Antonelli faces new challenge after stirring triumph in Monza

Madrid – After “walking on water” in Monza, Kimi Antonelli faces an entirely different challenge at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix as he bids to continue his record-breaking assault on the world championship. The 20-year-old, who last Sunday became the first Italian to win his home race at Monza since 1966, drives into uncharted territory as the Spanish capital hosts a race for the first time since June 1981, when the legendary Gilles Villeneuve won for Ferrari at Jarama. This Sunday’s race is to be held at the spectacular newly-completed Madring semi-street circuit, built in an exhibition centre close to Barajas airport. It is the final Grand Prix in the European section of the season and will be the second in Spain this year after May’s race at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The track is unlikely to deliver a dull or predictable spectacle, with its very fast opening sector followed by several medium and low-speed corners, including 90-degree turns that are expected to create incidents. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, buoyed by finishing third last week, where Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had forecast Antonelli would “walk on water” to win from 19th on the grid, said he expected many crashes and stoppages. “It’s going to be very difficult,” said Verstappen after trying the track on a simulator. “It’s not an easy track. If you do a few laps in a row, it’s always hard to cross the line and say ‘I nailed the lap’. “It’s very hard. It also has a tendency to create some big shunts in some places. ” – ‘La Monumental’ will attract attention – The circuit’s newly-laid asphalt surface will add to the challenge, being likely to offer little grip, but it is La Monumental, a high-speed banked, horseshoe shaped corner, that should attract attention. It is 550 metres long…