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Sports13 September, 20262 min read

Lando Norris Takes Pole for Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, Beats Kimi Antonelli by 0.011 Seconds

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Lando Norris claimed first Madring pole by 0.011 seconds over Antonelli Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, Verstappen second, Norris third

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Lando Norris Takes Pole for Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, Beats Kimi Antonelli by 0.011 Seconds
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Norris’ pole in Madrid

Lando Norris took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring, posting a time of 1 minute and 31.824 seconds to beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes by 0.011 seconds in qualifying. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Norris’ lap was “a masterpiece” and “one of the most impressive laps that I witnessed as somebody that watches telemetry in 450 grands prix,” after Norris improved by 0.701 seconds between his two laps in final qualifying.

Norris described the effort as “Everything came together perfectly,” saying he matched a “perfection level” in “pretty much every corner” until the last corner. The BBC also noted Norris’ pole came despite him losing more than 0.3secs at the final corner, with Stella saying the pole was “despite having lost 0.35secs in the last corner.”

Image from Autosport
Image: Autosport
Reporting for this sectionBBCFrance 24

Telemetry, kerbs, and margins

Autosport reported that once the opening Q3 runs were in, Norris was sixth and 0.446s down on Lewis Hamilton’s best effort, before finding 0.701s on his previous lap to beat Antonelli by just 0.011s. Andrea Stella said the lap was “almost unrepeatable,” explaining that “the amount of kerb that you take in Turn 1 and landing without upsetting the car” made it difficult to repeat.

Norris said he did not use a display showing his delta, telling the BBC: “I don't need my delta,” and adding that he could “feel when I do what I need to do.” The BBC also framed the qualifying as a narrow contest, with Norris taking pole by 0.011 seconds and Antonelli being beaten after Norris said he thought he was “in the wall” on the final corner from “over-pushing.”

Image from BBC
Image: BBC
Reporting for this sectionAutosportBBC

Grid set for the race

With Norris’ pole secured at the Madring, the grid placed Antonelli alongside him on the front row and Max Verstappen third, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc followed ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes. France 24 reported that Norris’ pole was his third this year and his 19th overall, giving him “a great chance of a third win of the season” on a circuit with few overtaking opportunities.

The BBC said Norris had won both times he started on pole this season, in Hungary and the Netherlands, and quoted Norris warning: “Tomorrow is going to be a very tough day.” Canal+ described Norris as “the first pole in Madring history” and listed the top qualifiers for the Spanish Grand Prix, including Lando Norris, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell in 6th and Oscar Piastri in 7th.

Reporting for this sectionFrance 24CANAL+