth, making good use of an opportunity that is becoming increasingly familiar, rather than simply being a one-off substitute appearance.
Franco Colapinto – 9/10
One of his best Formula 1 weekends. Put the Alpine into Q3 when team-mate Pierre Gasly could only manage 14th, and then produced a superbly controlled drive to seventh in the race, holding off Oscar Piastri in a much quicker McLaren late on.
Oscar Piastri – 5.5/10
A difficult weekend. Seven places behind team-mate Norris in qualifying was already disappointing before first-lap contact with Russell damaged his car, and eighth represented a poor return from a McLaren capable of winning the race.
Arvid Lindblad – 7.5/10
A very good recovery after crashing heavily on Friday and missing much of final practice while the car was repaired. Still made Q3 and converted that into ninth place and another points finish.
Nico Hulkenberg – 7/10
Just missed Q3 but made sure Audi came away with something on Sunday. Beat team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto in qualifying and the race and grabbed the final point with another typically solid weekend.
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