The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix race is ready to begin at Madrid’s new Madring circuit, with Lando Norris on pole and Ferrari firmly in the fight near the front of the grid. Lewis Hamilton will start fourth and Charles Leclerc fifth as Formula 1 prepares for 57 laps around a venue hosting its first Grand Prix, with the formation lap scheduled for 15:00.
Good Sunday to all our readers. We are once again reporting from the press room at the Madring circuit to bring you minute-by-minute coverage of the race that will award the points at this weekend’s 2026 Spanish Grand Prix. The formation lap begins at 15:00, before the drivers tackle all 57 laps separating them from the chequered flag in a race expected to last roughly an hour and a half.
2026 Spanish GP live: Norris starts from pole at Madring
Lando Norris will line up at the front after producing a memorable final lap in Q3 on Saturday to secure pole position. The group immediately behind the McLaren driver, however, could hardly be more competitive. Andrea Kimi Antonelli missed pole by only 0.011 seconds and will start alongside Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen lines up third and will be ready to capitalise on any mistake with his customary aggressive approach.
The margins at the front leave little room for error, particularly at a circuit where Formula 1 has never previously raced. With teams and drivers still learning how the Madring behaves over a full Grand Prix distance, the opening laps and strategic decisions could prove especially significant.
Ferrari shows strong pace but Hamilton and Leclerc start P4 and P5
Ferrari’s performance was encouraging in qualifying, even if the final positions did not fully reflect the potential shown by the SF-26. Lewis Hamilton was provisionally on pole after the first runs in Q3, but he was unable to put together a truly clean lap on his second attempt. He will therefore start fourth, with team-mate Charles Leclerc immediately behind in fifth.
Those positions are not ideal on a circuit where overtaking is expected to be far from straightforward. Ferrari nevertheless demonstrated enough outright speed to suggest that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc can remain involved in the battle at the front if they execute the race effectively. A closer look at how the two Ferrari drivers compared over one lap can be found in the Q3 telemetry comparison between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari faces an unpredictable first race at Madrid’s new circuit
Nothing can be taken for granted at Madring. No Formula 1 Grand Prix has ever been held on this circuit before, meaning there is no previous race data to show exactly how tyre degradation, strategy, traffic and overtaking will develop across the 57 laps.
Saturday already produced a surprise when Lando Norris delivered his decisive lap at the very end of qualifying, beating Andrea Kimi Antonelli by the smallest of margins. Another unexpected result on Sunday therefore cannot be ruled out.
Follow the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix with us here on ScuderiaFans.com as we bring you the action from Madrid minute by minute, from the formation lap through to the chequered flag.
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