F1 2026 Spanish GP starting grid after two penalties
Lando Norris claimed pole position for the first Spanish Grand Prix to be held on Formula 1's new Madring circuit in Madrid, ahead of F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli won't need to blast from the back to the front like he did last time out at Monza, though that may be difficult anyway given the nature of this new temporary circuit and how hard it looks to overtake on.
Most drivers behaved themselves and there were no red flags in qualifying, despite fears this track would lead to frequent crashes.
But there were a couple of grid penalties to account for: Carlos Sainz drops three places for impeding Valtteri Bottas in Q1, while Lance Stroll has a 40-place (!) penalty for taking a completely new Honda power unit that promptly sprung a water leak before he could set a time.
Provisional Spanish GP starting grid
1 Lando Norris (McLaren)
2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
3 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
5 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6 George Russell (Mercedes)
7 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
8 Liam Lawson (Red Bull)
9 Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
10 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
12 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
13 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
14 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
15 Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
16 Alex Albon (Williams)
17 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
18 Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
19 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
20 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
21 Ollie Bearman (Haas)
22 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
