Lando Norris claimed historic first pole position at Madring after dramatic turnaround
Lando Norris set the first qualifying benchmark of the new Madrid circuit, Madring, by claiming pole position for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix. On his final Q3 attempt, the McLaren driver completed a lap in 1:31.824 and beat Mercedes' world championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds, the FIA announced. Max Verstappen took third place, 0.140 seconds behind, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed the top five in their Ferraris. For Norris, this is the 19th pole position of his career and his third of the 2026 season, but this one has a special place in the statistics because it is the first ever achieved at Madring. The Briton secured it after a weekend that, until Saturday, had not developed according to the ideal scenario, primarily because of a gearbox failure that effectively cost him the entire second free practice session.
The historic result came in the first season of the new Madrid race, on a circuit combining street sections and purpose-built sections around the IFEMA Madrid complex and the Valdebebas area. According to official Formula 1 data, Madring is 5.414 kilometres long, has 22 corners, and Sunday's race is contested over 57 laps, or a total of 308.399 kilometres. Madrid thus returns to the Formula 1 World Championship calendar after Jarama, north of the city, last hosted a race in 1981. The current agreement provides for the Spanish Grand Prix to be held in Madrid from 2026 to 2035, giving the new circuit a long-term role in the European part of the calendar. The first race at Madring begins on 13 September at 15:00 local time.
From an almost lost Friday to the best lap of the weekend
Norris' path to pole position was unusual because on Friday he missed one of the most important parts of preparation on a completely new circuit. Formula 1 confirmed after the second practice session that McLaren had to replace the gearbox on his car, meaning Norris completed only two laps in FP2 and did not set a representative time. McLaren's Technical Director of Performance Mark Temple described the loss of running time as a major setback, because all the drivers were still learning the sequence of corners, the behaviour of the new asphalt and how the tyres changed over longer runs. While Norris was in the garage, Antonelli finished the second practice session fastest with a time of 1:33.662, ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton, according to Formula 1's official report. Mercedes therefore collected significantly more track data on Friday, while Norris had to make up for what he had missed almost lap by lap on Saturday.
Even the final free practice session did not completely change the picture. Antonelli, according to the Madring organisers' report, was fastest in FP3 with a time of 1:32.797, 0.166 seconds ahead of Leclerc, while interruptions further reduced useful track time. Lewis Hamilton damaged his Ferrari after making a mistake in the final part of the lap, and Oliver Bearman crashed heavily into the barrier and, as a result of that incident, was unable to take part in qualifying. That is precisely why Norris did not have the amount of data before Q1 that a team would normally want ahead of the first race at a new venue. Nevertheless, as the track cleaned up and became faster, McLaren managed to hit the tyres' operating window with increasing precision, while Norris gradually built the confidence needed for an attack in the closing stages.
Eleven thousandths decided the battle with Antonelli
The closing stages of qualifying itself were among the closest of the season so far. The FIA states that Hamilton set the initial Q3 benchmark of 1:32.079 on his first attempt, after which Antonelli lowered the time to 1:31.835 on his final flying lap and took provisional pole position. It appeared that the Mercedes driver had done enough, but on his final attempt Norris put together the best sectors of his weekend and crossed the line in 1:31.824. The gap of 0.011 seconds means the entire fight for first place on the grid was decided by eleven thousandths, while Verstappen's late improvement put him in third position. Hamilton finished fourth, only 0.189 seconds behind Norris, and Leclerc fifth at 0.195 seconds back, meaning the top five were covered by less than two tenths of a second.
After qualifying, Norris said at the official FIA press conference that the final lap was one of the best he had driven in his career and that almost everything he had been trying to achieve throughout the weekend finally came together. He explained that on his final attempt he improved by approximately seven tenths compared with his earlier Q3 lap, showing how large a step he made precisely when it mattered most. He particularly highlighted the opening chicanes and corner exits, where he had previously been leaving a margin, while at the final corner he admitted that he overdid the entry and briefly thought he would end up in the wall. Antonelli, on the other hand, assessed his lap as clean but identified the first chicane and Turn 13 as places where he lost small amounts of time. In qualifying decided by 0.011 seconds, such nuances were enough to completely change the order.
Verstappen third, Ferrari immediately behind him, Piastri only seventh
The qualifying order showed that there is no single team on the new circuit that can count on a large advantage over one lap. Verstappen, after being fastest in Q2, remained a serious candidate for the front row, but finished third with a time of 1:31.964. Hamilton and Leclerc took fourth and fifth places, while George Russell was sixth for Mercedes, 0.325 seconds behind pole position. Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren finished only seventh, further highlighting how much Norris' final lap stood out from his earlier pace during the session. Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten.
- 1. Lando Norris, McLaren - 1:31.824
- 2. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes - +0.011
- 3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull - +0.140
- 4. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari - +0.189
- 5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari - +0.195
- 6. George Russell, Mercedes - +0.325
- 7. Oscar Piastri, McLaren - +0.470
- 8. Liam Lawson, Red Bull - +0.492
- 9. Franco Colapinto, Alpine - +1.079
- 10. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls - +1.217
For the two Spanish drivers, the first qualifying session at Madring ended much earlier than they had wanted. The FIA announced that Carlos Sainz finished 17th, only 0.005 seconds behind team-mate Alexander Albon, who advanced, while Fernando Alonso was 18th. Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillacs finished behind them, while Lance Stroll and Bearman did not set a qualifying time. Bearman's absence was the result of his heavy crash in the third practice session, while Stroll remained in the garage because of a problem the FIA described as a suspected drop in water pressure in the system. After qualifying, Sainz was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Bottas in Q1, so according to the available provisional starting order he is expected to start from 20th position; the FIA confirms the final starting grid after all technical and sporting procedures before the race have been completed.
Madring has already shown why it is a special challenge
The new circuit was designed as a hybrid of city streets and permanently constructed sections, and its most striking element is Turn 12, named La Monumental. According to Formula 1 data, it is a semi-circular banked corner approximately 550 metres long, with banking of up to 24 percent, through which the cars travel for approximately six seconds. Speeds of up to approximately 340 km/h are expected on other parts of the lap, while the combination of slower chicanes, walls, elevation changes and heavy braking forces drivers to make very different compromises in their setups. After qualifying, Norris described Madring as a mixture of characteristics reminiscent of several well-known street circuits, but stressed that the high level of grip from the new asphalt gives drivers more confidence than on some classic street configurations. Verstappen also praised the grip, although he warned that certain braking zones make overtaking more difficult because braking and turning take place simultaneously.
That characteristic could be crucial for Sunday's race. After claiming pole position, Norris said overtaking would not be easy, although he did not consider it impossible, while Antonelli stressed the importance of the start and the approach to the first corner. An additional strategic complication is the long passage through the pits: Norris said at the FIA press conference that Madring has the longest and slowest pit lane section of the season and the greatest time loss when making a pit stop. If that loss is large compared with staying on track, teams have less room for aggressive additional tyre changes purely in an attempt to undercut a rival. As a result, track position, tyre management and a timely reaction to a possible safety car could have unusually high value.
Norris has pole, but Antonelli still controls the championship
The qualifying result is also important in the context of the championship, although no points are awarded for pole position. According to Formula 1's official standings before the Madrid race, Antonelli leads with 267 points, George Russell has 201, Lewis Hamilton 191, and Norris is fourth with 171 points. This means that ahead of the 14th race of a total of 23, Norris trails championship leader Antonelli by 96 points, so a good starting position gives him an opportunity to reduce the gap, but does not change the fact that the Mercedes driver has a substantial cushion. Antonelli arrived in Madrid following victory at Monza, while Norris had previously won in Hungary and the Netherlands, so their form from the second half of the European season carried directly into the first Madrid weekend. The front row therefore brings together the championship leader and the reigning world champion, with Verstappen immediately behind them.
One important unknown remains for McLaren: because Norris lost FP2, he completed almost no representative longer run with a higher fuel load. He himself said after qualifying that he would also have to rely on Oscar Piastri's data to understand the behaviour of the car and tyres over a long race stint. Antonelli warned that nobody yet has a completely clear picture of the durability of the hard tyre compound and mentioned that, depending on degradation, several different stopping strategies could become possible. On a completely new circuit, there are no previous races from which teams can extract reliable patterns regarding the safety car, asphalt evolution or the true cost of driving in dirty air. Therefore, the qualifying result gives Norris' McLaren the best possible starting position, but it does not eliminate the risks that come with a first race on unfamiliar ground.
Madrid has received the first major moment of its new F1 era
Madring entered the calendar as one of Formula 1's most prominent new projects in Europe. Formula 1 and IFEMA Madrid announced a ten-year agreement back in 2024 under which the Spanish capital will host the race from 2026 to 2035, while the final circuit configuration was modified during development compared with the early designs. The current official version has 22 corners and measures 5.414 kilometres, and it is located near the IFEMA exhibition complex and Madrid's airport, with an emphasis on access by public transport. For a city that last saw a world championship race at Jarama 45 years ago, Norris' 1:31.824 lap became the first official qualifying record of the new era. Every future pole position at Madring will be compared precisely with the time with which the McLaren driver opened that statistic.
Before Sunday's race, Norris has the cleanest line towards the first corner, but the qualifying margin could hardly have been any smaller than it already was. Antonelli starts alongside him with a gap that in real time was shorter than the blink of an eye, while Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc are close enough that any poor start or incorrect tyre assessment could immediately change the order. On a circuit where the drivers are still learning where it pays to attack and where they need to preserve tyres and energy, the first Spanish Grand Prix at Madring will also play an important role in creating a technical baseline for all future races in Madrid. Norris has already secured first place in the circuit's history books; it remains to be seen whether he can turn pole position into the first victory at Madring.
Sources:
- FIA - official qualifying report for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix, results and progression of Q1, Q2 and Q3 (link)
- FIA - transcript of the post-qualifying press conference with statements from Norris, Antonelli and Verstappen (link)
- Formula 1 - confirmation of the gearbox problem that caused Norris to miss almost the entire second free practice session (link)
- Formula 1 - guide to Madring with data on circuit length, number of corners, laps and configuration characteristics (link)
- Formula 1 - official 2026 World Championship drivers' standings before the race in Madrid (link)
- Formula 1 - official announcement of the ten-year agreement to hold the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid from 2026 to 2035 (link)
- MADRING - official weekend schedule and start time of the race on 13 September 2026 (link)
- AS - report on Carlos Sainz's penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas in Q1 (link)