F1 Spanish GP: Follow the race in Madrid with live timing

Russell is told to 'box' at the end of lap 28.

Piastri has kissed the wall at Turn 7 but continues. He still has a chunk hanging off the left side of his front wing, but the pitwall tells him the time he's losing through damage is less than the time he'll lose in the pits if they change the nose.

Gasly and Bortleto in P8 and P9 also yet to stop. Behind them is a gaggle of cars that pulled the pin during the VSC – Colapinto, Lindblad, Hulkenberg, all running together on track.

Behind the top five there's a 15.8s gap to Lawson, who has yet to stop and has 8.7s in hand over Piastri - also yet to visit the pits.

So, currently, Leclerc still lapping at a decent pace on those hards he started the race on. Antonelli has been told he now has a total of two track-limits pings.

Verstappen now 6.4s off Antonelli, 3.1s ahead of Russell, who is now 1.4s ahead of Norris.

Norris has been catching Russell at half a second or so per lap.

But Leclerc lost a chunk of time clearing Bottas and Alonso, the battel for P19. Let's see what happens when Antonelli reaches them... he lost more, the gap is now 3.6s.

Antonelli loses half a second to Leclerc – now 3.4s off – and is asking the pitwall to "check the car" because "the steering feels weird".

So a disaster for Norris. But also a sticky wicket for Russell, who has been told he cannot go to the end on those mediums. 10s separates him from Leclerc and both of them will have to stop again.

Radio traffic suggests the Mercedes pitwall wants Russell to extend this stint to have on offset at the end.

Antonelli has been told to watch his management on those hards, presumably with a view to not stopping again. Mercedes don't want him to open up those tyres unnecessarily while he's running behind Leclerc, who has to stop anyway.

So Leclerc now leads, but still on the hard tyres with which he started the race. Antonelli, who has changed to hards under the VSC, is 1.7s behind. Verstappen, now on hards, 6.9s behind Antonelli but 2.8s ahead of Russell, who has changed to mediums. Then a 6s gap to Norris, who is now on hards.

So it appears Stroll merely went straight on at Turn 20, then managed to smite the barrier while trying to execute a spin turn. 

Sainz clips Alonso's front wing as Fernando tries to pass him, prompting a disobliging response over the radio.

The pitlane time loss here is quite extensive because of the length of the pitlane, so at the time of typing the leaders would come out behind Lawson if they stopped now.

Taking Verstappen out of the equation for the moment, since he's on scrubbed softs, we're at a delicately poised moment since the leading duo are on mediums whereas Leclerc and Russell are on hards.

Let's take stock of the gaps. Norris leads by 5.6s from Antonelli. Verstappen a further 5.9s in arrears. Then Leclerc is 1.9s behind, followed in short order by Russell, who is discussing strategic permutations to undercut the Ferrari.

Behind Russell there's a big 15s gap to Lawson, who is now 4.3s ahead of Colapinto. These are the gaps the strategists will be looking at as they consider the permutations.

OVERTAKING KLAXON!

Lawson passes Colapinto for P6 at Turn 5. One for the highlights reel...

Piastri 'noted' for a potential yellow-flag infringement.

Sainz has actually gained three positions (one thanks to Hamilton's indisposition) and is currently P17 having started P20.

Replay of the start shows Russell swinging right, into Piastri's path, leaving the McLaren with nowhere to go. That costs Oscar a bit of endplate, and there's another tap at Turn 1 as the pack concertinas.

No action from the stewards on that one. Ditto for Sainz locking up and biffing Tsunoda at the same spot.

In the meantime, Antonelli has gone wide again and dropped a second on lap six. Track limits ping for Turn 17.

To add insult to injury, Hamilton is given a warning for going off track. 

"I don't have brakes, guys," he says. The pitwall instruction him to box the car.

Now Leclerc is past Hamilton and George Russell is having a look. 

Yes, those rear wheels keep locking up. Russell, Colapinto, Lawson, Lindblad, Piastri, Ocon, Hulkenberg go past.

Hamilton is falling off faster than John Lithgow at the end of Cliffhanger.

But Hamilton is complaining about his brakes! Max nips by to claim P3.

Well, on lap four Max slows right down at the exit of La Monumental and lets both Antonelli and Hamilton through. He cuts in neatly to prevent Leclerc from sezing the moment. 

The stewards now say "no further action" on that incident.

And Hamilton is the best part of two seconds behind Antonelli.

Verstappen complaining on the radio that Hamilton pushed him off at Turn 1, hence he short-cut the chicane. This is problematic because to give the position back to Hamilton he will have to let Antonelli by as well.

Verstappen and Antonelli trade places briefly according to the timing and scoring system.

Lewis Hamilton already on the radio, asking the pitwall to "check the rear" - he thinks he's biffed a wall.

Amid that tumult, something has happened to Oscar Piastri – he dropped back to P11 on the opening lap but has just overhauled Ocon for P10.

Franco Colapinto up two places to P7.

So that's two track limits pings for Antonelli on the opening lap.

Well this is fascinating. Norris and Antonelli starting on mediums, as per prognostications, but on the second row Verstappen and Hamilton are on softs – Max on scrubbed ones.

Then Leclerc, Russell, Piastri and Lawson on hards. Mediums for Colapinto and Lindblad. Then softs for Hulkenberg.

Behind Hulk it's a smattering of hards and mediums for the rest of the grid. A fascinating tapestry of different strategies being envisaged here – but will they survive and early safety car? Or lack thereof?

FLASHBACK TO 1981

If this does turn out to be a processional race, then there is historic precedent. The last time the Madrid area hosted the Spanish Grand Prix, back in 1981, Gilles Villeneuve won in a Ferrari that handled like a supermarket trolley with a wonky wheel, leading a proverbial conga line of frustrated rivals across the finishing line.

Photo by: Getty Images

Pirelli's pre-race prognostication is for the fastest strategy to be a one-stopper, starting on mediums and progressing to hards, with a pitstop window between laps 18 and 24.

Alternatives include a two-stopper (medium-hard-hard) with a first stop between laps 10 and 16, and a second between laps 31 and 37.

There are other possibles including a one-stop soft-hard and a two-stop soft-hard-hard, but these rely on early safety car deployments. Degradation seems to be a bit unpredictable since it was high earlier in the weekend, but less of a factor in the support events this morning.

Expect this to be a Monaco-style exercise in tyre management and waiting to see who blunders into the barrier first. Red or yellow flags could change the complexion of the race, especially if they come around the pitstop window – expect to hear some drivers complaining about having their race ruined in these circumstances.

Oliver Bearman will be starting from the pitlane after smiting the barrier yesterday.

Lots of unknowns here this weekend. Known unknowns and unknown unknowns. The long pitlane adds a bit of strategic pep to a race where the rigours of the track will put a lot of stress through the tyres, but the absence of overtaking opportunities mean teams will want to guard track position.

Hola from Madrid!

It's race day at the Madring and all to play for at this first outing on the new track. Lando Norris starts on pole for McLaren but the Mercedes pace has been ominous...