Lando Norris snatches first Madring F1 pole from Kimi Antonelli in Spanish GP qualifying thriller

Lando Norris snatched the first-ever Formula 1 pole position at Madring from Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011s in dramatic last-minute qualifying showdown.

Norris posted a decisive final lap of 1:31.824 in Q3, beating the Mercedes championship leader who had looked dominant throughout the weekend, while Max Verstappen qualified third for Red Bull ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Qualifying for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix began with only 21 cars on track after Haas confirmed Oliver Bearman would be sitting out following FP3 crash.

George Russell proceeded to set the early pace in Q1 with a 1:33.211 despite brushing the wall at Turn 21, finishing 0.056s clear of Mercedes teammate Antonelli who locked up at Turn 17, heading into the run-off area.

Red Bull also showed competitive speed from the opening minutes with Liam Lawson taking third on the soft tyres, while Max Verstappen followed closely in fourth.

Further down, Alex Albon secured the final Q2 spot by 0.005s over Williams teammate Carlos Sainz who was eliminated in 17th at his home Grand Prix. Sainz was also hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas, dropping the Spaniard to 20th.

Joining him in elimination were Fernando Alonso, Sergio Pérez, Bottas, Oliver Bearman and Lance Stroll.

With the field trimmed to fifteen drivers for Q2, the competitive order began to crystallise and it was Verstappen who emerged at the top with a 1:32.431, followed by Antonelli and Norris.

Audi looked particularly promising with Nico Hülkenberg holding tenth but a last minute charge from Alpine’s Franco Colapinto pushed him into the drop zone, alongside teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda and Albon.

Q3 began with Antonelli setting an initial benchmark of 1:32.140 as Russell struggled to match his teammate’s pace. Hamilton later lowered the benchmark to 1:32.079 but Antonelli responded with a purple first sector and went on to shave two-tenths off.

For a moment, Antonelli seemed unbeatable but Norris pulled off a spectacular final lap to snatch first Madring F1 pole. Verstappen took third, 0.140s adrift, followed by Hamilton and Leclerc.

Russell could only manage sixth as Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten.

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