2026 Spanish GP Debrief | VCARB

Our Weekend In Madrid

Holaaaaaaaaa VCARBers.

5 min read • Published on 09/14/2026 • 11:57 AM UTC+0

Save

You're joining us on the streets of Madrid for Round 14 of the FIA Formula One World Championship, and we’re eager to get you up to speed on our first weekend at the MADRING. In fact, we’re so keen that we made you an

We’ve been excited to come here all season, so forgive us for getting straight into the nitty-gritty. For the third consecutive race, Yuki joined Arvid and the team while Liam deputised for the injured Isack Hadjar over at Oracle Red Bull Racing. And since we’re fresh off the back of the Italian Grand Prix, we had Arvid and Yuki come up with their dream pizzas (spoiler alert: one of our drivers doesn’t like a tomato base…)

Back over to Spain now for a big ol’ look at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix: VCARB Edition.

As is customary around here, we kicked things off with our Creator Platform race poster, this time from the incredible @artbybethrose, with her bright colours, shapes and compositions of VCARB complementing the MADRING perfectly. We’d also like to shine a light on the immaculate Thursday walk-in fits!

The weather this weekend was SCORCHIO, with track temperatures over 50°, so we devised a cunning plan, with bait they simply couldn’t refuse, to keep our drivers cool ahead of the Grand Prix. To round out the social filming, we popped over to the team next door to reunite with an old friend (low-key, this is one of the all-time best Liam ragebait videos).

Right then, let’s get onto some MADRING action, shall we?

Arvid and Yuki hit the track for the very first time on Friday and, despite a minor power steering issue for Yuki, the pace was looking good. P7 for Arvid straight out of the gate was a promising start. Remember, this guy was a rookie at the start of this season… In FP2, with Yuki’s VCARB 03 back to its best, he stuck in a time good enough for P8, while Arvid was P4 overall, even with a minor shunt. Now that’s how you start a weekend, boys!

Here’s our on-the-road debrief of Friday’s antics, featuring a Yuki Tsunoda jumpscare:

Saturday means only one thing around these parts, and that’s a Qualifying showdown, partner. Buckle up.

Q1: Bosh. Both drivers through, no problemo. Q2: Arvid through (his seventh consecutive Q3, btw) and Yuki qualified P15. Q3: Arvid set a time just over a second shy of the pole time from Lando Norris’ McLaren, placing himself in the perfect spot for a battle with Alpine, our nearest competitors in the Constructors’ Championship.

Yuki Hitting The Madring

The stage was set. All that was left was to set our OOO and await Sunday’s action.

As the sun rose above the IFEMA Madrid Centre, we could barely contain our excitement. Within a few hours, we’d be lights out on the streets of Madrid for the very first time.

Ahead of 57 laps around the MADRING, with tyre wear expected to be high and a Safety Car very possible, Arvid started on Mediums and Yuki opted for the Hards, allowing us to stagger our strategy and adapt as the race unfolded. Arvid made up a position on the opening lap as Yuki battled with the Haas and Audi cars, collecting some unfortunate damage in a Turn 1 knock. By Lap 6, Arvid was running in P8 and Yuki was quickly climbing up the order.

Flying In Spain

A Virtual Safety Car was deployed on Lap 15 due to Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopping at Turn 20 and Arvid was called into the box for a fresh set of Hards. Yuki stayed out to keep track position and was running in P14. Arvid began to close back in on the point-scoring positions on Lap 21, chasing Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg.

Yuki made his one and only pit stop on Lap 38, swapping onto the yellow-banded Medium tyres to complete the remaining 19 laps. Shortly after, Arvid lost a position to a late-charging Oscar Piastri on Lap 44, dropping to P10, but gained a spot when Pierre Gasly pitted on Lap 56 to finish the race P9. Yuki finished in P14 after a race-long tussle with Audi and Williams machinery.

“Not an easy race, but good to score points,” Arvid said during his cooldown lap radio, “thank you for the work everyone, we’ll keep going step by step.”

Arvid assessed his weekend further, and Yuki weighed in on a frustrating, yet fun race nursing a damaged car:

Plenty of positives to take away from Madrid, folks. Good pace, competitive cars and excellent driving overall. We’re taking that positivity with us to the next Grand Prix and we hope to see you there.

Join us from 24-26 September in Baku, the City of Winds, for the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026. Until then, stay locked in, gang.

Radio Check Arvid, Radio Check