Madrid: McLaren’s Lando Norris produced a stunning final lap to secure his third pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season and become the first driver to take pole at Madrid’s new Madring circuit.

The British driver clocked a fastest lap of 1 minute 31.824 seconds, narrowly beating Mercedes’ Italian championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished just 0.011 seconds behind.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured third place, finishing 0.140 seconds off Norris’ pace, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth, 0.189 seconds behind the pole-sitter.

Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc completed the top five, just 0.195 seconds slower than Norris. George Russell will start sixth, followed by Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad in the top 10.

The result marked a strong comeback for Norris after gearbox trouble significantly limited his running during Friday practice.

His decisive Q3 lap also gave the 26-year-old the 19th pole position of his Formula 1 career and his third of the current season.

Norris described the effort as one of the finest qualifying laps of his career as he celebrated taking the top starting spot for Formula 1’s inaugural race at Madring.