Kimi Antonelli may have added another trophy to his rapidly expanding 2026 collection on Sunday, but the Mercedes youngster was hardly dancing on the top step of the podium after a Spanish Grand Prix that he believed should have belonged to Lando Norris.
The Italian emerged victorious from the inaugural F1 race at the Madring, fending off Max Verstappen and recovering from his own brief scare with a troublesome steering sensation.
Yet the decisive moment had little to do with outright pace. It was the Virtual Safety Car.
Norris had started from pole and looked every inch the driver to beat in the opening stint. Antonelli could not find a way past despite two attempts that saw him cut corners, eventually settling into second as the McLaren steadily stretched its advantage.
Then Lance Stroll's brake failure brought out the VSC.
Antonelli dived into the pits and was able to change tyres at a heavily discounted time cost. Norris, having already passed the pit entry when the neutralisation began, had no such luxury. By the time McLaren called him in, the VSC had disappeared – and so had his commanding lead.
The reigning champion tumbled to fifth before fighting his way back onto the podium. Antonelli, meanwhile, was suddenly in prime position to inherit a race that had looked destined to remain in Norris' hands.
A victory with an asterisk
Antonelli didn’t hold back when explaining how much work had gone into securing the result, particularly as the race developed into a prolonged exercise in tyre management.
“It was a very difficult race, not straightforward at all, especially trying to manage tyres,” he said.
“It’s good to win, but it doesn’t feel as good because I think Lando today deserved to win.
“But overall, you know, we’ll take it. Other than that, it was a very strong race. I think especially on the hard [tyres] at the end we had really good pace, and now we’re going to keep pushing.”
That final stint was crucial. Antonelli had to keep Verstappen behind while Norris closed the gap, turning what had initially looked like a comfortable Mercedes result into a tense three-way fight for victory.
Yet despite the pressure, there was no decisive attack at the front. The Madring's challenging layout offered little room for a straightforward pass, allowing Antonelli to keep the Red Bull and McLaren at arm's length and collect another huge haul of points.
The win also stretched his championship advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell to 81 points with nine rounds remaining.
Antonelli still refusing to look at the crown
The numbers are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Eight victories from 14 races have propelled the 20-year-old into a position from which he can realistically begin contemplating a championship coronation – and potentially a place in history as Formula 1's youngest-ever world champion.
Antonelli, however, is determined not to let the arithmetic invade his cockpit.
Asked whether he could now allow himself to think about the title, his response was emphatic.
“That’s exactly what I don’t want to do,” he fired back.
“I want to keep pushing race by race, you know, keep delivering and keep enjoying all the way, and then trying to do my best every race, and then we’ll see where we end up at the end of the year.”
For now, the points keep piling up, the victories keep coming and Mercedes' young star keeps insisting he isn't looking at the destination.
After Madrid, though, Antonelli can at least afford to admit something else: sometimes winning doesn't mean you were the fastest man on the track.
Read also:
Spanish GP: Antonelli wins in Madrid – as VSC penalizes Norris
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