Formula 1, Norris ahead of the field at the Madring circuit's debut

Madrid’s new track, the Madring, awarded on September 12, 2026 the first starting grid in its history, and on pole is Lando Norris.

The margin over Kimi Antonelli, second, is 0.011 seconds. Max Verstappen will start third, Lewis Hamilton fourth, Charles Leclerc fifth. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso were eliminated in the first phase of qualifying: AS places them in seventeenth and eighteenth position on the grid respectively. The account of the session is by El País.

Eleven thousandths

The number that describes the session is that one: 0.011 seconds between first and second. It is a gap that, over a timed lap, corresponds to a fraction of a corner — less than what a driver could deliberately gain or lose at a single point on the track.

On a circuit making its debut, this figure carries an additional meaning. When a track is new, no one arrives with years of collected data: teams begin the weekend with simulations and end up rewriting their setups every session, while the asphalt changes behavior as it is driven on. A front row decided by eleven thousandths, under these conditions, tells us that at least two cars found the same answer to a problem no one had ever faced before on that track.

The Spanish contrast

The other half of the day is the elimination of the two Spanish drivers in the first phase of qualifying, at the Grand Prix being held in Spain. Sainz and Alonso will start from the back, according to the grid published by AS.

The first phase is the one that eliminates the tail-end group: those who fail to make the cut do not return to the track for the subsequent phases and see their position frozen. Today’s material does not contain the times from their sessions, nor does it contain technical explanations or statements from the teams: we therefore record the outcome without attributing a cause to it.

Eleven thousandths separate first from second position: on a track making its debut, that is the distance between two nearly identical technical solutions.

What happens today

The Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 15:00 Central European Time, over a distance of 57 laps.

A tight front row and a track being used for the first time raise a practical question concerning the race: no one has race data on this asphalt. Tire wear over the distance, the location of overtaking points, the effect of slipstream on the straights are all variables the teams will estimate during the race itself, not beforehand. In a circuit’s debut, the gap between single-lap performance and performance over 57 laps is typically the least predictable factor, but our material contains no readings on the weekend’s race pace, and so we offer no estimates.

What we don’t know

We don’t know the absolute times of the session, nor the length of the track. We don’t know the full grid beyond the positions indicated. We don’t have the standings in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, and therefore we don’t say what this race is worth in the standings.

The established fact, as of this edition’s deadline, is the grid: Norris ahead, Antonelli eleven thousandths behind, Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc in that order behind them, start at 15:00.