Lando Norris delivered a jaw‑dropping performance in the qualifying session for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the brand‑new Madring circuit, snatching pole position from Kimi Antonelli by a razor‑thin margin of 0.011 seconds. The McLaren driver had not looked like a serious contender for the top spot for most of the day, yet a blistering final lap saw him surge ahead of the championship leader, securing a historic first pole for the team on the Spanish stage. The session unfolded with a flurry of activity.
Max Verstappen, who had briefly joined the pole battle earlier, managed to edge past Lewis Hamilton for third place after the Ferrari driver recovered strongly from a crash in the final practice session on Saturday. Charles Leclerc, starting from fifth, fell behind his Ferrari teammate, while Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate and closest rival in the title chase, George Russell, could only muster sixth place. What made Norris’s achievement even more remarkable was the size of the gap to his own teammate.
Oscar Piastri, who finished seventh, trailed Norris by nearly half a second – a substantial distance in modern Formula 1 qualifying. Norris himself described the lap as one of the best of his career, saying, "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." The qualifying drama was set against a backdrop of several notable storylines.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff publicly criticized media commentators he dubbed "couch warriors" for questioning the team's handling of George Russell in his fight against Antonelli for the championship. Meanwhile, the Spanish GP weekend featured a host of ancillary events, including live streams, practice updates, and post‑race analysis, all broadcast on Sky Sports F1 and available via NOW streaming. In the final sector of the session, Norris experienced a significant slide on the last corner, briefly threatening contact with the barrier. The mistake cost him roughly two to three tenths of a second, yet his overall time remained sufficient to stay ahead of Antonelli.
Verstappen posted the quickest middle sector of the day but could not maintain the same pace through the final segment, ultimately settling for third place. Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, echoed Norris’s sentiment, calling the lap a "masterpiece" and one of the best the reigning world champion has ever produced.
He noted that the team had been building performance incrementally throughout the weekend, culminating in Norris’s final run, which, despite the minor error on the last corner, represented an "incredible lap – one of the best of his life until the last corner." The weekend also saw several other drivers make headlines. Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar, claimed eighth place, while Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten. Notably, the session proceeded without any red‑flag interruptions, a testament to the drivers’ skill on the demanding new circuit. Unfortunately, Haas driver Oliver Bearman was forced to sit out qualifying after sustaining heavy damage to his car in a major crash during final practice.
The incident underscored the fine line drivers were walking as they pushed the limits of the track’s challenging layout. The return of Formula 1 to Madrid for the first time since 1981 added a historic flavor to the event, with the Spanish capital taking over from Barcelona as the host of the Grand Prix.
Local fans expressed disappointment when former world champion Fernando Alonso and Williams driver Carlos Sainz were eliminated in the first qualifying segment. Leading into the weekend, expectations for McLaren were high.
Norris had previously secured back‑to‑back pole positions and victories at circuits with similar characteristics before Antonelli’s triumph at the Italian Grand Prix the previous week. However, McLaren’s pace during practice did not match those earlier performances, and Norris’s own preparation was hampered by a gearbox failure that cost him most of Friday’s second practice session. Mercedes appeared poised to dominate after Verstappen’s strong showing in Q2, suggesting he could challenge for pole.
Yet Ferrari, which had started the weekend strongly, regained momentum as Hamilton posted a provisional pole after the initial runs in Q3, only to be overtaken by Antonelli and then Norris. The final moments of qualifying were a tense showdown.
Antonelli briefly displaced Hamilton from the top spot, and although Hamilton improved his time, he could not reclaim pole. The spotlight then shifted to Norris and Verstappen, both posting rapid sector times. Norris’s near‑miss on the final corner, while costly, was not enough to dethrone him from the lead. Looking ahead, the race schedule for Sunday, September 13, includes a full day of support races: the F3 Feature Race at 8:40 a.m., the F2 Feature Race at 10:20 a.m., followed by the Grand Prix itself at 2 p.m., with post‑race coverage and analysis slated for the afternoon.
Fans can watch the action live on Sky Sports Main Event or stream via NOW without a long‑term contract. In summary, Lando Norris’s pole‑winning lap at the new Madring circuit was a masterclass in precision, composure, and sheer speed. Overcoming a late‑corner slip and a tightly packed field, he not only out‑performed the championship leader Antonelli but also demonstrated McLaren’s resurgence in a highly competitive era of Formula 1.
The stage is now set for an exciting Spanish Grand Prix, where the battle for points and championship momentum will continue to unfold on one of the sport’s most challenging new venues.