Key events
The 57 laps are soon to start, a voyage into the unknown, with the preliminary races throwing up a few questions of what the track will dish out to the drivers.
Here comes Martin Brundle’s grid walk after a blast of flamenco. Max Verstappen says: “it’s warm, it will be tough on tyres.” Rafa Nadal is spotted, as Mrs Vinicius Junior strolls past. “The energy will be unforgettable, and the new circuit will be unexpected.” He’s cheering on Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso. “They’re going through hard times.” Vini Junior gets a quick word. “My English is so bad.” That must be why he is not at Arsenal. Thibaut Courtois is here, very tall, and cheering on Lando Norris and Max Verstappen as both have Belgian blood.
Brundle seeks Jude Bellingham, who is not always a man for the mixed zone. But he speaks. “Good start to the season,” says Jude. “I’m here with Mercedes, Kimi and George, I have to pretend I understand….I am used to the PlayStarion, these guys are whipping up something with 40 buttons.” Jude is in good form, and wishes Brundle well. It’s ram-packed out there. “Maybe the best lap he’s done,” says Zak Brown of Lando’s winning lap. There’s doubt that pole is the right side of the track. “I don’t know what to expect,” says George Russell. Brundle seeks Jose Mourinho but runs into Nico Hulkenberg on the way. And Ollie Bearman.
Here’s Jose. “Look, this is right next to where I work and I see the evolution of the track.I drove here…” He’s cut off by the Spanish national anthem…
Vinicius Junior, Bernardo Silva and Zinedine Zidane are all present, too.
Jose Mourinho and Rafa Nadal are in the garages, VIP access being enjoyed.
Carlos Sainz speaks: “I don’t think we will have a car to score points or to have an amazing race unless something big happens … but I’ll still enjoy every lap I do. I will give it my best and we will make it this the last year that I don’t have a competitive car in Madrid.”
Here’s Giles Richards’ report from qualifying.
On a circuit that has proved punishingly unforgiving with some major crashes, keeping it clean was vital, but for the top spot, absolute commitment and inch-perfect execution was the differentiator in threading the needle inside the looming walls of this high-speed challenge.
Drivers’ standings after Italian GP, won by Antonelli.
1 Kimi Antonelli 🇮🇹 Mercedes 267pts
2 George Russell 🇬🇧 Mercedes 201
3 Lewis Hamilton 🇬🇧 Ferrari 191
4 Lando Norris 🇬🇧 McLaren 171
5 Charles Leclerc 🇲🇨 Ferrari 155
6 Max Verstappen 🇳🇱 Red Bull 127
7 Oscar Piastri 🇦🇺 McLaren 116
8 Isack Hadjar 🇫🇷 Red Bull 71
9 Liam Lawson 🇳🇿 Racing Bulls 51
10 Pierre Gasly 🇫🇷 Alpine 41
11 Arvid Lindblad 🇬🇧 Racing Bulls 29
12 Franco Colapinto 🇦🇷 Alpine 21
13 Oliver Bearman 🇬🇧 Haas 18
14 Gabriel Bortoleto 🇧🇷 Audi 10
15 Nico Hülkenberg 🇩🇪 Audi 6
16 Carlos Sainz 🇪🇸 Williams 6
17 Alexander Albon 🇹🇭 Williams 5
18 Esteban Ocon 🇫🇷 Haas 3
19 Fernando Alonso 🇪🇸 Aston Martin 3
20 Yuki Tsunoda 🇯🇵 Racing Bulls 1
Yet to score:
Lance Stroll 🇨🇦 Aston Martin
Valtteri Bottas 🇫🇮 Cadillac
Sergio Pérez 🇲🇽 Cadillac
Spanish GB qualifying
1 Lando Norris 🇬🇧 McLaren 1:31.824
2 Kimi Antonelli 🇮🇹 Mercedes 1:31.835
3 Max Verstappen 🇳🇱 Red Bull 1:31.964
4 Lewis Hamilton 🇬🇧 Ferrari 1:32.013
5 Charles Leclerc 🇲🇨 Ferrari 1:32.019
6 George Russell 🇬🇧 Mercedes 1:32.149
7 Oscar Piastri 🇦🇺 McLaren 1:32.294
8 Liam Lawson 🇳🇿 Red Bull 1:32.316
9 Franco Colapinto 🇦🇷 Alpine 1:32.903
10 Arvid Lindblad 🇬🇧 Racing Bulls 1:33.041
Eliminated in Q2
11 Nico Hülkenberg 🇩🇪 Audi 1:33.223
12 Gabriel Bortoleto 🇧🇷 Audi 1:33.388
13 Esteban Ocon 🇫🇷 Haas 1:33.667
14 Pierre Gasly 🇫🇷 Alpine 1:33.753
15 Yuki Tsunoda 🇯🇵 Racing Bulls 1:34.084
16 Alexander Albon 🇹🇭 Williams 1:35.532
Eliminated in Q1
†17 Carlos Sainz 🇪🇸 Williams 1:35.312
18 Fernando Alonso 🇪🇸 Aston Martin 1:35.388
19 Sergio Pérez 🇲🇽 Cadillac 1:35.913
20 Valtteri Bottas 🇫🇮 Cadillac 1:38.011
No time
21 Lance Stroll 🇨🇦 Aston Martin
Pit lane Oliver Bearman 🇬🇧 Haas
†Three-place penalty for impeding Bottas
Preamble
It could barely have been closer in qualifying, with Lando Norris snatching pole by 0.011 seconds so what does Madring, the newest circuit in the championship, hold? A lot of unknowns to deal with.
To quote Giles Richards: “Billed as a street circuit, it is in fact a hybrid of roads and purpose-built track; narrow, with fast corners and walls looming for much of the lap, there is going to be virtually no margin for error.”
Kimi Antonelli, the drivers’ championship leader, is still at the front of the grid, so what does the race hold? We’ll start to find out at 2pm UK time.