The first qualifying session at the Madring circuit concluded with McLaren driver Lando Norris taking pole position. While Mercedes were showing pace throughout the weekend, Norris took all his tricks out of his bag to put up a 1:31.824 that secured the best position to start the Spanish Grand Prix.
Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Full Classification
As Q1 began, it was visibly clear that some of the drivers were still struggling to keep their cars on track. However, the session went by with no incidents. At the end of the session, both of the home favourites, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Fernando Alonso, found themselves knocked out in P17 and P18 respectively. Along with them, both the Cadillacs, Bearman, and Stroll were also out of qualifying after Q1.
In Q2, the top 4 teams were comfortable through to the next session. The battle for the last 2 spots in the top 10 was between Audi, Racing Bulls, and the Alpine. While Pierre Gasly was unable to continue his form from last weekend, his teammate put on an impressive lap in Q2 to go 8th fastest. Lindblad put in a 1:33.204 to take the final spot into Q3.
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:33.469 | 1:32.873 | 1:31.824 | 19 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:33.267 | 1:32.591 | 1:31.835 | 20 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:33.381 | 1:32.431 | 1:31.964 | 18 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:33.531 | 1:32.710 | 1:32.013 | 21 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:33.532 | 1:32.755 | 1:32.019 | 21 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:33.211 | 1:32.850 | 1:32.149 | 22 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:33.829 | 1:33.204 | 1:32.294 | 22 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | 1:33.310 | 1:32.780 | 1:32.316 | 18 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:33.963 | 1:33.038 | 1:32.903 | 17 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:34.340 | 1:33.204 | 1:33.041 | 21 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:34.417 | 1:33.223 | - | 13 |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:33.986 | 1:33.388 | - | 12 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:34.667 | 1:33.667 | - | 11 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:34.246 | 1:33.753 | - | 11 |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1:34.311 | 1:34.084 | - | 15 |
| 16 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:35.307 | 1:35.532 | - | 14 |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:35.312 | - | - | 9 |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:35.388 | - | - | 9 |
| 19 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1:35.913 | - | - | 9 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:38.011 | - | - | 8 |
Throughout the practice sessions, it seemed as though the battle for pole position was going to be between Mercedes and Ferrari. But as soon as qualifying started, Ferrari did not have the pace to match Mercedes' times in Q1 and Q2. However, in Q3, all 4 teams seemed to have a chance at pole. During the first runs, Lewis Hamilton took provisional pole.
But towards the end of Q3, Lando Norris put in an impressive lap time to take pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix. Antonelli came in 2nd, just over a hundredth behind the pole sitter. Max Verstappen completed the top 3. Although the Ferrari did show some signs of pace, they had to settle for 4th and 5th. Russell had a disappointing Q3, finishing 6th.
Here's what Lando Norris said after qualifying: "I'm shocked, I'm a little bit surprised to be here now. My god, it was one of the best laps I've done in my career. Very happy. I had a good idea of what I wanted to do, it was whether my brain would let me."
What can we expect at the race?
After a thrilling qualifying, we could be heading into a frustrating race for some of the drivers. Given the nature of the circuit, overtaking will not be easy due to the short straights and challenging corners. If Kimi Antonelli is hoping to win the race tomorrow, his best chance will come at lights out. Or else, it will be a game of patience.
Behind the top 3, we have Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who will be looking to work together to achieve the best result possible; That is, if they are not fighting each other. If they take advantage of being the only team with both cars so high up on the grid, they could split the strategy and give their competitors a run for their money.
Norris converted that pole into third place on Sunday. Read the full 2026 Spanish Grand Prix race results and classification.
