Lando Norris secured a stunning pole position for McLaren at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, edging Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds. Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified third, 0.140secs off the pace, while Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari dropped to fourth after leading the first runs in Q3. Norris, who had been fifth in Q1 and seventh in Q2, described the lap as potentially the best of his career, admitting he was "shocked" and "surprised" by the performance.

The session ran cleanly on the new Madring street circuit despite pre-weekend fears of crashes. Ferrari's challenge faded again, with Charles Leclerc fifth, just 0.006secs behind Hamilton. Oscar Piastri was seventh in the second McLaren, 0.470secs slower than Norris.

George Russell qualified sixth for Mercedes, 0.314secs adrift of team-mate Antonelli, citing tyre overheating on his final lap. The top 10 was rounded out by Liam Lawson (Red Bull), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls).