Lando Norris admitted he was shocked after producing a stunning final lap to snatch pole position for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit in Madrid, edging championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds.

The reigning world champion set a 1:31.824 in the closing moments of Q3 to claim his 19th career pole and third of the 2026 season. Norris had not looked like the favourite for pole throughout qualifying, but found an incredible amount of pace when it mattered most.

“I’m shocked,” Norris said after stepping out of his McLaren. He described the lap as probably one of the best laps he has ever produced in his career, admitting that everything came together perfectly on his final attempt.

Antonelli had looked on course for another pole after dominating much of qualifying. The Mercedes driver had been consistently at the sharp end and appeared to have done enough for the top spot, only for Norris to find the final few hundredths and deny him at the very last moment.

Max Verstappen secured third for Red Bull, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fourth. Charles Leclerc qualified fifth, with George Russell sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh. Liam Lawson took eighth, while Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten.

The result is particularly impressive for Norris after a difficult Friday. He missed almost all of FP2 because of a gearbox issue, leaving him with limited running at a completely new circuit. Despite that setback, McLaren managed to put him in position to fight for pole.

Norris now starts Sunday’s historic Spanish Grand Prix from the best possible position, with Antonelli alongside him on the front row. With only 0.011 seconds separating the pair, the battle between the championship leader and reigning world champion promises to be one of the biggest stories of the first race at the Madring.

For Norris, however, the biggest surprise was how quickly everything came together when it mattered most. A weekend that appeared to be heading away from him suddenly produced one of the finest qualifying laps of his career and pole position in Madrid.