Antonelli wins Spanish GP after Norris' unfortunate pit stop
· Yahoo Sports
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli claimed a fortunate win at the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday on the new circuit in Madrid.
In a messy start, Antonelli overtook pole-sitter Lando Norris twice, but went off track and had to return the position both times as the McLaren driver retained his lead.
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Antonelli, meanwhile, lost second place to Max Verstappen of Red Bull when returning the lead to Norris the second time.
Verstappen, however, was deemed to have gained advantage for short-cutting the chicane at the start to avoid contact with the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman was forced to give the position back to Hamilton but in doing so he was also overtaken by Antonelli, and dropped to fourth.
Once all of that was settled, Norris still led ahead of Antonelli and Hamilton, with the latter retiring on lap 7 due to brake issues. But the defending F1 champion saw his race take a turn for the worst on lap 15.
A virtual safety car (VSC) was called after Lance Stroll parked up his Aston Martin with a problem. Norris had already passed the pit entry, but Antonelli and Verstappen were able to pit under the VSC, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari stayed out and took on the lead.
Norris could only stop for new tyres at the end of the lap, when the VSC was already over. To make matters worse, it was a slow stop and he returned to the track in fifth.
Up front, Leclerc was on a one-stop strategy. Knowing that, both Antonelli and Verstappen just had to manage their tyres and avoid any potential accident.
Leclerc eventually pitted on lap 49, handing the lead and the win to Antonelli. Verstappen was second, while Norris recovered to at least finish on the podium in third.