Lando Norris Claims Pole Position for Inaugural Madrid Spanish Grand Prix

Lando Norris of McLaren celebrates with his team after winning Pole Position during qualifying ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Spain at Madring Circuit in Madrid, Spain, on September 12, 2026. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

McLaren’s Lando Norris delivered a remarkable final lap during Saturday’s qualifying session to secure pole position for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.

The reigning champion’s outstanding effort of 1 minute and 31.824 seconds narrowly defeated Mercedes driver and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli, claiming the first-ever pole at the Madring by a mere 0.011 seconds.

“I’m shocked,” Norris said after qualifying. “I’m a little bit surprised to be here now, but my god it was probably one of the best laps I’ve ever done in my career. Very, very happy, very proud, and very happy for the team.”

“It was just one of those laps where everything came together. I had a good idea of what I wanted to do, but it was whether my brain let me execute it on the final lap, and everything pretty much worked perfectly.”

“I’m just very happy – one of those laps where you look at the lap time at the end and you’re like, ‘Wow, that was pretty good’.”

Max Verstappen recorded the third-fastest time for Red Bull, while the Ferrari pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc settled for fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Further down the order, George Russell could only manage sixth for Mercedes, while his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri took seventh place.

Standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, Liam Lawson clocked the eighth-fastest time, with Franco Colapinto’s Alpine finishing ninth and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the top 10 for Racing Bulls.

Carlos Sainz of Williams received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac, meaning the Spaniard will start from 20th on the grid for his home race.

Sainz’s penalty elevates fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, along with the Cadillac duo of Sergio Perez and Bottas.

Lance Stroll, who failed to set a qualifying time, was also handed a 40-place grid penalty for utilizing new power unit elements beyond his allocation.

2026 Spanish Grand Prix Starting Grid

Below is the starting order for Sunday’s race in Madrid, inclusive of applied penalties:

1. Lando Norris (McLaren): 1:31.824
2. Andrea 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
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi): +1.399
12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi): +1.564
13. Esteban Ocon (Haas): +1.843
14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +1.929
15. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls): +2.260
16. Alexander Albon (Williams): +3.708
17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +3.564
18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac): +4.089
19. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac): +6.187
20. Carlos Sainz (Williams): +3.488
21. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

The Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled to commence at 3:00 p.m. local time (CEST) on Sunday, September 13.

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