Kimi Antonelli clocked the fastest lap in second practice, a 1:33.662 that pushed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to second place and kept the race weekend’s opening competitive, under the hot and unforgiving conditions of the newly opened Madrid circuit.
Rambling around the newly‑wicked 5.4km track
The 2026 layout combines fast, flowing sections with concrete‑lined roads that leave little margin for error. Teams began the weekend cautiously, accepting slower times in intendence of tuning their cars before the hard‑braking sections, especially given the almost nonexistent runoff.
By the midway marker drivers shifted to the soft‑tyre compound, a move that pushed Pirelli’s rubber to its limits. The heavy lateral forces left the tires in a narrow thermal window, making perfect grip the most elusive part of the session.
Antonelli’s morning, Verstappen’s surprise surgical lap
Antonelli opened the session on medium tyres, recording 1:34.428 before Max Verstappen pushed ahead with a 1:33.926, setting the pace for the time‑testing Tuesday. A few minutes later, Antonelli reclaimed the lead with a 1:33.662 on the fastest compound, showing the fine balance between preserving tyre life and extracting speed.
Red Bull’s Arvid Lindblad would later cut a trim through Turn 13, spinning into the barrier and prompting a red‑flag that halted the field with 25 minutes remaining.
Incidents and technical woes that reshuffled the order
While Antonelli’s lap locked the top spot, the session was anything but quiet. A gearbox fault forced Lando Norris into the garage after only two laps, flashing the learning curve for McLaren’s championship contender. In the same breath, Yuki Tsunoda was eighth in the team‑mate’s car, showing a quiet recovery for the Haas‑drivers’ lineup.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton held third, with a second Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, completing the leading trio. But the race‑weekend narrative shifted with the red‑flag: no further improvements at the front, leaving Antonelli ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton.
Manufacturer snapshot: who re‑established their boots?
- Mercedes – Antonelli tops but Russell waits just a tenth behind.
- Red Bull – Verstappen at the back of the front row, Arvid Lindblad interrupting with a crash.
- Ferrari – Hamilton and Leclerc firmly in place, the Scuderia showing dependable pace.
- McLaren – Norris out of the grid, Piastri in seventh but delayed by the team’s gearbox update.
- Haas – Tsunoda climbs into the top ten, Ocon at the back of the field.
Meanwhile the reigning world‑champion, Carlos Sainz, was 16th and Fernando Alonso endured a delayed start after the Aston Martin clutch had to be taken out of action.
Looking ahead – Felipe’s Madrid challenge
The practice session revealed much about the new circuit: a crushing rubber marketing campaign for the Pirelli softs, and the need for teams to find that fine line between speed and sustainability. The complexities presented by the narrow and concrete sections will demand precision from both drivers and engineers on race day, but with Antonelli already setting the benchmark, the Spanish Grand Prix looks to be a battle of strategy, tyre management, and some especially hard‑braking corners.
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