Lando Norris took pole by 0.011 seconds. He led the field into the first corner. He was still leading when the strategy call that decided the race was made. He finished third, behind a driver he had beaten in qualifying and a Red Bull he had covered from lights out.
The lap that broke his afternoon was lap 20. Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin lost its brakes and pulled off, triggering a virtual safety car. Norris had already crossed the pit entry line. Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen and George Russell had not, and Mercedes pitted its lead car within seconds. Norris was forced to stop the following lap under green flags, dropped time he was never going to get back, and rejoined behind Charles Leclerc in fifth.
By the time the race settled, Antonelli was leading a Grand Prix he had not led on merit. Verstappen inherited second, and Norris recovered to third without ever getting inside five seconds of the winner. Full results and running order are on Motorsport.com.
Norris blames the VSC rule for lost win
Norris spoke to Sky Sports F1 after the race.
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“I was just unlucky, I was the only one on the whole grid who doesn’t get a pitstop. So I lose 20 seconds on the whole grid, this is out of my control, it’s out of their control, it’s… It’s a rule that shouldn’t define a race.”
He offered two fixes: freeze the pit lane for a lap so everyone loses the same time, or leave the yellow out long enough that no one is trapped by where they happen to be on the road. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella backed a review without endorsing a specific fix, saying he was “puzzled myself as to what’s right” and pointing to Formula 1’s Strategy Advisory Committee as the forum.
Antonelli agreed.
“It’s good to win, but it doesn’t feel as good because I think Lando today deserved to win,” Antonelli said.
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The title race is over in all but name
Antonelli left Madrid on 292 points. Second is his Mercedes teammate George Russell, on 211. That is 81 points with nine races still to run, and Russell did the maths himself.
“Realistically, I’m not in the fight for the drivers’ [title]. That just allows me to focus race by race and try to get some good results.”
The season resumes at the Baku City Circuit, where the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been moved to Saturday 26 September to avoid a clash with Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day.
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