Sold-out crowd of 353,00 spectators

Kimi Antonelli has made history by becoming the first driver to win a Formula 1 race at the new MADRING, the home of the FORMULA 1 TAG HEUER GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 2026. Antonelli took the chequered flag over four seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with McLaren’s Lando Norris coming home in third.

The victory was Antonelli’s eighth of the year, and he extends his lead at the head of the Drivers’ World Championship. The 20-year-old Italian celebrated his success on the MADRING podium and was presented with the winner’s trophy — with a design based on the showpiece La Monumental corner — by His Majesty King Felipe VI.

Antonelli started on the front row of the grid but ran wide at the first corner, along with Verstappen, and slipped to third behind the Dutchman and pole-sitter Norris.

Behind them, Lewis Hamilton had made a strong start in his Ferrari, and was soon on the team radio to suggest that the drivers ahead of him who had cut the corner should give the positions back.

Verstappen was instructed by his team to relinquish the position to Hamilton, which also meant conceding a place to Antonelli. He did so on lap 4, promoting the Italian to second, while Hamilton was now third.

But sadly, the British driver wasn’t there for long as he quickly developed a brake issue. As the problem worsened, he unfortunately had to retire on lap six.

Norris built out a decent lead ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen and looked comfortable out front. After his excellent pole position yesterday, Norris looked the class of the field, but he was unlucky when the race was neutralised after another car ran into problems.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was also nursing a brake problem and he stopped at the side of the track at Turn 20 on lap 14. That triggered a Virtual Safety Car which slowed the field down. Unfortunately, Norris had already passed the pit lane entry when the VSC was deployed, but his rivals behind took advantage to pit while the field was travelling at reduced pace.

This was the decisive moment of the race. Antonelli and Verstappen pitted and emerged ahead of Norris when he eventually came in one lap later. His time spent stationary in his pit stop was compounded with a slow front-right wheel change. Antonelli was generous to acknowledge his good fortune when he spoke after the race.

“It was a very difficult race, not straightforward at all trying to manage the tyres, today and it was good to win, but I think Lando deserved the victory. But we’ll take it and we will continue to keep pushing.”

When asked about the sell-out crowd and the new MADRING layout, Antonelli added: “It’s been an incredible weekend and thank you to the fans for giving us such great energy, we’re looking forward to being back here again next year.”

Another driver who didn’t pit during the VSC was Charles Leclerc, who assumed the lead of the race on lap 15. The Ferrari driver held on to P1 hoping his strategy might pay off, but he was forced to eventually change tyres on lap 49. He completed the final eight laps of the race in fourth, just ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes.

Spain’s Fernando Alonso finished his home race in P17, and was forced to change his front wing after making contact with his compatriot Carlos Sainz. The Madrid-born driver had made a strong start to move up a couple of positions and was defending from Alonso in the early stages. The pair made contact under braking for Turn 5, and Sainz was handed a five-second time penalty. He was eventually instructed to retire his car on lap 46.

Throughout the field, the fans were treated to some exciting battles, with the spectacular La Monumental one of the standout features of the MADRING lap.

Stars on show at MADRING

In addition to a sell-out crowd of 353,00 spectators, the race was attended by a host of VIPs and celebrities. They included His Majesty King Felipe VI, national and local political figures, and stars from the world of sport. Among the visitors to the grid were Real Madrid football players such as Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Thibaut Courtois and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as well as manager José Mourinho and tennis star Rafa Nadal. MotoGP CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta had the honour of waving the chequered flag at the end of the race.

“What we have experienced this weekend at MADRING is a fantastic achievement for Madrid and for IFEMA MADRID. Bringing Formula 1 back to the Spanish capital after 45 years has required a huge collective effort,” said José Vicente de los Mozos, Chairman of IFEMA MADRID’s Executive Committee.

He added: “This weekend has demonstrated Madrid is an international sporting and business destination and we look forward to working with Formula 1 in the future to make the FORMULA 1 TAG HEUER GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA a lasting success.”

Luis García Abad, General Manager MADRING, said: “Congratulations to Kimi Antonelli on being the first FORMULA 1 TAG HEUER GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA winner at MADRING. We are very proud of what we have achieved together with IFEMA MADRID, Formula 1, FIA, the teams, and all our partners and everyone who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes.

“We were also delighted to welcome a sold-out crowd to MADRING, as the response from the fans has been incredible. Their passion and enthusiasm have created an atmosphere that we will remember for a long time.”

Champion crowned in tense F3 finale

Spain’s Campos Racing was celebrating another title this morning as their driver Ugo Ugochukwu clinched the FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship in a tense season finale at the MADRING. The Valencia-based team took the Teams’ Championship last night and secured the double when Ugochukwu crossed the line in second place to seal the Drivers’ title.

He became the first American to win the Formula 3 crown and celebrated with Adrián Campos Jr, and his crew, after the chequered flag. It has been a momentous weekend for the Spanish F3 squad on home soil, and after the race, Ugochukwu praised his entire team.

“It feels really good and the work we put in the whole season has finally paid off,” said the 19-year-old. “I have to thank my team Campos for how well we worked together throughout the year, winning both championships is super special and it has been a perfect season.”

Ferrari Academy driver Tuukka Taponen won the 19-lap Feature Race from pole position, elevating him from sixth to third in the standings. They were joined on the podium by Brazilian Pedro Clerot in third.

Ugochukwu knew he just had to finish ahead of his nearest title rival Freddie Slater to be guaranteed the title. But with Slater only managing to finish P8, it meant the 2026 championship went the way of the American.

Exciting Formula 2 action

It was a masterful performance from Dino Beganovic who led every lap of the FIA Formula 2 Feature race at the MADRING on Sunday morning. Starting from pole position the DAMS driver was in complete control at the head of the field, winning by over seven seconds from Alpine Academy racer Alex Dunne. After his Sprint race victory yesterday, Hitech’s Ritomo Miyata claimed his second podium of the F2 weekend with third place.

Round 11 of the F2 season was an exciting encounter as pit stops played a key role in determining the race strategy. One of the first drivers to take advantage of an early compulsory pit stop was Spain’s Mari Boya. He stopped on lap seven, just as the Safety Car was withdrawn following an incident involving Kush Maini.

When championship rivals Nikola Tsolov and Rafael Camara made their pit stops a few laps later, Boya was able to undercut both drivers as they emerged from the pits.

Unfortunately, Camara picked up a 10-second time penalty for making contact with Oliver Goethe at Turn 2 on lap 18. That resulted in a second Safety Car period. With the race neutralised, the leaders took the opportunity to pit, and comfortably emerged with their advantage intact.

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