Lando Norris takes pole for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Norris set 1:31.824, 0.011 seconds clear of Kimi Antonelli. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified P2.
Lando Norris took pole for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix with 1:31.824 for McLaren, 0.011 seconds clear of Kimi Antonelli. It is the smallest pole margin of the season so far, against an average of 0.148 seconds. It is Norris's 3rd pole of the season.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified P2 at Madring.
In the standings, George Russell trails by 66 points going into the race and qualified P6.
The front of the grid
Kimi Antonelli joins Norris on the front row, 1:31.835 to Norris's 1:31.824, with Max Verstappen P3 at 0.140 seconds.
The gap from pole to P10 was 1.217 seconds.
- NORPOLE
- ANT+0.011s
- VER+0.140s
- HAM+0.189s
- LEC+0.195s
- RUS+0.325s
- PIA+0.470s
- LAW+0.492s
- COL+1.079s
- LIN+1.217s
Team by team
McLaren: Norris P1, Piastri P7, 0.470 seconds apart in the deepest segment both completed. At Mercedes, Antonelli qualified P2 and Russell P6, a gap of 0.314 seconds where both set a time. Red Bull Racing: Verstappen P3, Lawson P8, 0.352 seconds apart in the deepest segment both completed.
At Ferrari, Hamilton qualified P4 and Leclerc P5, a gap of 0.006 seconds where both set a time. Alpine: Colapinto P9, Gasly P14, 0.715 seconds apart in the deepest segment both completed.
The cut lines
In Q2, six drivers went out: Nico Hülkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon. Q1 accounted for four: Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas. Aston Martin lost both cars in Q1 at Madring.
The season picture inside the teams
At McLaren, Norris now leads Piastri 9–5 in qualifying this season, with a median gap of 0.10%; the race head-to-head with both classified is 6–3. At Mercedes, Antonelli now leads Russell 8–6 in qualifying this season, with a median gap of 0.29%; the race head-to-head with both classified is 8–3. The full comparisons, updated after the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix session, are in every teammate battle.
What it means for the championship
Kimi Antonelli leads the championship on 267 points, 66 points ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell, with 10 rounds to run including this one. One driver can still score 258 points, and 14 drivers remain in mathematical reach. The lead has grown from 40 points after round 8.
The circuit and the data
History here offers a measure of what pole is worth. Of the classified races at Madring in our archive, 1 of 1 were won from pole and 1 of 1 from the front row. The most recent, the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, went to Oscar Piastri from P1. Last time here, Oscar Piastri started from pole and finished P1. That is a record of past races, not a forecast for this one.
Norris's Qualifying Pace sits at the 52nd percentile in the 2025–2026 Driver DNA window, which measures each driver against a teammate.
For Antonelli, the strongest Driver DNA dimension is Positions Gained, at the 80th percentile.
Qualifying classification
The full order with every segment time, as published.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:33.469 | 1:32.873 | 1:31.824 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:33.267 | 1:32.591 | 1:31.835 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:33.381 | 1:32.431 | 1:31.964 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:33.531 | 1:32.710 | 1:32.013 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:33.532 | 1:32.755 | 1:32.019 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:33.211 | 1:32.850 | 1:32.149 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:33.829 | 1:33.204 | 1:32.294 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull Racing | 1:33.310 | 1:32.780 | 1:32.316 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:33.963 | 1:33.038 | 1:32.903 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:34.340 | 1:33.204 | 1:33.041 |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 1:34.417 | 1:33.223 | — |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:33.986 | 1:33.388 | — |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:34.667 | 1:33.667 | — |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:34.246 | 1:33.753 | — |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1:34.311 | 1:34.084 | — |
| 16 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:35.307 | 1:35.532 | — |
| 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 | — | — |
| 21 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | — | — | — |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | — | — | — |
What's next
The race starts on 13 September 2026. Results land on the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix page, PBEcast follows the session live, and the standings, form and teammate views sit in 2026 championship standings, form guide and every teammate battle.
Evidence & methodology
Every number and name in this story comes from a frozen fact packet built from the PropSports F1 data plane. The draft passed the factual gate (no unsupported numbers, names, causes or outcomes) and the editorial gate before publication.
Limits
- Driver DNA is quoted from the 2025–2026 window as of publication, not as it stood before this event.
- Sector times, tyre choices and track conditions are not sourced. The starting grid can differ from qualifying when penalties apply; this story describes qualifying only.
Facts used (51)
- Event: 2026 Spanish Grand Prix (projection: events)
- Lando Norris best qualifying lap: 1:31.824 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Kimi Antonelli best qualifying lap: 1:31.835 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Max Verstappen qualifying position: P3 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Pole margin over second: 0.011 seconds (derived: difference from q1_lap, q2_lap)
- Third place gap to pole: 0.140 seconds (derived: difference from q1_lap, q3_lap)
- Championship leader qualifying position: P2 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Poles this season including this one: 3rd pole of the season (derived: our qualifying archive)
- Driver DNA Qualifying Pace (2025–2026): 52nd percentile (projection: dna-driver)
- Leader points before this round: 267 points (projection: standings progression)
- George Russell deficit to the leader: 66 points (derived: difference from leader_points, c2_points)
- Rounds remaining including this one: 10 rounds (projection: events)
- Most points one driver can still score: 258 points (derived: rounds × race maximum + sprints × sprint maximum from rounds_left, sprints_left, race_max)
- Drivers who can still mathematically reach the leader: 14 (derived: points + max_left ≥ leader points from max_left)
- Championship lead after round 8: 40 points (projection: standings progression)
- Comparison round: round 8 (projection: standings progression)
- Second in the championship: qualifying position: P6 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Earlier races here won from pole: 1 of 1 (derived: our race archive)
- Earlier races here won from the front row: 1 of 1 (derived: our race archive)
- Winner's grid slot in 2025: P1 (derived: our race archive)
- Tenth place: P10 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Gap from pole to tenth: 1.217 seconds (derived: difference from q1_lap, qualifying classification)
- Average pole margin this season (to date): 0.148 seconds (derived: qualifying classification)
- Lando Norris qualifying position: P1 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Oscar Piastri qualifying position: P7 (projection: qualifying classification)
- McLaren intra-team gap in Q3: 0.470 seconds (derived: q3_ms difference from qualifying classification)
- Kimi Antonelli qualifying position: P2 (projection: qualifying classification)
- George Russell qualifying position: P6 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Mercedes intra-team gap in Q3: 0.314 seconds (derived: q3_ms difference from qualifying classification)
- Max Verstappen qualifying position: P3 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Liam Lawson qualifying position: P8 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Red Bull Racing intra-team gap in Q3: 0.352 seconds (derived: q3_ms difference from qualifying classification)
- Lewis Hamilton qualifying position: P4 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Charles Leclerc qualifying position: P5 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Ferrari intra-team gap in Q3: 0.006 seconds (derived: q3_ms difference from qualifying classification)
- Franco Colapinto qualifying position: P9 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Pierre Gasly qualifying position: P14 (projection: qualifying classification)
- Alpine intra-team gap in Q2: 0.715 seconds (derived: q2_ms difference from qualifying classification)
- Drivers eliminated in Q1: four (projection: qualifying classification)
- Drivers eliminated in Q2: six (projection: qualifying classification)
- McLaren qualifying head-to-head this season (leader first): 9–5 (derived: qualifying classification)
- McLaren race head-to-head this season, both classified (leader first): 6–3 (derived: race classification)
- McLaren median qualifying gap this season: 0.10% (derived: qualifying classification)
- Mercedes qualifying head-to-head this season (leader first): 8–6 (derived: qualifying classification)
- Mercedes race head-to-head this season, both classified (leader first): 8–3 (derived: race classification)
- Mercedes median qualifying gap this season: 0.29% (derived: qualifying classification)
- 2025 pole-sitter race result here: P1 (derived: our race archive)
- Driver DNA window: 2025–2026 (projection: dna-driver)
- Kimi Antonelli strongest Driver DNA dimension: Positions Gained (projection: dna-driver)
- Kimi Antonelli Positions Gained percentile: 80th percentile (projection: dna-driver)
- Race start: 13 September 2026 (projection: sessions)