Lando Norris claimed the pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new "Madring" circuit on Saturday, September 12, with a final qualifying lap time of 1'31"824. Norris, driving for McLaren, narrowly beat Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) by 0.011 seconds and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by 0.140 seconds. This was Norris’ 19th pole position in his Formula One career. The Madring circuit, located on the outskirts of Madrid, is a challenging street layout with tight corners and limited overtaking opportunities, making it a test of precision and control for drivers. Norris was stunned by his performance, calling it "one of the best laps I've done ever in my career" and saying it was "one of those laps when everything came together." He had previously been fifth in the first qualifying session and seventh in the second. His final lap was described as nearly flawless, with Norris admitting only a minor mistake in the last corner, where he thought he might have hit the wall. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) had initially led after the first runs in Q3 but ultimately finished fourth, just 0.006 seconds behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, who came in fifth. Hamilton had crashed during final practice and missed part of the session. His final lap was 0.06 seconds behind Antonelli, which wasn’t enough to secure pole position. Hamilton expressed disappointment, saying he was "a little bit surprised to be here" and noted issues with his tire performance. He had previously taken pole for Ferrari in the sprint race in China last year but had yet to achieve a grand prix pole for the team. George Russell (Mercedes) started sixth, while Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished seventh. Norris' performance was unexpected, as he had not been in contention for pole position during the weekend. He was nearly half a second faster than Piastri. The session was initially expected to be high-risk due to the new circuit’s layout, but it ran cleanly without any incidents. Antonelli had set the fastest times in the previous two free practice sessions, but Norris’ final lap proved decisive. French drivers Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) started in 13th and 14th positions respectively, a week after Gasly’s pole at Monza. Isack Hadjar, still recovering from a left wrist injury, will miss his third consecutive Grand Prix.