F1 2026: Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Recap

Lando Norris pips Antonelli, Verstappen and Hamilton to steal pole in Madrid

Reigning world champion Lando Norris took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix 2026, putting in a stunning final lap out of nowhere to steal pole position from Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen at the very end of the qualifying session in Madrid. The Mercedes, Ferraris and Red Bulls were in prime position for pole as they dominated throughout the qualifying session but right at the very end, when it mattered, the defending world champion stepped up to take the first-ever pole position at the new Madrid street circuit. 

Kimi Antonelli will start on the front row with Norris while Verstappen will be on the second row with his old rival Lewis Hamilton. It was a tight qualifying session as all four of the top teams were in the mix for pole and all the top runners will be in the mix for the race win as well tomorrow.

If you missed the Spanish Grand Prix 2026 qualifying session, here’s a quick recap. 

Q1 – Two home heroes knocked out as Lawson impresses

Liam Lawson pipped Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, the Ferraris and Lando Norris to go quickest early on with a 1:33.316s. Not a single of the front runners could match Lawson’s time as Verstappen’s second run saw him come 0.065s close. Right at the very end, Antonelli managed to go fastest with a 1:33.267s while the drop zone had the two Aston Martins, Cadillacs, Alex Albon and Ollie Bearman in the drop zone.

George Russell improved to edge out Antonelli by going 0.056s quicker at the top but it was the Williams battle at the bottom which caused Alex Albon just about get out of the drop zone which saw Carlos Sainz fail to make it to Q2 by 0.005s. Fernando Alonso, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas also were eliminated in Q1 along with Ollie Bearman, who did not run in qualifying after his heavy FP3 crash and Lance Stroll, who has a PU penalty incoming.

Drivers eliminated in Q1:

Carlos Sainz

Fernando Alonso

Sergio Pérez

Valtteri Bottas

Ollie Bearman

Lance Stroll

Q2 – Verstappen continues Red Bulls’ prowess as Colapinto puts in stunning lap to make Q3

The Mercedes pair was out on the track first in Q2 as Antonelli set the benchmark with a 1:32.603s, two tenths quicker than Russell. Verstappen went quicker as the Red Bulls continued to impress with Verstappen putting in a 1:32.557s.

As the clock ticked down, the Alpines, Esteban Ocon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon were struggling in the drop zone. Antonelli at the front got closer to Verstappen but was unable to match him  as the Dutchman remained quickest in the session. Colapinto put in a stunning final lap to go P8 which meant that both Audis, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Alex Albon missed out on the final top 10 shootout.

Drivers eliminated in Q2:

Nico Hülkenberg

Gabriel Bortoleto

Esteban Ocon

Pierre Gasly

Yuki Tsunoda

Alex Albon

Q3 – Norris takes pole in a four way shoot-out

The Mercedes duo was out on the track first up in Q3 as well, with Antonelli putting in a 1:32.140s as the benchmark for the rest of the grid. Russell ended up a tenth behind his teammate on the first runs but it was Lewis Hamilton’s 1:32.079s that saw the seven-time world champion take provisional pole as the rest of the grid came nowhere near Hamilton’s first run. 

As the cars came out for their final runs, Antonelli took provisional pole with a flying 1:31.835s, going two-tenths quicker than Hamilton’s first time. Leclerc went quicker as well before Hamilton pipped him to go P2, 0.178s slower than Antonelli. Lando Norris put in an incredible 1:31.824s to take provisional pole from Antonelli, going 0.011s and Verstappen was unable to match the times as well which meant that Norris picked up pole by one-hundredths of a second right at the very end.

Starting grid for the Spanish Grand Prix 2026 (before penalties applied):

1. Lando Norris

2. Kimi Antonelli

3. Max Verstappen

4. Lewis Hamilton

5. Charles Leclerc

6. George Russell

7. Oscar Piastri

8. Liam Lawson

9. Franco Colapinto

10. Arvid Lindblad

11. Nico Hülkenberg

12. Gabriel Bortoleto

13. Esteban Ocon

14. Pierre Gasly

15. Yuki Tsunoda

16. Alex Albon

17. Carlos Sainz

18. Fernando Alonso

19. Sergio Pérez

20. Valtteri Bottas

21. Ollie Bearman

22. Lance Stroll