There were some good and bad surprises at the 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix, but we all know what the biggest disappointment was.
First of all, Lando Norris wasn't a bust at the Spanish GP.
The McLaren driver and reigning World Champion did everything he could to climb to the top step. That stonking qualifying lap on Saturday was one for the books, but a poorly timed Virtual Safety Car (which we'll discuss more later) ruined his race.
With that cleared out of the way, let's dive into our list of happy surprises and underwhelming busts at the Circuito de Madring.
The happy surprises
Antonelli's championship composure
Sure, the VSC helped his chances drastically, but Kimi Antonelli showed everyone that he's beyond his years as a racing driver. He benefited a lot from Norris's bad luck under VSC conditions on Lap 16, sliding into P2 behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who opted not to pit.
But despite the temptation of taking advantage of Leclerc's old hard tyres, Antonelli waited patiently and didn't force an overtake. He knew that the Ferrari driver would pit at some point in the race. Antonelli eventually grabbed the lead when Leclerc pitted on Lap 49, and it was smooth sailing for the Italian driver from that point on.
The two Red Bull drivers
In the last six races, Max Verstappen has finished on the podium four times, including this P2 finish at Madrid. He took the Driver of the Day honors, proving once again that he can wring the best performance out of his car.
Moreover, his teammate Liam Lawson also brought home some good points, crossing the line in sixth place. With the injured Isack Hadjar potentially returning in the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lawson once again proved that he can turn in great results from the main Red Bull seat.
Colapinto continues fine form
Fresh off a P9 finish at Monza, Alpine driver Franco Colapinto crossed the finish line in seventh place, scoring six important points for his team. With teammate Pierre Gasly failing to score this time, Colapinto's strong results allowed Alpine to score more points than the Racing Bulls, their main rivals in the midfield.
The underwhelming busts
Sainz's hometown heartbreak
Madrid native Carlos Sainz Jr had himself a disappointing weekend. First, he wasn't able to advance to Q2 on Saturday, when his Williams teammate Alex Albon managed to. Then, in that same session, he incurred a three-place grid penalty for impeding Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas.
Then, he was handed another five-second penalty during the race for making contact with fellow Spaniard and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso. As if that's not enough, Sainz eventually had to retire his car due to mechanical failure.
The VSC rules
As a continuation of the Lando Norris-VSC situation, there should be some changes applied to these conditions. Norris lost his position because he was already past the pit entry when the VSC was triggered. He had to go through another lap, but the VSC was already gone when he circled back to the pit entry.
Norris had to pit under normal conditions, failing to take advantage of the reduced pit time under VSC. The reigning World Champion voiced out his concerns about these rules, hoping that the VSC period would last long enough for every driver to have the opportunity to pit.
The Madring circuit itself
Was there a no-overtaking rule applied yesterday?
There's none, of course. It seemed as if drivers were extra cautious of trying an overtake, and we couldn't blame them. The track is just too narrow, and there's not a lot of areas where you can overtake and not be extra worried of making contact with the wall or another driver.
Drivers are already calling for changes in the circuit in 2027, so that's something to look forward to.
