Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli won the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring circuit, extending his championship lead over Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. The new venue near Madrid's Barajas airport faced severe criticism for poor overtaking opportunities. Drivers and analysts highlighted fundamental design flaws: no long straight into a heavy braking zone, corners requiring combined braking and turning, and walls encroaching on corner exits. The ultra-long pit lane — the longest on the calendar — discourages multi-stop strategies. Lando Norris called the layout "Mint" sarcastically, suggesting removing Turns 18-19 to create a straight into a wide hairpin like Austin's Turn 1, plus revising the Turn 5 chicane. The fragmented paddock layout across the Ifema exhibition centre also drew criticism.

Norris lost the lead after passing the pit entry moments before a virtual safety car (VSC) deployment, freezing gaps rather than bunching the field like a physical safety car. Critics argue the VSC acts as a random "chance card," with calls for a minimum one-lap duration to reduce arbitrary race-altering effects.