2026 Formula 1 Spanish GP
F1 Spanish GP: Follow qualifying in Madrid with live timing
Follow along for all the action at Formula 1's qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring
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On this note, we'll wish you a pleasant rest of your day. Stay tuned to Autosport and Motorsport.com for the latest F1 news – more to come in the next few hours!
And here's how things stand in the 2026 qualifying head-to-head, as Franco Colapinto outqualifies Pierre Gasly for the first time since... Barcelona in June. Maybe he needs that Hispanic support.
Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images
Meanwhile, 19 sessions into the season, it's pretty tight at Mercedes, Ferrari and Audi: the score is 10-9 at each of those teams.
Norris says he's "shocked" and "a bit surprised" to be on pole.
We've got four different teams within 0.19s at the front of the pack.
Q3 classification: Norris, Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Piastri, Lawson, Colapinto, Lindblad
Verstappen takes third place, 0.140s down on first place. It's Lando Norris on pole position.
Lando Norris takes provisional pole by 0.011s!
It's so close between Hamilton and Leclerc! They both go quicker, second and third, 0.178s and 0.184s down on Antonelli.
Russell improved but is three tenths adrift of his team-mate.
Antonelli takes provisional pole in 1m31.835s! He gained nearly four tenths on Hamilton in the final sector.
He lost over two tenths in sector two.
Antonelli is 0.098s up on Hamilton in sector one for his final attempt.
Hamilton is currently on a 72-round pole-less streak, going back to the 2023 Hungarian GP. Will he end it today?
Pole man Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, celebrates on arrival in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Verstappen takes fifth position, 0.254s slower than Hamilton. Norris follows in sixth, then it's Piastri, Lawson, Colapinto and Lindblad.
Ferrari pole, perchance? Hamilton goes fastest in 1m32.079s. He leads Antonelli by 0.061s and Russell by 0.186s. Leclerc is 0.206s down on his team-mate. But let's see what Verstappen can do.
The Mercedes strategy is clever. If you're leading the pack, you're less likely to be impacted by a red flag, which is not so unlikely here. There's a trade-off, as track conditions are ever so slightly worse – but here it makes sense.
And the fight for pole begins.
Antonelli and Russell are queuing up at the end of the pitlane to have a free track ahead of them in Q3.
This is Ocon's highest qualifying result since the Japanese Grand Prix, back in March.
On Thursday, he was adamant drivers have nothing to do with Haas' current struggles. He would be expected to speak out, given his F1 future is at stake. Read more here.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Out in Q2: Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, Gasly, Tsunoda, Albon
"I have no grip, man" Pierre Gasly laments. "I don't get it. Compared to P3, it's a completely different car, I don't get it."
Meanwhile, Colapinto surges into eighth place with a great lap. Lindblad could have been eliminated, but he improved too, dropping Hulkenberg into the drop zone. Disappointment at Audi, whose pace had been very promising.
Verstappen improves! He's down to a 1m32.431s.
Both Ferrari drivers have improved to a 1m32.7s, but they're still slower than Verstappen and Antonelli.
With five minutes remaining, Bortoleto, Tsunoda, Ocon, Albon, Colapinto and Gasly are at risk of elimination. The Alpines are yet to set a lap time.
Wow! Colapinto nearly lost control in La Monumental, but he narrowly regained control as the rear end slipped away.
Verstappen takes P1! The Red Bull driver lapped in 1m32.557s, 0.046s quicker than Antonelli.
Again, Antonelli is faster than his team-mate. He sets a 1m32.603s, Russell goes 0.247s slower.
Q2 is under way.
No Spaniard will take part in Q2, unfortunately for the local fans.
Russell knocks Antonelli off the top spot at the very last minute. 1m33.211s.
The gap between Williams and the rest of the midfield is enormous – a 0.640s deficit to 15th-placed Ocon.
Out in Q1: Sainz, Alonso, Perez, Bottas, Bearman, Stroll
Albon improves and rules team-mate Sainz out of Q2... by 0.005s!
Antonelli goes top with a 1m33.267s, as Lawson improves by 0.006s.
With four minutes remaining, the drop zone features Alonso, Albon, Perez, Bottas, Bearman and Stroll, who hasn't emerged out of the garage yet.
Sainz is 16th, less than a tenth ahead of Alonso.
A replay shows George Russell hitting the wall in a similar way to Alex Albon in FP3. The Williams driver didn't make it back out on track in that session. Let's see if the Mercedes is unscathed.
It's a Red Bull 1-2 right now. Verstappen lapped 0.065s slower than Lawson, but with mediums. Ferrari's Hamilton and Leclerc follow.
By: Autosport Staff
