POWER RANKINGS: Who impressed our judges at the Spanish Grand Prix?

Victory went to Kimi Antonelli at the Spanish Grand Prix after the timing of the Virtual Safety Car scuppered Lando Norris’ efforts. But who impressed our Power Rankings judges over the course of the weekend at the all-new Madring? Check out the latest scores and overall leaderboard below...

How it works

• Our five-judge panel assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation
• Our experts’ scores are then averaged out to produce a race score – with those scores then tallied up across the season on our overall Power Rankings Leaderboard (at the bottom of the page)

Norris appeared to do everything right last weekend, bouncing back from technical troubles during Friday practice to take a superb pole position and then surging into a comfortable lead in the early stages of the race. However, a Virtual Safety Car came out at just the wrong time (after he had passed the pit entry) and left him having to settle for P3. Our judges were nonetheless clear on who deserved to top the rankings.

Antonelli was the big beneficiary from Norris’ misfortune – pitting under the VSC himself and taking the lead when Norris stopped. The young Italian continued to impress, however, by comfortably leading the Mercedes charge and ultimately extending his championship lead over team mate George Russell to 81 points.

Max Verstappen gave little away about his and Red Bull’s hopes after a low-key Friday practice in Madrid, but both driver and team stepped forward in Qualifying to come away with a very solid third on the grid. That became second in the race due to Norris’ VSC drama, and a fifth podium finish in the last seven events. “The car is the car, and I think for us to be second is a very good result,” he summed up afterwards.

Franco Colapinto is enjoying a much stronger run at Alpine in 2026, with the Argentinian growing in confidence as he builds experience in the top echelon. The last two events have been particularly encouraging – back-to-back Q3 spots and points being achieved at Monza and in Madrid. After turning ninth on the grid into seventh at the chequered flag on Sunday, he described “probably my best race weekend” in the sport.

Arvid Lindblad looked rapid during Friday practice at Madring, before pushing too hard on a soft-tyre run in FP2 and slamming into the barriers. He rebuilt his confidence, though, to make it through to Q3 and bag more points – his ninth score in the last 10 weekends. Our judges continue to be impressed by the sport’s latest rookie driver.

Battling with Lindblad in the closing stages of Sunday’s race was Nico Hulkenberg, who just missed out on a spot in the final shootout in Qualifying, before edging himself into points contention during a long, hot race in the Spanish capital and coming away with 10th – the German’s third top-10 finish in four events.

While Antonelli and Verstappen pitted under the VSC, and Norris stopped just after it ended, Charles Leclerc extended his opening stint and waited it out for a potential Safety Car. That never came, leaving the Monegasque fourth at the finish, but feeling that there was not much more on the table for himself and Ferrari.

Leclerc was the sole Ferrari driver to make the flag at the Madring after Lewis Hamilton’s early retirement due to brake problems. Hamilton had looked quick in final practice, only to find the wall at the final corner, then led the first Q3 runs before winding up fourth. “I think we had the car to fight for a win today, and unfortunately it just didn’t work out,” he said in the media pen.

After a difficult mid-season run, Esteban Ocon enjoyed a stronger weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix. He was quick in Friday practice, placed 13th in Qualifying and ended the race just outside the points in 11th – while team mate Ollie Bearman got stuck at the back of the field following his heavy crash in FP3 and pit lane start.

Liam Lawson was given a third weekend in the Red Bull in Madrid as Isack Hadjar continues his recovery from a wrist injury. He lacked some confidence during Friday practice but qualified a respectable eighth (not a world away from Verstappen’s lap time) and went on to finish the race in sixth, for his best result at the senior team.

Missing out

Just missing out on a spot in this week’s Power Rankings list is Russell, who started the weekend by topping FP1 but lost confidence as the track conditions improved – meaning he had to settle for sixth in Qualifying and fifth in the Grand Prix.