Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-12 · by Tales Azzoni The Associated Press
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes maintained his top position at the inaugural Madrid Grand Prix practice session, setting the fastest time ahead of qualifying. Lewis Hamilton crashed during the session, leading to a red flag, while other incidents included Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz narrowly avoiding collisions. The track's layout offers few overtaking opportunities, making Saturday’s qualifying crucial for Sunday’s race in this newly added circuit on the F1 calendar.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Madrid on Saturday, Kimi Antonelli maintained his position as the fastest driver at the new Madring track during final practice sessions for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix. He set a time of 1 minute, 32.797 seconds, positioning himself to challenge in Sunday’s race. Fellow Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton crashed during the session, causing one of two red flags; the other was due to Haas' Oliver Bearman crashing. Despite several incidents, Antonelli, who recently won an Italian Grand Prix comeback victory, remained ahead of rivals like Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and George Russell. With few overtaking opportunities on this urban circuit, qualifying Saturday is likely crucial for Sunday's race in Madrid after a 40-year absence from Formula One racing in Spain.
Written for “Formula One Spanish GP” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 8197 · logged 2026-09-12
MADRID (AP) — Kimi Antonelli stayed on top at the new Madring track on Saturday, setting the fastest time in practice and establishing himself as the driver to beat ahead of the decisive qualifying session for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.
asserted
Antonelli → stay → Madrid
The final practice session was marked by two red flags following crashes by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Haas’ Oliver Bearman.
asserted
session → mark → Hamilton
Qualifying later Saturday was likely to be crucial ahead of Sunday’s race, as the hybrid urban circuit debuting in F1 ‘s return to the Spanish capital area after more than four decades yielded few overtaking opportunities.
asserted
circuit → debut → opportunities
Antonelli, coming off an epic comeback win in front of his home fans in the Italian GP, set a time of 1 minute, 32.797 seconds in his Mercedes.
asserted
Antonelli → come → Mercedes
The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ended third and fourth, respectively.
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McLarens → end → Piastri
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came next, ahead of Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell, who had been fastest in the first practice session.
asserted
who → come → session
The 20-year-old Antonelli, who leads Russell by 66 points in the drivers’ standings, was quickest in the second session.
asserted
who → lead → session
There were a few other incidents in the final practice session, with Alexander Albon brushing the wall and his Williams teammate Carlos Sainz just barely avoiding hitting the barrier after not being able to turn on a corner.
asserted
Sainz → be → corner
Hamilton’s crash prompts red flag
Hamilton went straight on the final corner after locking up and crashed less than half-an-hour into the one-hour practice session, forcing the first red flag and a long delay as workers tried to restore the safety barriers.
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workers → prompt → barriers
Hamilton, who has been at odds with Ferrari recently, initially questioned the team’s request for him to stop the damaged car instead of returning to the garage after he reversed back into the track.
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he → question → track
His front wing was broken and got tangled underneath the right-front tire.
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wing → break → tire
“Cars’ going ...
asserted
Cars → go → ?
I can make it back,” Hamilton said in one of the radio exchanges apparently trying to convince the team that he could return to the pitlane with the damaged car.
uncertain
he → make → car
He eventually parked in a safe area by the track and lost the rest of the session.
asserted
He → park → session
The practice ended in another red flag because of a hard crash by Bearman, who apparently lost control after clipping the wall.
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who → end → wall
The 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Madring track, the newest circuit to join the F1 calendar since Las Vegas debuted in 2023, has been giving drivers little margin for error.
asserted
Vegas → join → error
The Spanish GP is returning to the Madrid region for the first time in 45 years.
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GP → return → years
It took place at the Jarama circuit in the capital’s outskirts in 1981.
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It → take → 1981
The Jerez de la Frontera track in southern Spain hosted races from 1986-90, and in 1994 and 1997.
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track → host → 1994
Barcelona has been hosting races in Spain the past few years.
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Barcelona → host → Spain
Madring signed a contract with F1 through 2035.
asserted
Madring → sign → 2035
