By Holly Wright
Lando Norris produced a stunning final lap to take pole position for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new Madring circuit, edging Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds in a thrilling qualifying session.
The McLaren driver had not looked like the favourite for pole throughout qualifying, with Mercedes and Red Bull appearing to hold the advantage at different stages of the session. However, Norris found a huge amount of time when it mattered most to secure his third pole position of the 2026 season.
Antonelli had looked on course to take the top spot after moving ahead of Lewis Hamilton on the opening runs in Q3, while Max Verstappen was also firmly in contention.
Hamilton, meanwhile, had made an impressive recovery after crashing during final practice earlier in the day. The Ferrari driver briefly held provisional pole with a 1:32.079, but could only improve by around six hundredths of a second on his final attempt.
Norris then delivered when it mattered, posting a 1:31.824 to move ahead of Antonelli and leave the Mercedes driver just 0.011s away from the first pole at the new Madrid venue.
Norris finds the pace when it matters
Norris’ route to pole was far from straightforward.
The McLaren driver had been fifth in Q1 before dropping to seventh in Q2, while his teammate Oscar Piastri was also struggling to match the pace of the leading cars.
When the first Q3 runs were completed, Norris was still 0.449 seconds away from Hamilton’s benchmark, making his eventual improvement even more remarkable.
Antonelli initially reclaimed first place with his second attempt, but Norris responded with a lap which ultimately proved good enough for pole.
The Briton even suffered a significant moment through the final corner, running wide and appearing dangerously close to the barrier. Despite losing valuable time during the mistake, he still crossed the line ahead of Antonelli.
Norris described the lap as one of his best and will now start Sunday’s race from the best possible position as he looks to close the 96-point gap to championship leader Antonelli.
Verstappen also improved on his final attempt to take third, finishing 0.140s away from Norris. The Red Bull driver had shown encouraging pace earlier in qualifying and briefly looked capable of challenging for the front row.
Hamilton and Ferrari left to rue missed opportunity
Hamilton’s fourth-place finish was still a strong recovery considering his earlier problems.
The seven-time world champion had crashed at the final corner during final practice, forcing him to miss the remainder of the session. Ferrari had also looked particularly competitive earlier in the weekend, raising hopes of a strong qualifying performance.
Hamilton initially delivered on those expectations by setting the fastest time during the first Q3 runs, but he could not hold onto the advantage.
Charles Leclerc will line up directly behind his teammate in fifth after finishing just 0.006s slower than Hamilton.
George Russell completed the second Mercedes row in sixth, although the result will do little to improve his hopes of challenging Antonelli for the championship. Russell is currently 66 points behind his teammate and will need a strong race on Sunday to prevent that deficit from growing.
Piastri could only manage seventh, finishing 0.470s behind Norris, while Liam Lawson secured eighth for Red Bull.
Franco Colapinto and British rookie Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10, with Lindblad continuing to impress during his first season in Formula 1.
Spanish hopes suffer early qualifying blow
Qualifying was expected to be difficult around the new Madring circuit, with the tight layout and close barriers creating plenty of opportunities for mistakes.
Practice had already been disrupted by several incidents, but qualifying itself passed without the major stoppages many had predicted.
For the home crowd, however, there was little to celebrate.
Both Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso were eliminated in Q1, with Sainz initially qualifying 17th and Alonso 18th.
Sainz’s afternoon then got even worse after he was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas, meaning he will start Sunday’s race from 20th.
Alonso could only manage 18th, while Sergio Perez was 19th and Bottas 20th in the qualifying classification.
Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman were unable to set a qualifying time, with Aston Martin suffering a suspected water pressure issue and Haas unable to repair Bearman’s heavily damaged car following his FP3 crash.
The result means Norris will lead Antonelli and Verstappen away from the grid on Sunday, with the inaugural Madrid race now set up for a fascinating battle at the front.
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