Sports · updated 2h ago · 2 min read
Lando Norris Beats Kimi Antonelli To Take Spanish Grand Prix Pole At Madring
Lando Norris claimed pole for the Spanish GP at Madring, beating Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 0.011s. Norris earned the first pole in Madring's history.
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10 of 12 outlets skipped it: norris had a gearbox problem that limited his FP2 running.
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Norris shocks at Madring
Lando Norris took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring with a 1m31.824s lap, beating Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 0.011s in qualifying.
“Norris had it nailed from nowhere”
Norris’ McLaren turnaround came after he missed almost all of Friday’s second practice due to a gearbox issue, and he then delivered his final-run pace in Q3 to deny Antonelli and Max Verstappen.
Andrea Stella described Norris’ pole lap as "unrepeatable" and said it was one of the best he had seen during his quarter-century in Formula 1.
Sky Sports said Norris edged Antonelli by 11 thousandths of a second to claim his first Madring pole, while Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to third.
The Guardian reported Norris had not threatened the top of the timesheets until the final lap of the final session, when he threaded the needle on a circuit described as narrow and unforgiving.
Quotes, radio and rivals
Norris said, "I'm shocked! A little bit surprised to be here now," adding that "everything came together" as he explained that it was whether his brain let him do it on the last lap.
After initially thinking he had thrown it away, Norris told race engineer Will Joseph, "Sorry, I messed it up," before Joseph replied, "Hold on, wait a second. Two cars still to go, just wait," as Oscar Piastri and Verstappen completed their laps.
Andrea Stella called the final corner a "masterpiece" and said Norris made a mistake of three-tenths, while still producing a lap that was "one of the best of his life" until that point.
Kimi Antonelli said, "I thought it was a good lap, but then this guy just snatched it away," after Verstappen qualified third and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth.
The New York Times said Norris set the pace with a time of 1:31.824-seconds on his final lap, edging out Antonelli by just one hundredth of a second.
What pole changes next
Pole at the Madring gives Norris a strong chance of a third victory in four races, and Sky Sports said it also reduces a 96-point deficit to Antonelli with nine rounds remaining after Sunday’s race.
“reducing a 96-point deficit to Antonelli”
The Guardian framed the stakes around track position on a street-circuit-style layout, warning that overtaking will be extremely difficult and that a procession is a real risk with leading cars taking the middle of the track.
Norris’ pole was his third of the season and his 19th career pole position, and the New York Times said he had previously topped qualifying in Budapest and Zandvoort, both races he went on to win.
Behind him, Verstappen qualified third and Hamilton fourth, while Charles Leclerc starts fifth and George Russell sixth, leaving the top of the grid tightly packed after a qualifying session that passed without any red-flag stoppages.
The New York Times noted that Haas’ Ollie Bearman was unable to participate due to his FP3 crash, and it quoted an Aston Martin spokesperson saying "a suspected water pressure issue" prevented Lance Stroll from setting a lap time.