Formula One 2026: Norris pips Antonelli to Spanish Grand Prix pole by 0.011sec – as it happened

Right, Giles Richards has filed from the Madring:

On an unforgiving track, McLaren had not appeared to have the car where they wanted right until the final lap of the final session when Norris put it on top for the first time, one-hundredth of a second clear of Antonelli. “I’m shocked and a bit surprised,” he said.

McLaren have now denied Mercedes the top spot three times this season, with Norris taking pole and wins in Hungary and Zandvoort. It is Norris’s second pole at the Spanish GP, having taken the top spot for the race in Barcelona in 2024, but it is a race he has yet to win. It is the 19th of his career.

And that’s it from me. Join John Brewin tomorrow for the race, which starts at 2pm BST. And restarts at 2.39, 3.16, 4.03 …?

Russell speaks: “When I tried to push that bit more the tyres couldn’t take it … It’s a track where you have to drive a little below the limit.” He thinks tyre degradation will be decisive: if it’s low, there will be a processsion; if it’s high, it could be carnage.

Russell also had a disappointing day, four places behind Antonelli. Anthony Davidson suggests that he and Piastri share a problem Russell was alluding to with Brundle pre-race, that his driving style is harder on the rear tyres and that is an issue this year.

Andrea Stella, the McLaren principal, hails a Norris “masterpiece” – but a flawed one. “In the final corner he made a mistake of three tenths.” It could have been even better.

Piastri, 0.470 down on his pole-sitting teammate, understandably downbeat. “One of those sessions when you wish you could have it again.”

Norris has converted his two previous poles, at the Hungaroring and Zandvoort, into wins.

Correction: I mangled the Mercedes pole statistics. They had been beaten to pole as a team by Norris, twice, but that is still a Mercedes engine. As is Alpine, so Gasly’s Monza pole is still Mercedes powered. Only if Hamilton or Verstappen had taken pole would their 100% engine record have fallen.

Will that last into tomorrow’s race? Norris said he had a couple of quick drivers behind him, when Coulthard put to him that he would have the clear run down to the first corner, but it would be no surprise if there were restarts.

Though the top two talked about the difficulties of the track, the fact is bar a brief flash of yellows and a few kisses of the walls, that was a clean qualifying session, no mad-ring.

Norris again: “I’ve given myself the best chance for tomorrow. It’s not going to be the easiest track to overtake on.”

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Verstappen: “For me to be third is a great result.”

Now Antonelli: “It’s not easy to put things together on a track like this.”

Norris continues: “I thought I would put it in the wall on the last corner … I thought the boys would be repairing the car tonight.”

David Coulthard talks to Norris: “My God, one of the best laps I’ve done ever … Pretty much everything worked perfectly.”

1 Lando Norris 🇬🇧 McLaren 1:31.824
2 Kimi Antonelli 🇮🇹 Mercedes 1:31.835
3 Max Verstappen 🇳🇱 Red Bull 1:31.964
4 Lewis Hamilton 🇬🇧 Ferrari 1:32.013
5 Charles Leclerc 🇲🇨 Ferrari 1:32.019
6 George Russell 🇬🇧 Mercedes 1:32.149
7 Oscar Piastri 🇦🇺 McLaren 1:32.294
8 Liam Lawson 🇳🇿 Red Bull 1:32.316
9 Franco Colapinto 🇦🇷 Alpine 1:32.903
10 Arvid Lindblad 🇬🇧 Racing Bulls 1:33.041

Eliminated in Q2
11 Nico Hülkenberg 🇩🇪 Audi 1:33.223
12 Gabriel Bortoleto 🇧🇷 Audi 1:33.388
13 Esteban Ocon 🇫🇷 Haas 1:33.667
14 Pierre Gasly 🇫🇷 Alpine 1:33.753
15 Yuki Tsunoda 🇯🇵 Racing Bulls 1:34.084
16 Alexander Albon 🇹🇭 Williams 1:35.532

Eliminated in Q1
†17 Carlos Sainz 🇪🇸 Williams 1:35.312
18 Fernando Alonso 🇪🇸 Aston Martin 1:35.388
19 Sergio Pérez 🇲🇽 Cadillac 1:35.913
20 Valtteri Bottas 🇫🇮 Cadillac 1:38.011

No time
Oliver Bearman 🇬🇧 Haas
Lance Stroll 🇨🇦 Aston Martin
†Three-place penalty for impeding Bottas

The world champion, who had a poor Monza to follow his two wins, went round in 1:31.824.

Where did that come from? Norris goes 0.011 faster than Antonelli.

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Norris goes fastest!

Hamilton 0.178 behind Antonelli.

Antonelli going for it and by 0.244 goes fastest, Russell third.

This would be a great track to land that pole, and a great response to last week’s Ferrari farrago.

Lewis Hamilton has not had a pole since 2023, David Croft points out.

0.254 covers the top five: Ham, Ant, Rus, Lec, Ver.

Verstappen can only make fifth. Bernie Collins was pointing out that Ferrari have an extra set of new softs, too.

Hamilton goes fastest in 1:32.079, ahead of Antonelli and Russell!

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Norris gets a black and white flag for improper driving. Ouch.

Lando Norris gets a €900 fine for pit lane speeding.

The Mercedes duo are at the front of the Q3 queue.

Anthony Davidson shows that Gasly kissed a wall, while Bortoleto went airborne.

A morose Gasly says the car feels completely different to FP3. A big contrast from his Monza joy.

Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, Gasly, Tsunoda and Albon, with Colapinto pulling one out to make it to Q3 again for Alpine.

Antonelli still second but only 0.034 slower than Verstappen now.

Piastri, down in eighth, has to use a new set of tyres to make sure of Q3.

Hamilton and Leclerc into the 1:32s, third and fourth.

Drop zone shaping up as Bortoleto, Tsunoda (in Lawson’s Racing Bulls), Ocon, Albon, Colapinto and Gasly.

Big escape for Franco Colapinto: he hits the ground on the showpiece La Monumental corner but keeps it together.

Verstappen goes 0.046 ahead of Antonelli, while Lawson is fourth, ahead of Norris and the Ferraris.

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Antonelli leading, 1:32.603 with Russell second +0.247.

Q2 is go. Ted Kravitz reports that Lance Stroll had a water pressure problem, while Carlos Sainz will be done for blocking Bottas.

Ollie Bearman says a gust of wind at the wrong moment did for his Haas. “I don’t feel I did much wrong. It’s a shame not to be on track because the car is fast.”