Kimi Antonelli came within just 0.011 seconds of pole position for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix before Lando Norris denied the Formula 1 championship leader with a spectacular final lap at Madring. The Mercedes driver will still start Sunday’s race from the front row and, crucially for the title fight, has qualified ahead of his main championship rivals.
For a few moments, it appeared Antonelli was about to celebrate another special result. Instead, the Italian had to hold back his celebrations as reigning world champion Lando Norris produced a last-gasp lap to claim pole position by just 11 thousandths of a second. It was Norris’s third pole in the last four Grands Prix.
Kimi Antonelli thought Madrid pole was secured before Lando Norris struck
Speaking to David Coulthard after qualifying, Antonelli admitted he briefly believed he had done enough to secure pole position. His lap had put him provisionally fastest, only for Norris to improve at the very end of Q3 with what the McLaren driver himself described as “one of the best laps” of his career.
“I thought I had done a good lap,” Antonelli admitted, turning towards Norris, “but then he stole it from me right at the end. Anyway, congratulations to them.”
The narrow defeat does little to change the strength of Antonelli’s position heading into the race. The Mercedes driver arrived in Madrid as the championship leader after playing down talk of his growing advantage in the F1 title race, and he will once again start ahead of several of his closest rivals.
Madrid turn one gives Antonelli another reason for optimism
Second place on the grid may also carry particular significance at the new Madring circuit. In every Formula 2 and Formula 3 support race held so far during the weekend, the driver starting second has beaten the pole-sitter in the sprint towards Turn 1.
That pattern could offer Antonelli an immediate opportunity to challenge Norris when the lights go out on Sunday. At the same time, the Italian has gained an advantageous starting position relative to his principal championship opponents.
Lewis Hamilton will start fourth for Ferrari, while Antonelli’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell qualified only sixth. The gap between the two Mercedes drivers has already become an important feature of the championship battle, with George Russell recently admitting that Antonelli has simply been faster during a particularly strong period for the Italian.
Antonelli pleased with qualifying despite difficult Madrid conditions
Despite narrowly missing pole, Antonelli was satisfied with the quality of his qualifying performance. High track temperatures made finding the correct balance difficult, while Madring’s demanding layout left little margin for error.
“It was a very intense qualifying session,” Antonelli explained. “Finding the right balance was difficult because of the high track temperatures, but the lap was pretty clean. Obviously it isn’t easy to put everything together on such a tricky circuit, but overall I think we did a good job; we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Antonelli therefore heads into the Spanish Grand Prix from the front row with a clear opportunity to attack Norris at the start, while also holding an important track-position advantage over Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. With every result increasingly significant in the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, the 11-thousandth gap that denied him pole could prove far less important than what happens when the field reaches Turn 1.
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