Lando Norris takes the first Formula 1 pole position in the history of the Madring, and he takes it by eleven thousandths of a second. Kimi Antonelli is alongside him on the front row, 0.011 seconds back. Max Verstappen is third, 0.140 off.
The lap that decided it was not settled until the final corners. Verstappen was quickest through the middle of the circuit and came up short at the end of it.
In this article
- Eleven thousandths decided the front row
- Verstappen owned the middle sector and lost the lap at the end
- Verstappen banked a set of Softs by running Q1 on the Medium
- Russell topped Q1 and starts sixth
- Ferrari are close again and still not in front
- The top ten
- Who went out, and when
- Our line: nobody knows what this grid is worth yet
- What decides the race
Eleven thousandths decided the front row
Eleven thousandths of a second is roughly the length of a front wing at Madring speeds. That is the margin between Norris and Antonelli after three practice sessions in which Mercedes had been quickest in every single one of them.
Antonelli led second practice on Friday and final practice on Saturday morning, and he led Q2 until Verstappen took it off him. He did not lead the session that counted.
Verstappen owned the middle sector and lost the lap at the end
The final runs in Q3 were traded sector by sector. One driver would take the opening sector, another would answer in the second, and the order changed several times inside a single lap.
Verstappen was the quickest of the three through the second sector, around a tenth up on Antonelli, who was leading the session at that point. It did not survive the third and final sector, where he gave the advantage back and finished 0.140 away from pole.
What did not happen is the thing everyone was braced for. After two days in which Lindblad, Hamilton and Bearman all found the barriers, a session where every driver had to be on the limit to make the top ten looked like a red flag waiting to happen. It never came. Twenty-two cars went to the edge of a circuit none of them had raced on and all of them came back.
Verstappen banked a set of Softs by running Q1 on the Medium
Red Bull sent Verstappen out on the Medium in Q1 rather than the Soft, and he still cleared the cut comfortably, fourth on the timesheet and 0.170 off Russell’s benchmark.
That saves a set of new Softs. It matters more here than at a normal circuit, because as we covered in our report on the graining problem, Pirelli has already said the Hard is the most important compound for the race and almost nobody has run it. Teams have had free choice of race tyre since 2022, so an extra set in the rack is an extra option on Sunday rather than a rule to work around.
Russell topped Q1 and starts sixth
George Russell set the fastest time of Q1 with a 1:33.211 and will start sixth. Antonelli was second in that session, 0.056 back, so the Mercedes pair were where they had been all weekend.
By Q3 only one of them was still there. That is the other story of this qualifying session: the car that had looked strongest for two days put one driver on the front row and the other behind two Ferraris.
Ferrari are close again and still not in front
Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth and Charles Leclerc fifth, which on a Saturday that began with Hamilton crashing at the last corner in final practice and the session clock being frozen for barrier repairs is a recovery worth noting. The full story of that is in our report on final practice.
It is also the same position Ferrari has occupied all weekend. Quick enough to be in the conversation, not quick enough to be in it at the front.
The top ten
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Pole |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.011 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.140 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls |
Q3 order. Gaps for the front row and third place are confirmed; the full official classification with lap times follows.
Who went out, and when
There are 22 cars on the grid in 2026, so six drivers drop out after Q1 and six more after Q2 rather than five apiece.
Q1 ended the afternoon for Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, with Oliver Bearman and Lance Stroll setting no time at all. Bearman’s session had effectively ended when he put his Haas into the barrier at Turn 11 in final practice.
Q2 accounted for Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Alexander Albon.
Our line: nobody knows what this grid is worth yet
A front row settled by 0.011 seconds on a circuit nobody has raced on, with no meaningful long-run data because a red flag ate the second half of final practice, is about as open as a Saturday gets.
Norris has the position. Verstappen has the tyre. Antonelli has the car that has been quickest all weekend and a first row to start from. Ferrari has two cars in the top five and a driver who may yet hear from the stewards. Pick a winner from that with any confidence and you are guessing.
The one thing we would say is that eleven thousandths is not a performance gap. McLaren and Mercedes are the same speed here, and the race will be decided on tyres and traffic rather than on who was quickest over one lap.
What decides the race
Watch the first stint on the Medium. Graining on the left-hand tyres separated the field on Friday and nobody has a confident read on how long a set lasts.
Watch whether anybody starts on the Hard. Pirelli says it is the race tyre and two drivers in total have run it.
Watch the run to the first corner. On a street-style layout with 22 cars and a front row separated by nothing, the opening lap is worth more than the grid.
The Spanish Grand Prix starts at 15:00 local time on Sunday. Follow it on the RNT-Motorsports live blog.
