The fight for pole position at the 2026 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix is about to begin at Madrid’s Madring circuit, with Q1 scheduled to start at 16:00. Ferrari enters qualifying with Charles Leclerc among the leading contenders after an encouraging final practice session, while Kimi Antonelli appears to be the driver to beat following his pace in both FP2 and FP3. The full weekend timings are available in the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix schedule.
From the press room at the new Madring circuit, ScuderiaFans.com will follow the qualifying session minute by minute as the grid for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix is decided. Barring red flags or lengthy interruptions, the identity of the 14th pole-sitter of the 2026 Formula 1 season should be known around an hour after the opening segment begins.
2026 F1 Spanish GP qualifying live: Kimi Antonelli starts as favourite
Kimi Antonelli heads into qualifying as the clear favourite based on the evidence from practice. The Mercedes driver was fastest in both FP2 and FP3 and, perhaps more importantly, has appeared able to produce competitive lap times with greater ease than his rivals throughout the weekend.
Ferrari, however, remains firmly in contention. Charles Leclerc finished close behind Kimi Antonelli in final practice, keeping the SF-26 within striking distance before qualifying. Ferrari had already shown strong potential on Friday, while its engineers continued working to extract more performance from a car that still had room for improvement in its set-up. The changing technical picture between the leading teams was already evident in the Ferrari and Mercedes Madrid set-up analysis.
Lewis Hamilton and Oliver Bearman crashes underline Madring risk
There are also several major uncertainties heading into the session. The Madring has already demonstrated how unforgiving it can be, with Lewis Hamilton and Oliver Bearman both crashing during FP3. Lewis Hamilton’s accident disrupted Ferrari’s final preparations, while the second red flag prevented Charles Leclerc from completing another final qualifying-style attempt. The full sequence of events is covered in our Madrid FP3 review.
Those incidents could become particularly relevant in qualifying, where drivers will need to push closer to the limit while dealing with narrow margins and the possibility of further interruptions.
Charles Leclerc, McLaren and Red Bull remain in the pole battle
The contest at the front nevertheless looks extremely close. Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are all behind Kimi Antonelli but separated by relatively small gaps, leaving the Ferrari and McLaren drivers with a realistic opportunity to challenge if they put together their best laps.
Max Verstappen appears slightly further away from the leading pace, while George Russell has so far seemed unable to find the confidence required to extract everything from his Mercedes around the new Madrid circuit.
Predicting the final result therefore remains difficult. Kimi Antonelli may begin qualifying as the favourite, but Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are close enough to make the battle for pole unpredictable. Ferrari will now discover whether the promising pace shown throughout the weekend can be converted into a front-row start — or potentially something even better.
Follow the 2026 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session live on ScuderiaFans.com, with minute-by-minute updates and commentary from Madrid as the fight for pole position unfolds.
Leave a Reply