Spanish GP: Lando Norris beats Kimi Antonelli to first pole position at Madring after thrilling qualifying finale
Lando Norris edges Kimi Antonelli by 11 thousandths of a second to claim first Madring pole; Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to third; watch the Spanish Grand Prix from the all-new Madring circuit live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm on Sunday, with build-up from 12.30pm
Saturday 12 September 2026 16:55, UK
Lando Norris produced a stunning lap to beat Kimi Antonelli to the first pole position at Formula 1's all-new Madring circuit in a thrilling Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying.
The McLaren driver hadn't appeared to be in contention for pole at any point of the session, but found a huge amount of pace on his final run to edge out championship leader Antonelli by 11 thousandths of a second.
Max Verstappen, who had surged into pole contention earlier in the session, edged out Lewis Hamilton for third after the Ferrari driver produced a strong recovery having crashed in final practice earlier on Saturday.
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Charles Leclerc start behinds his Ferrari team-mate in fifth, while Antonelli's Mercedes team-mate and nearest championship challenger, George Russell, could only manage sixth.
The remarkable nature of Norris' lap was further highlighted by a near-half second gap to his team-mate Oscar Piastri in seventh.
Norris said: "I'm shocked! A little bit surprised to be here now. My god, that was probably one of the best laps I've done in my career.
"Very, very happy. Very proud, very happy for the team. Just one of those laps where everything came together.
"I had a good idea of what I wanted to do. It was whether my brain let me do it on the last lap. Everything pretty much worked perfectly."
Red Bull's Liam Lawson, who continues to deputise for the injured Isack Hadjar, was eighth, while Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
A supreme collective display of driving saw the session pass without any of the red-flag stoppages that had been expected at the hugely challenging new circuit.
Haas driver Oliver Bearman was unable to participate due to the heavy damage done to his car in a big crash in final practice, but there were only kisses rather than heavy contact with the barriers as the field pushed to the limit in qualifying.
With F1 returning to Madrid for the first time since 1981 as the capital city takes over from Barcelona as the Spanish Grand Prix host, the locals were left disappointed as both Williams' Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso were knocked out in Q1.
More to follow...
Sky Sports F1's Spanish GP live schedule
Sunday September 13
8.40am: F3 Feature Race 2
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Spanish GP build-up
2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Spanish GP reaction
5pm: Ted's Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit with Sunday's race at 2pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
