During Q3 of qualifying it starts to rain again, which causes doubts for some drivers. Lando Norris has no doubts, but crashes heavily at the beginning of his fast lap, resulting in a red flag.
Normally, wet sessions cause many accidents, but during the qualifying of the Belgian Grand Prix it was remarkably quiet. At least, until Q3 starts. At that moment it starts to rain harder, causing puddles on the track.
Lando Norris starts confidently with his first fast lap, but that soon comes to an end. At the top of Eau Rouge, the Brit loses control over his McLaren and crashes into the wall, before returning to the track. Luckily no other drivers arrive at full speed, but Sebastian Vettel comes to check if Norris is okay.
Norris will start the race in the top 10, but the McLaren mechanics will have to work hard on Saturday. The car of Norris is total loss and will have to be replaced completely.
Kimi Antonelli capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car to edge Lando Norris before holding off Max Verstappen to win the inaugural Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at Madring
Complete F1 2026 Driver standings after Spanish GP: Kimi Antonelli extended his lead to 81 points over Mercedes teammate George Russell, Lewis Hamilton title chances
Full F1 2026 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results, Madring: 1. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes; 2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +4.351s; 3. Lando Norris, McLaren, +5.089s; 4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +29.116s
Full 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results: Lando Norris snatched the first-ever pole position at Madring from Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011s in a dramatic final-lap showdown