“Change the stupid rules,” Lando Norris protested after being mugged in Madrid. Here is why the Formula 1 championship leader was left so frustrated.
Whenever a glimmer of a genuine world championship battle appears, Kimi Antonelli seems to find a way to close the curtains. The 20-year-old Italian produced another example in Madrid.
Antonelli won a race that, for much of the afternoon, appeared to be beyond his reach.
Norris was the obvious victim of the cruel timing. He finished third, one place behind Max Verstappen, despite controlling the Spanish Grand Prix at its striking new venue on the outskirts of the capital. Starting from a superb pole position, the Briton had built a lead of more than six seconds over Antonelli within 15 laps.
Norris’s McLaren has become seriously quick, and he looked on course for his third victory in four races. He was driving with greater confidence than Antonelli, who ran off the circuit at least twice but remained in second. Then a huge slice of luck swung the race in the Italian’s favour.
Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin crashed into the barriers, apparently after suffering overheated brakes, prompting the deployment of a virtual safety car. Norris had already passed the pit-lane entrance, but Antonelli had not and was called in. With the field slowed while Stroll’s car was removed, he was handed a highly advantageous pit stop.
Kimi Antonelli celebrates on the podium after winning a race that appeared to be out of his reach
A fortunate break helped the Italian strengthen his hold on the championship
Lando Norris had led the race before a badly timed tyre change altered the result
Norris had to wait until the following lap for his own tyre change, which proved decisive. To make matters worse, the stop took a painful 7.0 seconds. It was hardly ideal.
The world champion rejoined in fifth place, 13 seconds behind Antonelli. In an instant, the balance of the race had changed. Norris’s hopes were effectively gone, while Antonelli moved closer to becoming the youngest world champion in history.
“We didn’t do anything that made us lose it and I am not complaining,” Norris said, doing his best to remain composed. “We were just insanely unlucky. I was the only one of the whole grid who didn’t get a chance to do a pit stop.”
‘I felt like I deserved more.
Asked about the VSC variants, he said: ‘It is a stupid rule and the issue has been brought up many times over the years by different drivers. Perhaps you shouldn’t be able to pit for a lap or you block the pit entry. There are things that can be done or make it more simple and fairer, but it is part of a wider discussion.
‘It is something all drivers would want. It is complicated, but I hope it doesn’t happen to anyone again. It is not the way a race should be lost.’
Whatever happens to the rules, or doesn’t, Antonelli is rewriting some of Formula One’s accepted truths, as he is well on his way to eclipsing the then 23-year-old Sebastian Vettel, the most youthful of title-holders. And this is in only his second season.
The old verity that experience counts super highly and you must bide your time is being ripped up as never before.
Antonelli has won eight times this campaign, including at Monza a week ago in front of his home crowd. He was cheered and rhapsodised, though his success was in a way only compensation for the partisans after Ferrari performed disappointingly.
He has also gained from the affection and favours of his Mercedes team, from boss Toto Wolff down (my assertion, which they deny). Poor George Russell is hardly the chosen one there. But, it has to be admitted, that in all racing teams love is lavished on the faster of every given pair, and that character is the man-child called Kimi. Russell has won just twice in 2026.
Mercedes believe they have found their star, their future, and who can say they are wrong? Antonelli certainly looks unbeatable this season. The arithmetic supports the assertion. His lead over Russell, who finished fifth, is 81 points with nine rounds remaining.
As for Norris? He is 106 points adrift, which leaves him with an uphill task almost as steep as the North Ridge of Everest.
And Lewis Hamilton, who retired six laps in with brake problems, is barely better placed, 101 off the summit. Ferrari are too error-prone and Hamilton is not quite as good as he once was – though he is admittedly rejuvenated this season compared to last – and it will be tough for him to scale the eighth world title he wants to leave as his lifetime’s mark.
He clashed with Verstappen on the opening lap. Verstappen passed Hamilton and clawed his way into second place. ‘He has to give the place back,’ implored the Briton.
Verstappen countered: ‘He was out of control.’
Red Bull told Verstappen to yield. He has never rushed to pull out of an arm wrestle, and he gave his race engineer and pal Gianpiero Lambiase a blast of industrial language. ‘Mate, what the f*** are you guys going on about?’
After the tough talk, he yielded. But, in a boring race, pretty much devoid of overtaking, Verstappen did hand the place back. But Hamilton was soon plummeting down the field with his technical problems.
‘I hit the brake, the car started stopping and then the pedal took a step and, all of a sudden, the car didn’t decelerate as fast as it would normally,’ he explained.
Charles Leclerc got the other Ferrari home in fourth place, having led for a long period prior to his late stop. Antonelli resumed the lead, coming home 4.3sec ahead of runner-up Verstappen. Norris harried his pal to the line, just 0.7sec back, to clinch the final podium place.
The last words here centre on Antonelli. ‘Beautiful work, an absolute masterclass,’ eulogised Peter Bonnington, his race engineer.
‘Bono’, once the voice in Hamilton’s ear during his glory days at Mercedes, is chivvying his new student all the way to what now seems to be an inevitable title a few months out of his teens.
