Lando Norris ‘thought I was in the wall’ on ‘best ever’ lap for Madrid F1 pole

Lando Norris says he thought he was going to crash on his lap that secured pole position for the first-ever Formula 1 race at the new Madrid circuit. 

The reigning world champion snatched pole for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix from F1 points leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds in a thrilling end to the first qualifying session at the new Madring. 

Norris’s pole lap seemingly came from nowhere, and left even the McLaren driver “shocked”. 

"I'm shocked. I'm a little bit surprised to be here. It was probably one of the best laps I've done ever in my career,” the Briton said. 

"One of those laps when everything came together. I had a good idea of what I wanted to do, it was whether it came together but my brain let me do it almost perfect. 

“It's one of those laps when you look at the time and go: 'Oh, that was pretty good.”

Asked how he did it, Norris replied: "That's a secret. It's a secret that even I don't know. I've been having a good feeling. I didn't get any laps in FP2 yesterday, so I've been playing a little bit of catch-up. 

“There's just a good amount of corners where I kind of knew exactly what I wanted to do, so whether it was the first chicane or the second chicane. Just a couple corners where I kind of knew what the limit was, I just was struggling to get there and just kind of push into it as much as what I wanted to before in qualifying.”

Norris was convinced he was headed for the barriers as he ran wide at the final corner, before scooping up his McLaren and sealing a stunning pole. 

“The last lap, I improved what, like seven and a half tenths in one lap, so that's not something to be proud about. But the fact I still did it in Q3, when it kind of matters most, is the thing I should be proud about,” he added. 

“It was just a perfect lap. Every corner I did what I wanted to do when I kind of planned out to do, bar the last corner. Last corner I just had a bit of a little moment. I think I got a bit excited in the car just overpushed the entry, and honestly, I thought I was in the wall. 

“So, luckily a short run to Turn One. But the lap really was perfect from good exits, good curbs. Just getting all the little things that are very important around here correct. I did that only on my last lap, and it all worked out.”