Formula One Races on a Circuit It Has Never Seen This Weekend and Antonelli Arrives in Front
The Spanish Grand Prix moves to a new Madrid track three days after Antonelli won at Monza from nineteenth on the grid.
Formula One is at the Madring in Madrid from 11 to 13 September for the Spanish Grand Prix. It is the championship's first visit to the circuit and the second Spanish race of the season after Barcelona.
It follows a Monza weekend on 6 September that was hard to predict. Kimi Antonelli started nineteenth after a grid penalty for power unit changes and won, which had not been done from that far back since Bill Vukovich at the 1954 Indianapolis 500. George Russell finished second and Max Verstappen third.
Pierre Gasly took pole with a 1:21.786, the first of his career and the first for the Enstone team under the Alpine name. He did not convert it.
Charles Leclerc crashed at Parabolica on the second lap after running over a drainage grill, which brought a red flag of about thirty minutes. Aston Martin retired both cars, Fernando Alonso on lap 25 and Lance Stroll on lap 28.
Antonelli goes to Madrid leading the drivers' championship, with Mercedes clear at the top of the constructors' table.
A new circuit means no useful historical form, no tyre data and a qualifying session that matters more than usual.