Verstappen tips Antonelli for F1 title after Madrid win: 'I'm definitely not on a comeback!'

Antonelli performed an impressive, controlled drive to take the win at the all-new Madring, host of the first Spanish GP in the capital city since 1981. Taking advantage of a slow stop from pole-sitter Lando Norris, Antonelli then pulled away comfortably from Verstappen and the McLaren driver in the late stages.

The 20-year-old, F1's youngest ever championship leader, now has an 81-point gap ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell, who finished P5 at the Madring. Meanwhile, the closest non-Mercedes challenger to Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton suffered a DNF on Lap 7 - and now sits 99 points behind the Italian in the standings.

Asked whether he had any advice for Antonelli when it comes to keeping his emotions in check, or whether he would avoid doing so in hope of a late comeback, Verstappen quipped: "I'm definitely not having a comeback!"

Clearly impressed by Antonelli, whose Madrid win is his eighth of the season, Verstappen continued: "Kimi just needs to do what he's doing. I mean, it's fantastic. So it's working really well. He should not stress about it too much, which I don't think he is.

Slightly more reluctant to give Antonelli advice was McLaren's Norris, who said the young Mercedes driver did not it over the "scarily good job" he's been doing in 2026.

Norris said: Max said it well. He's leading by 80 points because he's doing an incredible job. You know, he's beating a much more experienced teammate and a decent teammate. So I don't want to give him any advice because he's doing a scarily good job.