Kimi Antonelli extends championship lead with Spanish Grand Prix win

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli has claimed the first victory of the re-homed Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the first-ever race winner at the Madring in a less-than-dramatic race.

Feature image credit: Mercedes F1

Antonelli has taken the chequered flag of the Spanish Grand Prix, extending his championship lead in the process over his closest rival and teammate, George Russell by 81 points heading into Baku. 

The current points leader started the race at the Madring in second place, behind McLaren’s defending world champion, Lando Norris, who took pole by the narrowest of margins; 0.011s. 

It was a good start from the champion, keeping Antonelli behind in the opening corners. But the Mercedes driver fell behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after a couple of early excursions off track as the two battled. 

Tyre strategies for the Spanish Grand Prix

That was until the four-time world champion gave up track position to allow Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to pass by, having cut the first corner at the race start, dropping from second to fourth. However, Hamilton soon complained his brake pedal was going long, before confirming he lost the brakes. 

The seven-time world champion quickly limped back to the pits to retire from the race, ending his perfect streak of completing every racing lap this year. 

However, Hamilton was not the only driver with brake problems as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll off the circuit with brake problems, on lap 15, prompting the Virtual Safety Car. Antonelli managed to get into the pit lane whilst Norris missed out on the entry. 

By the time Norris circled back, the VSC ended just before he reached the pit entry meaning the defending world champion had to endure a green-flag stop. He dropped from the lead to fifth, in between Russell and Lawson, in fourth and sixth, respectively. 

Spanish Grand Prix: Starting grid with penalties and pit lane starts applied

After the pit stop sequence had completed, Leclerc found himself in the race lead, ahead of Antonelli. The Monegasque tried to leave it out for a last-minute safety car but this did not come, and he pitted on lap 48 under green-flag conditions, falling to fourth overall. 

This allowed Antonelli, Verstappen and Norris to complete the podium, of which the running order remained unchanged. 

A second consecutive victory for Antonelli now means he now has a three-race buffer on his journey towards his maiden world championship title. Meaning, if the calendar goes on, unchanged, he could clinch the drivers title at Sao Paulo, Brazil, in November. 

Read more Formula 1 here:

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.