My Full Madrid Qualifying & Race Predictions

Formula 1 is heading to Madrid, and it's time to get back.This weekend is particularly exciting because we're heading into the unknown. With a new circuit to learn, there are plenty of questions about which teams will be quick, which drivers will adapt fastest and whether we're going to see any surprises. So, the headsets are on and the predictions are locked in. I'm predicting the entire grid for qualifying and the race  What Can We Expect From Madrid?

One of the biggest challenges this weekend is that teams don't have years of race data to work with. That means Friday practice is going to be incredibly important. Teams will be looking at tyre degradation, long-run pace, qualifying performance and different setup options as they try to understand the circuit and there's one section I'm particularly excited to see the cars tackle the huge banked corner should make for some brilliant shots throughout the weekend but once Friday is finished, it's time for the session that really matters…

My Madrid Qualifying Predictions

I'm expecting qualifying to be extremely close at the front. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari should all be involved, and you can never completely rule out Max Verstappen but I'm going bold with my pole prediction. Kimi Antonelli takes pole position in Madrid. Behind him, I'm predicting a brilliant qualifying session for McLaren, with George Russell taking P2 and putting a Papaya car on the front row. Lando Norris   completes the top three, while Oscar Piastri gets his McLaren into fifth. Here's my full predicted starting grid:

P1 — Kimi Antonelli
P2 — George Russell
P3 — Lando Norris 
P4 — Charles Leclerc
P5 — Oscar Piastri 
P6 — Lewis Hamilton
P7 — Max Verstappen
P8 — Pierre Gasly
P9 — Carlos Sainz 
P10 — Liam Lawson
P11 — Oliver Bearman
P12 — Arvid Lindblad
P13 — Fernando Alonso 
P14 — Alex Albon
P15 — Gabriel Bortoleto
P16 — Esteban Ocon
P17 — Franco Colapinto
P18 — Nico Hülkenberg
P19 — Sergio Perez
P20 — Valtteri Bottas
P21 — Yuki Tsunoda
P22 — Lance Stroll

Race Day 

Imagine the scene.The cars are lined up on the grid. Antonelli is sitting on pole.Russell is alongside him. Lando, Leclerc and Oscar are waiting behind. Five lights come on…LIGHTS OUT! I'm predicting Antonelli gets the better start and keeps the lead into the opening stages but I think George stays close. If McLaren can keep Lando within striking distance, suddenly strategy becomes incredibly important. Do you attempt the undercut? Go longer? Wait for a Safety Car? and what do you do with Oscar? This is exactly where having two cars near the front becomes useful.

Who Wins in Madrid?

After all that, though, I think Kimi Antonelli takes the victory. I'm expecting Lando to push him throughout the Grand Prix, but I'm giving Mercedes the slight advantage.

That gives me a podium of:

🥇 Kimi Antonelli
🥈 George Russell 
🥉 Lando Norris 

A Lando podium in Madrid?

I'll happily take that.

My Full Madrid Race Prediction

Here's how I think the entire field will finish:

P1 — Kimi Antonelli 
P2 — George Russell
P3 — Lando Norris 
P4 — Charles Leclerc
P5 — Oscar Piastri 
P6 — Lewis Hamilton
P7 — Max Verstappen
P8 — Carlos Sainz 
P9 — Pierre Gasly
P10 — Liam Lawson
P11 — Oliver Bearman
P12 — Fernando Alonso 
P13 — Arvid Lindblad
P14 — Alex Albon
P15 — Gabriel Bortoleto
P16 — Franco Colapinto
P17 — Esteban Ocon
P18 — Nico Hülkenberg
P19 — Sergio Perez
P20 — Valtteri Bottas

And I'm predicting two drivers won't see the chequered flag:

DNF — Yuki Tsunoda
DNF — Lance Stroll

But now I want to hear your predictions.

Who takes pole position in Madrid? Who wins the race and most importantly…Where are the Papaya boys finishing? Drop your pole sitter and podium predictions in the comments before qualifying, and after the Grand Prix we'll come back On the Pitwall and see who got closest. Until then, enjoy the Madrid Grand Prix! Papaya Pitwall — Lights out. More to talk about. 

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