Everything Trackside

Welcome to our Spanish GP Race Live Blog! 

The first ever Formula 1 race at the Madring is here, and Lando Norris will lead the field away from pole after a thrilling qualifying session.

Norris left it until the final lap of Q3 to beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011s, with Max Verstappen completing the top three. Hamilton and Leclerc line up fourth and fifth, while Russell and Piastri start sixth and seventh respectively.

The weekend has already delivered plenty of action. Friday was dominated by Mercedes with a 1-2 in FP1 and Kimi topping the timesheets during FP2. The Championship leader then topped FP3 ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen. However, FP3 was nothing but straightforward as crashes for both Hamilton’s and Bearman cut the valuable final practice session short. Norris, meanwhile, had struggled to look like a pole contender before producing a 1:31.824 on his final Q3 lap to snatch the first ever pole at the Madring.

There have also been changes to the starting order. Carlos Sainz drops from 17th to 20th after receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas in Q1. This promotes Bottas to 19th and Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso one place each. Stroll starts at the back of the grid after been given a 40-place grid penalty for exceeding power unit component allocations. Meanwhile, Ollie Bearman will start from the pit lane after failing to set a qualifying time following his FP3 crash.

With overtaking difficult at Madrid, strategy, tyre management and the opening laps could prove crucial. Can Norris convert his pole into victory, or will Antonelli continue his momentum?

Join us for live coverage of the inaugural 2026 Spanish GP Sunday at the Madring.