Lando Norris should have been the winner of the Spanish Grand Prix, according to Formula One title favourite Kimi Antonelli.

Mercedes' Antonelli took the win at Madring on Sunday, after polesitter Norris was scuppered by a virtual safety car.

Norris was leading Antonelli by more than six seconds after 13 laps, and had just passed the pit entry lane when a VSC was called because Lance Stroll had stopped at Turn 20.

Antonelli and Max Verstappen, however, were far enough behind Norris to go into the pits.

A stop under VSC costs 11 seconds less than one under normal racing conditions, and the VSC had been lifted when Norris was able to pit. He then lost a further five seconds because of issues with his tyres, meaning he lost 15 seconds to Antonelli and nine to Verstappen. 

Norris charged back, but he could only claim third place, with Antonelli winning ahead of Verstappen.

"It's good to win, but it doesn't feel as good because Lando deserved to win," said Antonelli, who has a tight grip on the championship lead. "But we take it.

"I want to keep pushing race by race, keep delivering and keep enjoying it all the way and try to do my best every race, and we will see where we end up at the end of the year."

KIMI ANTONELLI WINS THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX!

GRANDE, KIMI! ‍#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/mIYHjvz3HD

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 13, 2026

For his part, Norris feels the rules must be changed.

"I was just unlucky. I was the only one on the whole grid to not get a pit stop and lost 20 seconds," he told Sky Sports F1.

"This was out of their [the team's] control, my control. It's a rule that shouldn't define a race.

"A race should be won by the guy who can put in the best performance. Maybe you take a risk by running long in a stint, and maybe you get a safety car, and things can help because you know that's one of the big factors.

"But for everyone to get a VSC pit stop and for me to not, it's just unfair. But it's happened in the past. Others have won from it; I've probably won from it in the past.

"I just don't think many people have lost a race win over it. It's frustrating. I don't feel that's the way you should lose."

Antonelli added: "We have spoken about it in the past in drivers' briefings, saying they [race control] should leave it out for at least a lap, so it's equal for everyone.

"I was the only one that lost out, and I lost out on about 20 seconds of race time, and that's not how it should be."