Author Archives: PressBox

Despite finishing sixth in the Spanish Grand Prix, his best result since returning to Red Bull, Liam Lawson remains under scrutiny. He had only been brought back after being dropped from the team following two races in 2025, when he had been filling in for the injured Isack Hadjar, and his latest performance has not removed the pressure.

Nico Rosberg said Lawson has done very well in his recent outings, but he still doubts the New Zealander has the Verstappen- or Sebastian Vettel-level ceiling Red Bull are seeking. Rosberg suggested Lawson could be weighed against other options such as Arvid Lindblad and Isack Hadjar as Red Bull shapes its 2027 plans, while Lawson waits to learn whether he will keep his seat for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in two weeks.

Kimi Antonelli won Formula 1’s first Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new Madring circuit, taking his eighth victory of the 2026 season and stretching his championship lead to 81 points over Mercedes teammate George Russell. The race was heavily shaped by a Virtual Safety Car and a slow McLaren pit stop, which cost pole-sitter Lando Norris a chance to win before he recovered to third. Max Verstappen finished second, while Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari and George Russell fifth.

Ferrari’s race centered on a hard-tyre gamble that Leclerc defended after the finish. Ferrari kept him out for a long opening stint and hoped for a late Safety Car, Virtual Safety Car or red flag that never came. Leclerc led for 32 of the 57 laps before pitting on lap 48 and dropping to fourth. He said he would make the same call again, while team principal Fred Vasseur said the strategy was worth trying and that Ferrari’s bigger problem was Saturday qualifying. Lewis Hamilton’s race ended early with a brake failure, his first DNF of the season, after briefly running ahead of Verstappen.

The Madring debut drew widespread criticism for producing very little overtaking. Drivers including Norris, Antonelli, Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, George Russell, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman and Alex Albon said parts of the 5.4-kilometer layout made passing too difficult, with Turn 5, the final sector and the pit lane all cited as problems. Organizers said they are open to changes for 2027, and managing director Luis Garcia Abad said the FIA had already given recommendations for revisions when the track is reinstalled.

At the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, Red Bull ordered Max Verstappen to give back the positions he gained in an opening-lap dispute with Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a call Verstappen blasted over the radio as “f***ing Mickey Mouse racing.” The incident started when Hamilton backed out of a move into Turn 1, Verstappen took evasive action into the run-off area and rejoined ahead of Hamilton, then passed Antonelli. Verstappen argued Hamilton had forced him off.

FIA stewards flagged Verstappen for potentially leaving the track and gaining an advantage, and Red Bull said he had not been entitled to keep the place on Hamilton. Giving the position back to Hamilton also let Antonelli through. Hamilton also said Verstappen had to give back the position before later retiring because of brake problems.

Team boss Laurent Mekies defended the decision, saying the pit wall quickly chose to accept the immediate loss rather than risk a stewards penalty that could have been five or 10 seconds, or more under a safety-car period or other race circumstances. He said Red Bull had little time to consult race control and that second place was the best result it could have expected. Verstappen later regained the place after Hamilton’s brake problem, finished second just over four seconds behind Antonelli and held off Lando Norris after a Virtual Safety Car affected Norris’s race.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring after a Virtual Safety Car and a slow McLaren pit stop cost Lando Norris a race he had led from pole. Norris controlled the early stages, but the race changed on lap 15 when Lance Stroll stopped after hitting the barrier, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car.

McLaren could not pit Norris immediately because he had already passed the pit entry, and the delayed stop dropped him into traffic. Norris also had to yield positions after cutting an opening-lap corner, and he eventually recovered to finish third behind Max Verstappen, who took second. Antonelli moved into the lead in the closing stages and held on for the win.

Lewis Hamilton’s Spanish Grand Prix ended in retirement after a brake failure on his Ferrari left him unable to continue, cutting short a race in which he had started fourth and briefly fought for third with Max Verstappen. Hamilton reported over team radio that the brake pedal was going long and then told Ferrari, “I’ve got no brakes, guys” and later, “I can’t brake,” as the problem worsened and he struggled to keep the car out of the barriers. Ferrari told him to return to the pit lane rather than stop on track, and he eventually pitted to retire after falling to the back of the field, with reports saying he had dropped as low as 21st.

The brake issue came after a strong launch from the grid and a brief spell running third, before Verstappen and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc moved ahead. Hamilton’s retirement came on lap seven, ending his record of completing every racing lap in the 2026 season. It also left him scoreless and further behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who was 76 points ahead entering the race.

The result likely ended Hamilton’s realistic chance of catching Antonelli in the title race and also set him to lose third place in the standings to Lando Norris. The weekend had already been difficult for Hamilton after a final-practice crash, when he locked up at the last corner and hit the barriers. The retirement came soon after Hamilton had ended a long winless run with his first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari in Barcelona.

Lance Stroll was hit with a grid penalty for the Spanish Grand Prix after Aston Martin fitted multiple new power-unit components beyond his season allocation, which sent him to the back of the grid in Madrid. FIA reports said the changes included a fifth internal combustion engine, a fifth turbocharger, a seventh power unit ancillary component, a new energy store and a new MGU-K. Formula 1 rules convert penalties of 15 places or more into a back-of-grid start, and Stroll started last on Sunday.

Reports varied on the exact penalty breakdown. One Technical Delegate’s Report said Stroll had exceeded the season limits for the internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-K, energy store and PU-ANC, with first-time breaches carrying 10-place penalties and later breaches five-place drops. Other FIA-related reports said the combined penalties totaled 40 places.

The component changes came after Stroll reported a battery-side problem near the end of Friday’s second practice session, though it was not confirmed that the changes were linked to that issue. Stroll completed FP3 on Saturday without obvious problems, but he did not set a qualifying lap after his AMR26 was hit by a suspected water pressure issue. FIA stewards still declared him eligible to race, and Stroll said the problem cost him running time and that Aston Martin needed more horsepower.

Formula 1 drivers left Madrid’s new Madring circuit with safety, overtaking and tyre wear at the center of their criticism as the track prepared to host its first Spanish Grand Prix in 45 years. Max Verstappen called the venue a “car killer” and compared it to Jeddah, saying it had little margin for error, while George Russell described it as one of the most risky circuits on the calendar because of high-speed corners, close walls and heavy braking zones. Carlos Sainz pushed back on warnings from Williams team principal James Vowles after a Formula 3 test produced 19 red flags, three broken chassis and six suspension failures, saying the circuit was “extremely complicated and spectacular” and that the label fit Formula 3 cars for now.

The biggest concern for several drivers was overtaking. Verstappen said the layout and braking zones made passing nearly impossible and argued current drivers should have more input on future circuit designs. Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris also said overtaking looked very difficult, with Norris calling for some corners to be tweaked and for a shorter pit lane. Drivers pointed to the turn five chicane as the best chance to pass, though Verstappen said it would still be easy to defend.

Tyre degradation also loomed over Sunday’s 2 p.m. race, with Russell saying the event could become either a procession or a chaotic contest depending on wear. Antonelli warned that pushing too early could create major tyre damage, and Russell said Friday practice showed heavy wear and graining on long runs. Russell and Antonelli said the long La Monumental banked section was punishing tyres and making it hard to pass cars of similar pace. Verstappen, who qualified third behind pole-sitter Lando Norris and Antonelli, said the long pit lane split by an exhibition hall was not logical and that high degradation and battery-management issues in F1’s 2026-style cars could lead teams to limit pit stops.