Reigning FIA Formula One World Champion Lando Norris claimed his third pole position of the 2026 season in a closely fought qualifying session for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring, edging Mercedes championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds.

The McLaren driver produced a 1m 31.824s lap on his final Q3 run to secure his 19th career pole position, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen taking third. 

Lewis Hamilton set the initial pace in Q3, leading the field with a 1m 32.079s lap on Ferrari’s first run. Antonelli and George Russell followed, with Charles Leclerc fourth and Verstappen fifth after the Red Bull driver lost time at the final corner of his opening effort.

Hamilton’s benchmark was soon beaten by Antonelli, who posted a 1m 31.835s lap on his final run to move to the top of the timesheets. Norris was the last of the leading contenders to complete his lap, and the McLaren driver delivered a decisive improvement.

Despite drifting wide at the final corner, Norris crossed the line in 1m 31.824s, taking pole by the narrowest of margins. Verstappen also improved on his final attempt to claim third, 0.140s behind the pole-sitter.

Hamilton and Leclerc completed the second row, while Russell qualified sixth ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. Red Bull’s Liam Lawson took eighth, followed by Colapinto and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, who completed the top 10.

Verstappen had topped Q2, with Antonelli second, as Red Bull maintained the competitiveness shown in the opening phase. The Dutchman had earlier opted for medium tyres in Q1, while Lawson used softs to finish third in the first segment.

The midfield battle intensified in Q2, with Audi initially showing strong pace. Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto both looked capable of challenging for the final segment, but neither driver ultimately made it through.

After abandoning his first Q2 attempt following a major rear-end moment through La Monumental, Franco Colapinto returned to the circuit for the final runs and set a lap good enough for eighth. Lindblad also secured his place in Q3, while Piastri progressed with an identical lap time to the Racing Bulls driver.

The two Audis were eliminated, with Hülkenberg 11th and Bortoleto 12th. Esteban Ocon qualified 13th for Haas, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Alex Albon.

Gasly, who had taken pole position at the previous round, struggled to find the same performance at the Madring after reporting a significantly different car balance compared with Free Practice 3.

Earlier, Q1 saw George Russell set the fastest time, beating team-mate Antonelli by 0.056s. Russell survived a brush with the wall, while Red Bull’s Verstappen and Lawson also showed strong early pace.

Williams’ Albon secured the final Q2 position, beating home favourite Carlos Sainz by just 0.005s. The result left both Spanish drivers outside the top 16, with Sainz qualifying 17th and Fernando Alonso 18th. Sainz was also noted for an alleged impeding incident involving Valtteri Bottas, which was referred for investigation.

Bottas and Sergio Pérez completed the classified runners at the bottom of the order, with the Cadillac drivers qualifying 20th and 19th respectively. Bottas was unable to complete a clean lap after being impeded by Sainz.

Neither Oliver Bearman nor Lance Stroll set a qualifying time. Bearman was unable to participate after a heavy crash during the delayed third practice session left Haas without sufficient time to repair his car. Stroll remained in the Aston Martin garage with a suspected water pressure issue and is already set to start at the back of the grid after exceeding his Honda power unit allocation for the season.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:31.824 - -
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:31.835 0.011 
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:31.964 0.140 
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:32.013 0.189 
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:32.019 0.195 
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:32.149 0.325 
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:32.294 0.470 
8 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:32.316 0.492
9 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:32.903 1.079 
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:33.041 1.217 
11 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:33.223 1.399 
12 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:33.388 1.564 
13 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:33.667 1.843 
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:33.753 1.929 
15 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:34.084 2.260 
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:35.532 3.708 
17 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:35.312 3.488 
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:35.388 3.564 
19 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:35.913 4.089 
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:38.011 6.187 
21 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda - - -
22 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari - - -