15:02
Norris is told to push with the hard tyres holding on well. He's 4.7s shy of Verstappen, and will move up to third when Leclerc stops.
What Ferrari needs now, is a red flag.
Norris starts from pole in Spain
© XPB Images
F1 Madrid LIVE: Spanish GP race updates as Hamilton retires
Live coverage of Sunday at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Norris storms to Madrid pole
- Safety car interruptions expected
- Sainz takes grid penalty for blocking
The 14th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Madring becomes F1's newest grand prix venue as it replaces Barcelona as the home of the Spanish Grand Prix. The street track layout features 22 turns packed into a 5.414km distance, with the banked Turn 12 the focal point.
In the lead-up to the weekend, drivers have commented on an expectation of red flags, with many in the lower reaches keen to take advantage of any opportunities that may present themselves.
However, Friday saw only one stoppage, as Arvid Lindblad lost control of his Racing Bulls car at Turn 13 in the second practice session.
Holding a 66-point advantage over George Russell, Kimi Antonelli has a chance to further extend the margin from second on the grid, while the Briton goes from seventh. Lando Norris starts from pole position for McLaren on a track where track position will be crucial.
2026 Spanish Grand Prix Sunday schedule
Grand Prix: 2:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
13 Sep 2026
15:00
The top 10 on lap 34 is:
- Leclerc
- Antonelli
- Verstappe
- Norris
- Lawson
- Russell
- Piastri
- Gasly
- Bortoleto
- Colapinto
15:00
Perez pulls into the pits and retires his Cadillac from P18.
14:59
P6 but a net P5 with Lawson yet to stop for Russell.
14:55
Ferrari look ready for Leclerc. He's leading by 3.6s from Antonelli. He won't be able to keep ahead of Norris, who is closing rapidly on Verstappen.
14:52
Mercedes is hoping to get Russell out ahead of Piastri on a fresh set of hard tyres. Lawson, who has not stopped, clears the Mercedes, but the plan works.
14:51
Norris is now right on Russell. Overtaking has been predictably limited today, but he will give this everything.
But Mercedes looks ready for a pit stop. In comes Russell.
14:45
A black-and-white track limits flag for Sainz. One more, and it's penalty number three for the Williams driver.
14:45
Antonelli reports that something feels wrong with his steering. He hasn't touched a wall, he claims, but there are panicked noises from the Mercedes in second place.
14:40
Norris is currently faster than all the drivers ahead of him, but pace means a lot less here than it does at other tracks.
14:39
A five-second penalty for Sainz after his clash with Alonso. That's fair, and Sainz continues to have a shocker of a home weekend.
14:37
This has all got slightly interesting for Mercedes right now.
14:34
Russell is really pushing Mercedes to go for a one-stop plan. Russell would need to take this set of medium tyres over 40 laps to get to the end.
14:32
At the front, Leclerc is now in the lead, with Antonelli behind him. Verstappen remains in third place.
14:31
That said, Russell has been told that he will need to stop again. Norris will likely try to take the hards to the end.
14:31
Why, oh why did McLaren pit Norris then? It was a slow stop with a problem on the front right. He returns to the track behind Russell and is in fifth place. All his good work is undone.
14:30
The VSC is ending, and Norris has come in just moments after the track has cleared. Disaster!
14:29
Leclerc hasn't stopped...that's an odd decision.
14:28
Disaster for Norris! He went past the pit entry moments after the VSC was deployed. The one positive is that this should take more than a lap to clear.
14:27
VSC deployed
Virtual safety car! Stroll has stopped on the track, but watch for pit stops right now.
14:27
Yellow flags are out.
14:26
Alonso is less than pleased with Sainz. The Williams crashed into two people at the start, and then made contact with Alonso when squeezing him against the wall.
Civil war between the Spaniards.
Norris had been told "Target plus 10" for his stop.
14:24
Norris leads by six seconds from Antonelli, with a further six-second gap back to Verstappen. The largest gap is between Russell in fifth and Lawson in sixth, at 15 seconds, although that is shrinking.
14:21
We have an overtake! Into Turn 5, Lawson passes Colapinto for sixth place. That was a crucial move, as he can now close the pit stop window for some of the front runners, as Franco had been somewhat of a cork in the bottle to this point.
14:18
The news that Ferrari and Hamilton fans did not want to hear.