Kimi Antonelli triumphs in the return of Formula 1 to Madrid

Aside from the Monumental, the longest curve on the calendar and watchword of the newly launched Madring, the other element of the route that has generated the most expectation at its debut has been the gigantic lane of the workshops, an endless corridor of 562 meters that had an enormous influence on the outcome of the race that marked the return of Formula 1 to Madrid, 45 years after the last time.

Once the first free practice on Friday was completed, the technicians were amazed by the tremendous level of tire degradation. “With that data in hand, we will propose a six-stop strategy,” joked Toto Wolff, the director of Mercedes. However, the sharpening of the cars as the weekend progressed was combined with another factor of decisive relevance, which led to a plan to minimize these visits to the garages: the almost 26 seconds that the cars were going to run conditioned by the speed limit as they passed through the workshops. A parameter that finally catapulted Kimi Antonelli to the top step of the podium, crowning him the first winner in the history of the circuit.

The young Italian does nothing but land on his feet, a circumstance supported by the leadership he comfortably holds, with more than 80 points ahead of George Russell (fifth); and this Sunday it was at the expense of McLaren and Lando Norris, slapped by bad luck, first, and by a sovereign mistake, immediately afterwards. It turns out that a breakdown in Lance Stroll's Aston Martin (lap 15), which left the green car in the protection, led to the activation of the virtual safety car protocol, a condition that forces the drivers to take their foot off the accelerator. Indirectly, this means that whoever decides to change tires at that precise moment gains about ten seconds compared to the same operation, carried out with the race launched. A push that Norris, who had just passed by, could not take advantage of, but Antonelli could, who entered the entrance with plenty of margin and who in that zigzag took half of the victory. This, despite rejoining the track behind Charles Leclerc, forced to make his stop, with nine laps remaining before the checkered flag, waved by Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of the MotoGP World Championship and director of the Jarama circuit in that 1981 Spanish Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen pitted behind Antonelli and secured second place on the podium, while Norris finally finished on the podium, logically sunk by the trigger. Fernando Alonso crossed the finish line penultimate, after getting into a fight with Carlos Sainz, forced to abandon due to a technical problem in his Williams (lap 48). "He crushed me against the wall. At the exit he crashed into two cars, and now he crushed me against the wall," the Asturian lamented on the radio.