Lando Norris snatched pole position for the inaugural F1 Spanish Grand Prix at the brand-new Madring street circuit with a dramatic, late flying lap.
The McLaren driver beat Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds in the final moments of Q3 to set the benchmark lap time of 1:31.824. Max Verstappen briefly entered the battle for pole but landed in 3rd place for Red Bull, joined on the second row by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in 4th.
It was a disappointing afternoon for local Spanish fans, with both home drivers eliminated in Q1. Madrid-born Carlos Sainz missed out on a Q2 slot by five-thousandths of a second to Williams teammate Alex Albon, while Fernando Alonso joined him on the ninth row of the grid.
2026 Spanish Grand Prix (Madring) – Qualifying Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q3 Time / Gap |
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:31.824 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.011s |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.140s |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.189s |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.195s |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.325s |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.470s |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | +0.492s |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +1.079s |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1.217s |
Eliminated in Q2
- 11. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
- 12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
- 13. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- 14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- 15. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
- 16. Alex Albon (Williams)
Eliminated in Q1
- 17. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- 18. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 19. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac)
- 20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
- 21. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- 22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)