F1 Spanish GP LIVE: Piastri laments ‘shocking’ quali lap; Norris on front row

Oscar Piastri’s increasingly underwhelming and unlucky 2026 season has taken another hit, finishing eighth after an early contact in the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.

In a race marred by botched pitstops and ill-timed safety cars, Kimi Antonelli came out on top piloting his Mercedes to victory to strengthen his championship lead.

Dutchman Max Verstappen finished in second, with pole sitter Lando Norris in third.

“It was a very difficult race - not straightforward at all, especially trying to manage tyres,” Antonelli said in a post-race interview.

“I think today it’s good to win but it doesn’t feel as good because I think Lando today deserved the win but overall, we [will] take it.”

It was an unfortunate day for McLaren, with Piastri suffering early contact on the opening lap and Lando Norris losing the lead of the race after missing the pitstop window during a virtual safety car.

Norris then weathered an agonisingly slow 7 second pitstop – a mixture of human error and a wheel gun problem. The reigning world champion still managed to salvage his race to secure a podium position.

Meanwhile Piastri– who started in seventh after a self-described “pretty shocking qualifying session” – had a solid start, but was hit twice by George Russell in the opening lap, before the first corner.

The Mercedes cut it in front of Piastri and the impact sent debris flying. It left Piastri with damage to his left front wing and marooned him back to 11th place.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown summarised the situation perfectly, noting the racing gods “were cruel today”.

Piastri still produced a commendable drive, showcasing stunning overtakes on Arvid Lindblad and had a great battle with Franco Colapinto.

Speaking after the race, Piastri said: “It was pretty, pretty painful from Lap 1. And not much I could’ve done from there.“

“The timing of the VSC (virtual safety car) was certainly not ideal for us, starting on the hard… It was just a difficult afternoon.”

This weekend marks the first time F1 has raced at the Madring – the first track to debut on the F1 calendar since Las Vegas was added in 2023