Lando Norris created a sensation by securing the first pole position in the history of the Madring. The McLaren driver beat Kimi Antonelli by just 11 thousandths.
Read more Lando Norris reveals he nearly hit the wall in «one of the best laps» of his career
No one really saw it coming. Held back for much of the weekend and deprived of the entire EL2 on Friday due to a gearbox problem, Lando Norris turned the situation around at the best moment. The current world champion delivered an exceptional final lap to claim pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Briton completed the Madring in 1’31″824, just 11 thousandths faster than Kimi Antonelli. Lewis Hamilton, who had temporarily taken the lead during the first Q3 attempt, failed to keep up the pace on his final lap. A particularly tight session that confirms the small gaps observed since the start of the weekend.
Russell and Mercedes set the tone in Q1
The session started in particularly hot conditions, with 30°C in the air and 54°C on the track. Oliver Bearman was absent, Haas having failed to repair his car in time after his major accident during EL3. Ferrari, on the other hand, managed to restore Hamilton’s SF-26 after his off-track excursion in the last corner a few hours earlier.
Ferrari and Verstappen chose mediums for their first attempt while the majority of the field used softs. Antonelli quickly posted an interesting first time, but Liam Lawson was even faster. Verstappen placed himself just 65 thousandths behind his teammate despite his medium tires, while Norris provisionally occupied third position.
Mercedes finally raised the pace in the last minutes. Despite contact with the wall at turn 21, Russell posted a lap of 1’33″211, beating Antonelli by 56 thousandths. Lawson completed a surprising top three within less than a tenth, ahead of Verstappen, Norris, Hamilton, and Leclerc.
Alonso and Sainz eliminated in Q1
The first part of qualifying also brought a huge disappointment to the Spanish crowd. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso were both eliminated in front of their supporters, with the Williams driver missing out by just five thousandths to his teammate Alexander Albon.
Alonso also failed to extract enough performance from his Aston Martin and had to stop in Q1 as well. Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas were eliminated along with the two Cadillacs, while Bearman and Lance Stroll remained without a time. The latter already knew he would have to start from the back of the grid due to an engine penalty.
Verstappen strikes hard in Q2
The hierarchy changed completely in Q2 when all drivers switched to soft tires. Antonelli struck first with a lap of 1’32″603, but Verstappen immediately responded by lowering it to 1’32″557.
Ferrari adopted a different strategy by letting Hamilton and Leclerc continue with the same set of tires. The choice paid off as both drivers improved on their second flying lap, Hamilton notably closing to just 153 thousandths of the provisional benchmark.
Read more EL3 in Madrid: Antonelli ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton and Bearman into the wall
Verstappen still held something back. With a new set of softs, the Dutchman improved again and posted an impressive 1’32″431, 160 thousandths better than Antonelli. Hamilton took third place ahead of Leclerc and Lawson, while Russell and Norris were only sixth and seventh respectively.
The surprise also came from Franco Colapinto, eighth despite a huge scare in La Monumental. Pierre Gasly, however, had a harsh reality check a week after his pole position in Monza: the Frenchman was eliminated along with Nico Hülkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, and Albon.
Hamilton takes the lead in Q3
After seeing Mercedes and Verstappen share the best times during the first two parts of qualifying, Ferrari fully joined the battle in Q3. Antonelli first set the benchmark at 1’32″140, but Hamilton immediately hit back harder with a lap of 1’32″079.
Russell was then 186 thousandths behind, Leclerc 206 thousandths, and Verstappen 254 thousandths. Norris did not yet appear as the main threat for pole, while Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad provisionally closed the top 10 after their first attempt on worn tires.
Everything had to be decided on the final run. Mercedes once again sent its drivers out first and Antonelli produced a remarkable lap in 1’31″835. Hamilton also improved but missed out by 178 thousandths, suggesting the Italian had just secured a new pole position.
Norris emerges by 11 thousandths
That’s when Norris delivered the lap no one expected. The McLaren driver crossed the line in 1’31″824 and snatched first place from Antonelli by only 0″011. After being fifth in Q1 and only seventh in Q2, the Brit suddenly found all the performance needed at the decisive moment.
The performance is all the more impressive as McLaren seemed behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull since Friday. Norris had especially lost an entire session with his gearbox failure during EL2 and admitted he had to rely on Oscar Piastri’s data to catch up.
Yet he claimed the most symbolic pole of the weekend: the very first in the history of the new Madrid circuit. And on a track where Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso expect very few overtakes on Sunday, these eleven thousandths could weigh extremely heavily.
Antonelli seemed to have done the hardest with his 1’31″835, but Norris found an additional 11 thousandths in his final attempt. After a largely compromised Friday and an uneventful Q2, the McLaren driver emerged at the perfect moment and claimed the first pole position in the history of the Madring.
Read more Charles Leclerc warns before qualifying in Madrid: «Overtaking will be very rare»