Lando Norris took pole position for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix with a brilliant late lap at the brand new Madring.
The Brit had looked a little way off the pace of the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers earlier in the weekend – and, indeed, earlier in qualifying – but in his McLaren edged out Kimi Antonelli by just 11 thousandths of a second in the dying moments of the session.
Old foes Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row, ahead of Charles Leclerc and George Russell in fifth and sixth.
There were no hometown heroics on Saturday though, with Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso getting knocked out in Q1.
Madrid-born Sainz was knocked out by just five thousandths of a second, losing out to his Williams team-mate Alex Albon by the barest of margins, with his fellow Spaniard Alonso set to join him on the ninth row of the grid.
MADRING CIRCUIT GUIDE: Why F1's newest track is going to be WILD this weekend
F1 2026 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:31.824sec |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.011s |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.140s |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.189s |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.195s |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.325s |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.470s |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | +0.492s |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +1.079s |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1.217s |
| ELIMINATED IN Q2 | |||
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | ELIMINATED IN Q2 |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | ELIMINATED IN Q2 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | ELIMINATED IN Q2 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | ELIMINATED IN Q2 |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | ELIMINATED IN Q2 |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams | ELIMINATED IN Q2 |
| ELIMINATED IN Q1 | |||
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | ELIMINATED IN Q1 |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | ELIMINATED IN Q1 |
| 19 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | ELIMINATED IN Q1 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | ELIMINATED IN Q1 |
| 21 | Ollie Bearman | Haas | ELIMINATED IN Q1 |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | ELIMINATED IN Q1 |
Changes to F1 Qualifying in 2026
There are a couple of changes to the way qualifying works this year, not quite as sweeping as the new technical regulations.
Firstly we now have 22 cars on the grid, so instead of five cars exiting after Q1 and Q2, we will have six being eliminated. That still leaves 10 for the pole shootout in Q3.
The other notable change lies in the timings - Q3 now gets an extra minute and lasts for 13 rather than 12.
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