The inaugural Madring grand prix was ok, with interesting aspects like the long banked turn 12 and high-speed sections between walls. It felt like work in progress, given lost time in the build due to bad weather. The pitlane and paddock were vast, but the track layout was not conducive to overtaking.

The only way to overtake was a risky lunge or waiting for mistakes. It's not as hard as Monaco, but not far off. The long pit lane took 25 seconds under green flag, but under safety car, there was a 12-second advantage, deciding the winner.

With little circuit knowledge, all three tyre compounds were on the grid. Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli started on mediums, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton on softs, and Charles Leclerc and George Russell on hards. Norris covered Antonelli, who bypassed chicanes and had to give back the lead. Verstappen used softs to take second. He also ran through a chicane, gaining an unfair advantage, much to his chagrin.