Lando Norris will start on pole in Madrid ahead of Kimi Antonelli, while a penalty given to Carlos Sainz changes the starting grid.
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The grid for the very first Spanish Grand Prix held on the Madring is now known. Lando Norris will start from pole position this Sunday after beating Kimi Antonelli by only 11 thousandths of a second at the end of a particularly close qualifying session.
Behind them, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will make up a particularly impressive second row, while Charles Leclerc and George Russell will start from the third. Further back, the penalty given to Carlos Sainz after qualifying caused several changes at the back of the grid.
Norris snatches pole from Antonelli
Norris waited for his final attempt to set a time of 1’31″824 and deny Antonelli another pole position. The Mercedes driver had just taken the lead in 1’31″835 and thought he had done the hardest part before the Briton crossed the line.
This is Norris’s third pole in the last four Grands Prix. A performance all the more remarkable as the McLaren driver had missed much of Friday’s practice due to a gearbox problem.
Verstappen will start third after finishing 140 thousandths behind Norris. He will share the second row with Hamilton, who had held provisional pole after the first attempts in Q3 before losing grip on his last lap.
Leclerc ahead of Russell on the third row
Charles Leclerc will start from fifth position, just ahead of George Russell. The Briton could have hoped for much better as he was third after his first attempt in Q3, but a loss of grip at turn 11 ruined his last lap when he was about three tenths faster.
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Oscar Piastri, for his part, was unable to keep up with Norris’s pace and will start only seventh. He will share the fourth row with Liam Lawson, eighth at the wheel of the Red Bull.
Franco Colapinto delivers one of the standout performances of this qualifying with ninth place for Alpine. The Argentine precedes Arvid Lindblad, who completes the top 10 with Racing Bulls.
Sainz penalized and dropped to 20th place
The main change after qualifying concerns Carlos Sainz. Initially 17th, the Spaniard received a three-place penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas in turns 6 and 7 during Q1.
The stewards judged that Williams had not sufficiently warned its driver of the arrival of the Cadillac on a flying lap and that Sainz had not taken the necessary measures to move aside. He is therefore demoted to 20th place.
This sanction notably allows Sergio Pérez and Bottas to gain a position. Fernando Alonso, another local hero eliminated in Q1, will start 17th.
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