Formula 1's reigning world champion Lando Norris has claimed his third pole position of the 2026 season at the Spanish Grand Prix, beating series leader Kimi Antonelli at the debutant Madring circuit.
With a last-ditch effort Norris took a mere 0.011s out of Antonelli's benchmark to hand Mercedes its fourth consecutive qualifying defeat.
It was F1's first-ever qualifying session on the brand-new Madring circuit on the outskirts of Spanish capital Madrid, a challenging 5.4km circuit featuring a mixture of street sections and a high-speed purpose-built loop with little runoff areas.
But despite worries qualifying would be derailed by accidents and traffic woes, the session took place without noteworthy hiccups.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
In the deciding Q3 shootout, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton led the way after the first barrage of runs with a 1m32.079s lap, ahead of Mercedes duo Antonelli and George Russell, and his team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull had also shown flashes of competitiveness throughout qualifying, with Max Verstappen another contender for pole, but the Dutchman slipped up at the
