Stewards have issued warnings to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli following investigations after qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday. Ferrari also received a reprimand for an incident involving Charles Leclerc. These decisions were announced ahead of Sunday’s race at the new Madring Circuit.
Russell was investigated for failing to follow race director instructions regarding rejoining the track from an escape road. The Mercedes driver left the track at Turn 5 to avoid an incoming car but rejoined without staying to the right of a bollard.
The stewards acknowledged Russell acted in good faith but determined he could have taken the prescribed route. He received a warning for this breach of regulations.
Kimi Antonelli, Russell’s Mercedes teammate, also received a warning. His investigation concerned driving unnecessarily slowly during qualifying, specifically failing to comply with delta time requirements in Q3.
Antonelli stated that energy management and minor technical issues made it difficult to maintain the delta. However, he admitted he could have done more to comply with the required time.
Charles Leclerc’s case resulted in a reprimand for his Ferrari team. Leclerc exceeded the required delta time after his final Q3 lap, but the stewards found the team exclusively at fault.
Ferrari admitted providing Leclerc with an incorrect delta time profile due to a miscalculation. Leclerc followed the incorrect delta displayed on his dashboard, inadvertently breaching regulations.
In contrast to the warnings, Carlos Sainz received a three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. The Williams driver was found to have unnecessarily impeded Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac during Q1.
The incident occurred at Turns 6 and 7, with the stewards noting that Williams failed to inform Sainz of Bottas approaching on a flying lap. Sainz will now start 20th on the grid.
Lance Stroll also faces a significant grid drop. The Aston Martin driver incurred a 40-place grid penalty due to multiple power unit component changes beyond his annual allocation.
Stroll’s AMR26 was fitted with a fifth internal combustion engine, fifth turbocharger, sixth energy store, fifth MGU-K, and seventh power unit ancillary component. This automatically places him at the back of the grid.
Lando Norris secured pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, clocking a 1:31.824s lap. Kimi Antonelli qualified second, just 0.011 seconds behind Norris.
Max Verstappen will start third, with Lewis Hamilton in fourth. Charles Leclerc and George Russell complete the third row in fifth and sixth positions, respectively.
Oscar Piastri qualified seventh, followed by Liam Lawson in eighth. Franco Colapinto secured ninth, and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten.
The inaugural Formula 1 race at the Madring Circuit has presented a new challenge. Drivers have described the 5.7 km semi-street circuit as demanding, featuring high-speed sections, tight chicanes, and abrasive tarmac.
Tyre degradation was higher than anticipated during practice sessions. George Russell previously called the Madring ‘mental’ and ‘arguably, the most risky circuit of the whole calendar.’
Max Verstappen noted that the angled braking zones at turns five, eight, and 17 could make overtaking particularly difficult during the race.
Earlier in the weekend, Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari during final practice, bringing out a red flag. He was able to reverse out of the barrier and return to the pits.
A multi-car crash also occurred in the Formula 3 race on Saturday, with Maciej Gładysz’s car becoming airborne. All drivers involved were reported to be unharmed.
