F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2026: Predictions and betting preview

By Klimentijs Konevs | Published: 10 September, 2026, 08:25

Kimi Antonelli has done it again! The current drivers’ championship leader produced another incredible performance last weekend, coming from 19th on the grid to win his home Italian Grand Prix at Monza. It was already Antonelli’s seventh victory of the season and another major step towards his first world title.

Now, Formula 1 moves on to something completely new. The Spanish Grand Prix takes place on September 13 at the Madring circuit, making its debut on the F1 calendar this season. With no previous race data to rely on, there are plenty of unknowns heading into the weekend. As usual, we’ll break down the new circuit, look at the recent form of the teams and drivers, and give our Spanish Grand Prix predictions.

The Madring is a street circuit built around the IFEMA exhibition centre in Madrid. The track features 22 corners, including a massive banked corner that should become one of its most recognisable sections. With corners coming one after another and several tighter 90-degree turns, we will most likely see teams running medium to higher levels of downforce.

The Spanish Grand Prix will be raced over 57 laps, with two straight-line mode zones around the circuit. However, there aren’t really many parts of the track where teams could afford to sacrifice downforce for straight-line speed. Finding the right balance between stability through the corners and top speed will be the main challenge of the weekend.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen had a good race in Italy, but Red Bull struggled with the balance of the car throughout practice. The team made the right changes before Sunday’s race, and the Dutchman was able to recover and finish on the podium in third place.

However, Liam Lawson once again failed to score points for Red Bull. He finished only 14th at Monza and has struggled more in the Red Bull than he did at Racing Bulls. The Spanish Grand Prix will likely be his final race before Oscar Hajar returns to the team. Madring could also be a tricky circuit for the Red Bull cars, especially with the number of slower corners and the higher downforce requirements.

McLaren

It wasn’t McLaren’s strongest race of the season, but they were still able to finish ahead of Ferrari. Oscar Piastri struggled more than Lando Norris throughout the weekend, although he did manage to outqualify his teammate in Q3. Piastri then had a very solid race and spent most of the Grand Prix battling with Lewis Hamilton.

Norris eventually came through and finished ahead of both of them. Heading to Madrid, this should be a much stronger weekend for McLaren. The characteristics of the Madring should suit their car better than Monza, and Norris in particular could be one of the main contenders for victory.

Ferrari

It was a disastrous home race for Ferrari. The whole weekend was supposed to be a celebration of Michael Schumacher’s 30th anniversary since he first joined the team, but the Italian Grand Prix was anything but that. Ferrari looked quite strong in qualifying, but things quickly started to fall apart. We even saw Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton almost come to blows on track. They avoided an actual collision, but both drivers compromised each other at different stages of the weekend.

Ferrari’s strategy did not help either and ultimately hurt their chances of getting a better result at Monza. Heading to Madrid, it will be interesting to see how the relationship between the two teammates develops. Leclerc and Hamilton are becoming increasingly competitive with each other, and that could become another challenge for Ferrari as the season progresses.

Mercedes

It was a dominant display from Mercedes at Monza, especially from Kimi Antonelli. The Italian produced an incredible recovery after starting P19 because of a grid penalty, fighting his way through the field to win his home Grand Prix. At this point, George Russell must be wondering what he has to do to beat his teammate. Antonelli is in full control of the championship, and all he really needs to do now is keep the car on track.

Madrid could be a more interesting test for Mercedes. Madring has significantly more corners than Monza, which should put more pressure on the car and make finding the right setup much more difficult.

Qualifying and Pole Position

You just can’t go with anyone else but Kimi Antonelli for pole position. It might be a boring prediction at this point, but just look at what he did in Monza. Mercedes continue to look incredibly strong, and Antonelli is driving with huge confidence. If he can produce that kind of result after receiving penalties, he has to be our favourite to start the Spanish Grand Prix from pole.

Podium Prediction

1st place: Kimi Antonelli

We expect the championship leader to take another victory in Madrid.

2nd place: Lando Norris

Madring should suit McLaren much better than Monza. Norris has the pace to challenge Antonelli, but we expect him to settle for P2.

3rd place: George Russell

Russell should benefit from another strong Mercedes weekend, although beating Antonelli remains difficult.

Dark Horses

Racing Bulls are our pick to be the strongest midfield team in Madrid. Both drivers finished in the points at Monza, and we expect them to repeat that result at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Madring should give them another good opportunity to fight near the front of the midfield.

Audi should be their closest competition and could also be in the battle for points throughout the weekend. However, we expect Racing Bulls to have a slight advantage.

We post betting tips on various major sports daily in Telegram and X. Join us to stay up to date and never miss our predictions!