Kimi Antonelli Dominates Madring Practice as Lindblad Crashes
Kimi Antonelli wasted no time stamping his authority on Formula 1’s newest playground, topping Friday practice at the Madring and underlining exactly why he leads the championship.
Fastest in the second session and narrowly beaten only by teammate George Russell in the first, the Mercedes teenager looked immediately at home on Madrid’s tight, twisting street-style layout wrapped around the IFEMA exhibition centre near Barajas airport.
His best lap – a 1:33.662 – set the benchmark. Charles Leclerc chased hard in the Ferrari, but fell 0.113 seconds short. Lewis Hamilton slotted in just behind, 0.149 off Antonelli, as Mercedes and Ferrari traded blows on a track that punished the slightest mistake.
The first big one came from Arvid Lindblad.
Lindblad crashes into Madring history
The Racing Bulls rookie became the first F1 driver to crash at the Madring, losing the rear and slamming sideways into the barriers at Turn 13. The impact brought out the red flags and ended his second session with 24 minutes still on the clock.
The 19-year-old immediately apologised over the radio, his promising afternoon cut short just as he was building momentum. The damage was obvious; the speed he had shown before it, even more so.
Despite the crash, Lindblad still ended the session fourth fastest, a reminder that his raw pace is already troubling some far more established names.
Behind him, Russell – Antonelli’s closest title rival – had to settle for fifth in the second session after setting the pace in the first with a 1:34.077. In that earlier run, Leclerc and Hamilton had been third and fourth, the leading group already circling each other around a circuit that drivers quickly labelled tricky and unforgiving.
Verstappen lurking, Lawson delivers again
Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, kept a relatively low profile. Sixth for Red Bull in the later session, he hovered just outside the sharp end without ever mounting a full assault on the timesheets.
Oscar Piastri took seventh for McLaren, with Racing Bulls stand-in Yuki Tsunoda eighth and Esteban Ocon ninth for Haas, all three banking solid laps as the track rubbered in and confidence grew.
Liam Lawson once again made the most of his opportunity. Standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar for a third consecutive race, the New Zealander delivered quiet consistency: 10th in both sessions for Red Bull, right in the mix and wasting none of his limited shop-window time.
Not everyone had that luxury. Lando Norris, McLaren’s reigning world champion, watched the second session from the garage as the team changed his gearbox, surrendering valuable mileage on a brand-new circuit.
Home heroes struggle for rhythm
For the Spanish crowd, the script never quite clicked.
Fernando Alonso brushed the wall in his Aston Martin and ended the two sessions 15th and 17th, wrestling a car that never looked entirely comfortable around the sweeping, banked turns and tight complexes.
Carlos Sainz fared little better in his home city. The Williams driver finished 17th and 16th, unable to drag the car into the midfield fight on a day when track evolution, traffic and timing all demanded precision.
Traffic, in particular, lit up the radio waves.
Several drivers complained about rivals dawdling on the racing line or blocking at key corners. Nico Hülkenberg snapped after Hamilton failed to yield at the final corner, spitting, “That’s just nasty,” as his lap unravelled.
Lindblad, already in the spotlight for his crash, added more spice by branding both Hamilton and Antonelli “stupid” after feeling obstructed at the Madring’s signature feature: the steep, sweeping Turn 12, known as ‘La Monumental’.
A fiery backdrop and a clear pecking order
Earlier in the day, Formula 2 had already provided a jolt of drama with a fiery crash that halted its practice session. When Formula 1 finally took to the track, the opening run passed without major incident, giving teams a clean first look at the circuit before Lindblad’s late off in FP2 broke the calm.
By the end of the day, one pattern stood out. On a brand-new track, with walls close and grip still building, Antonelli looked sharp, composed and ruthless. Mercedes held the early edge, Ferrari and Hamilton were within striking distance, Verstappen lurked just behind, and tempers were already fraying in traffic.
If this is only Friday, what happens when they start fighting for grid slots and silverware on a circuit that punishes every hesitation?
