Norris takes Madring pole, Antonelli second
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 12, 2026
Norris delivers under pressure
Lando Norris took pole position for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new Madring circuit, edging Kimi Antonelli by 0.011 seconds and securing his third pole of the season and 19th of his career. Norris delivered a final Q3 lap of 1 minute, 31.824 seconds after Antonelli had briefly held provisional pole, and he said the run was one of the best of his career. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella backed that view, calling the lap “a masterpiece.” Norris got there despite losing most of Friday’s second practice to a gearbox issue, a setback that left him with less running than he wanted before qualifying. He still found enough speed when it mattered most, and the result put McLaren at the head of the field with a strong chance to control the race from the start. Norris has turned his previous two pole positions into victories, so the grid spot also gives him a direct chance to chase a third win of the season.
Antonelli pushes Norris hard
Antonelli gave Norris his toughest fight in qualifying and finished second after a session that kept the pole battle alive until the final laps. Max Verstappen took third, Lewis Hamilton was fourth, Charles Leclerc fifth, George Russell sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh, giving the front of the grid a deep and familiar lineup. The order fits the tone of the weekend at Madring, where drivers have warned that passing will be difficult. Antonelli said high tire degradation makes overtaking even harder, and that challenge shapes the whole race picture because track position matters even more when drivers struggle to follow closely. Norris’s narrow margin showed how little separated the top contenders once Q3 reached its final stage. Antonelli set the early standard and held it long enough to pressure the McLaren driver, but Norris found the last answer and pulled ahead by the smallest of gaps. That kind of finish tells the story of a qualifying session where every corner counted and one final push decided who gets the clean air at the front.
Madring race looks tight
Norris heads into Sunday’s race with pole, momentum and a clear path to another victory, but he is not treating it like a simple start-to-finish exercise. He said he does not expect the race to be straightforward, and the layout at Madring supports that view. Drivers said overtaking would be very difficult, which puts more weight on the launch, the opening corners and the first round of tire management. A driver who gets away cleanly can build a buffer, while anyone who slips back may spend the afternoon stuck in traffic. Norris has already shown he can finish the job from the front, and McLaren has reason to trust his pace after a lap that stood up under pressure. Piastri gives the team another car in the top seven, which adds depth if the race opens up through strategy or attrition. Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc and Russell also remain close enough to the front to keep the result live. That leaves Norris with the advantage, but not much room for error, as he tries to turn pole into another win on a circuit that already looks demanding from the first lap.
