Antonelli Wins Spanish Grand Prix as Norris' Pit Stop Goes Wrong

Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday at a brand-new circuit in Madrid called the Madring. He finished ahead of Max Verstappen in second and Lando Norris in third. It was Antonelli's second win in a row after his dramatic victory at Monza the week before. The result pushed his lead in the world championship from 66 points to 81 points over his Mercedes teammate George Russell.

Norris started from pole position and quickly built a lead of more than six seconds. But on Lap 14 of 57, Lance Stroll's car stopped on track, bringing out a virtual safety car, or VSC. A VSC slows all drivers down without stopping the race. Norris was too far from the pit lane to come in, so he missed his chance for a cheap stop while Antonelli, Verstappen, and Russell all took advantage.

When Norris finally pitted one lap later, the VSC had already ended. He suffered a slow seven-second stop and fell back to fifth place. That single moment cost him a race he had been controlling easily. He eventually recovered to finish third, but it was not the result he had hoped for when he took the lead at the start.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari tried a bold strategy by staying out on hard tires for more than 30 laps. The tires lasted much longer than expected in the hot 52-degree track conditions. Ferrari hoped a safety car would come out and help Leclerc, but the race stayed green all the way to the end. Leclerc pitted on Lap 49 and rejoined in fourth place, leaving Ferrari without a podium finish.

Lewis Hamilton had the most difficult race of all. He reported early on that his brakes were failing and that he could not safely speed up. He dropped from fourth to last within six laps and retired from the race on Lap 9. It was his first retirement of the season and a big setback to any championship hopes.